In 1997 a fun little movie called Men in Black was released. It featured Will Smith (before he was a mega-star) and Tommy Lee Jones as secret agent type policemen who keep extraterrestrial life on earth in check. Like many other moviegoers I really enjoyed the film which featured a perfect mix of action and comedy. Not surprisingly the films success spawned an animated adaption, Men in Black the series. Running four seasons from 1997 until 2001, MIB the series saw a total of 53 episodes produced, a very respectable number for modern day action/adventure cartoons. This would put the show in the same class as Batman Beyond and Superman the Animated series in terms of length, good company for any action/adventure show to keep. But does the show have the same level of quality as Batman and Superman, or does it go the way of so many other movie to TV adaptations and stink up the joint? Ultimately I would say that it falls somewhere in between, definitely not bad, but certainly not good.I remember occasionally watching MIB the series when it was first on TV. Since it shared the same channel as Batman Beyond I would sometimes watch both, or catch the tail end of MIB before Batman would start. I felt very ambivalent about the show, it didn't offend me at all but I wasn't really drawn in either. For the longest time I forgot it even existed, like the show had been wiped from my mind with the same neuralizer MIB agents use to erase peoples memory. Eventually I stumbled across some episodes online and decided it was time to give the series a full re-watching. What I found was complete justification for my initial feelings of ambivalence.
Seeing as it was a popular movie most people already know what the premise behind Men in Black is. For anyone who doesn't know however, it goes as follows. Men in Black is a top-secret agency (but not a government agency) that polices all alien activity on earth. It is comprised of "agents" who wear black suits and have had all traces of their existence erased from public record. They do not have any distinguishing marks or even fingerprints. Names are never used, opting instead to go by their first initial (so if your name was Bob you would be Agent B). They are no longer a part of the system, they are above the system, they are the Men in Black.
Before I get going with my review here I would like to offer the following disclaimer. I have never read the original Men in the Black comic book by Lowell Cunningham. I mention this because my review is based on the assumption that MIB the series is mostly influenced by MIB the movie, not the comic book. I really don't know how close the actual movie or cartoon is to the source material so if any of the discrepancies or issues I have are a result of said source material I apologize for my ignorance.
To start things off the writing on MIB the series is decidedly uneven. The show's first season is certainly the worst with the first eight or so episodes being - for the most part - awful. Things do get better though, and by the time season one ends the series is clearly starting to find its feet. This isn't too surprising with veteran cartoon writer Greg Weisman contributing regularly in season two. Weisman is by far the show's best writer having created Disney's excellent Gargoyles series, and later the Spectacular Spider-man. Still, when not watching Weisman's stronger episodes the show becomes very hit and miss.
On the positive side I really enjoyed MIB episodes that revolved around Agent K's past. With years of experience it was only natural that K would be carrying lots of baggage, both good and bad. Some of these stories were better in concept than in execution (Agent A for example), but taken as a whole I found them at least interesting.
On the negative side MIB the series recycles heavily from MIB the movie, most notably in terms of humor. Here's a checklist of what to look for in an average episode:
1) Agent J makes an alien faux pas - Check.
2) Alien Worms declare their love/obsession for coffee - Check.
3) Agent J complains about not getting to drive - Check.
4) Frank the stooley reminds someone he's not a real dog - Check.
5) Agent J does some variation of the line "I make this look good" - Check.
6) Someone shoots pawnshop owner Jeebs in the head - Double Check.
Of course I'm exaggerating when I say that you will find all six of these bits in any given episode, it's probably closer to three out of six. My point is that the writers think they're being clever by using jokes we'll recognize from the movie, but in truth they simply appear lazy by continually beating a dead horse.
Speaking of lazy, I have to call out the writing for the series finale of MIB. In the two part story (the only two part story arc in the entire show) Earth is invaded by an alien fleet that wants our oil. This invasion is portrayed as an Independence Day style event complete with the destruction of Washington Monument and the United Nations headquarters. No longer able to hide the existence of extraterrestrial life, MIB goes public so that they can lead Earth's defenses. In the end our home is saved but the proverbial cat has been let out of the bag, after all you can't neuralize an entire planet. Or can you? During a worldwide press conference Agent L realizes that the whole world is watching them on TV, so all they have to do is wipe every ones memories right then and there and everything will go back to normal. Perfect solution, right? Except the whole idea is preposterous and the basic logic behind it is nothing short of insulting (I'm talking Battlefield Earth, jet flying caveman insulting). Besides the fact that not everyone on Earth has a TV, the idea that each and every person is looking directly at said TV during the exact moment the neuralizer goes off is ridiculous. You mean nobody was taking a leak? How about sleeping, after all it would have been the middle of the night in Australia? What if you're blind? Then there would be all the records of the invasion itself; TV footage, newspapers, home videos. My god do you really think that an alien invasion of such massive proportions could be covered up with a single flash from a neuralizer? I know this is just a cartoon, and I can suspend disbelief with the best of them, but you have to show a little more respect for your audience’s intelligence, even if they're kids.
This brings us to the shows characters. Naturally the producers of MIB the series wanted to capitalize on the success and charm that Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones brought to Agents J and K. This led to the decision to "ignore" the movies ending. As you probably know the ending of MIB the movie had Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) retiring from service, complete with a neuralizer memory wipe from protegee Agent J (Will Smith). In MIB the cartoon however, Agent K is still in service, mentoring Agent J. This would not be so bad except that the cartoon references events from the movie (like the death of giant cockroach alien Edgar) multiple times, thus implying that all the events of the movie (minus K's retiring) are a part of the animated universe. Now I know what some of you are saying "But K was de-neuralized in MIB 2, so it makes sense". We'll I'm afraid that MIB the series started and finished before MIB 2 was even released, so that's not the reason. The truth is that movie properties turned cartoons will often take liberties with theatrical events to better fit their own entertainment medium, such is the case with MIB the series. Despite the potential for confusion though (no explanation is ever offered) I don't hold this against the shows creators. Only a fool would try and do an MIB cartoon without both K and J. Besides the decision to use both was most likely a mandate from the studio.
But I digress, lets talk about the animated adaptations of our two heroes. I said before that Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones brought a lot of charm to Agents K and J. This then begs the question, do the cartoon versions of these characters have that same charm? In a word ... No (or as Will Smith would say, Awwww hell Naw). Sadly, both Agents K and J come off as mere imitators, and poor ones at that. Where Will Smith brought a boastful, cocky yet lovable personality to Agent J, the animated version feels like a clown. A buffoonish blowhard that never seems to learn from any of his incessant mistakes, cartoon J just isn't very likable. His counterpart is similarly frustrating, but in the opposite extreme. While Tommy Lee Jones does a great job of bringing the folksy, know-it-all, seen-it-all Agent K to life, cartoon K just feels ... cold. For whatever reason the produces of MIB the series mistook K's matter of fact nature as being emotionless. This led to a very monotonous version of the character, one I became quickly bored with. This just isn't the same chemistry found in the movie, an obnoxious rookie and a droning veteran, not exactly the dynamic duo. I'll have more to say about this when I get to the shows voice acting.
Writing on MIB the series never does quite click into place. Characters don't really develop, bad science and plot holes abound, jokes become tired and don't even get me started on the overuse of coffee loving alien worms in season three. If that's not enough, checkout the additions of Agent X and Dr. Zeeltor in season four as well. Obviously the show wanted to expand out beyond its somewhat mundane cast, but bringing in these two was not the answer. Not only are neither of these characters any good, but the move just smacks of desperation, like when they brought in cousin Oliver on the Brady Bunch. When it's all said and done what we are left with is a very averagely written show, occasionally spotted with both excellence and stupidity.
The strongest aspect of MIB the series would have to be its visuals. From an animation standpoint the show does not impress during its first season, but the remaining seasons all look very solid. At times the animation even excels with surprisingly good fight choreography and fluid character movement. Backgrounds are a little unusual with a more illustrative, pen and ink, style being employed. Colors tended to be more muted and sometimes even monochromatic in appearance as well. Despite being less painterly than other cartoons however, these aesthetic choices do work well with the shows character designs and ultimately I liked that.
Speaking of character design, I have to say that I found the design work on MIB the series excellent. Though I'm not sure he did the entire show, Miguelznxo Prado is credited as the shows character designer, and I - for one - really enjoyed his work. Especially the original look of J and K found in the show's title sequence. Where most people had been content to simply follow the "Bruce Timm" look for action/adventure cartoons, Prado brought his own unique style to the series. Unfortunately this look must not have been good for mass production because the in show animation of the characters does trend on the simpler side. Still I like that MIB the series didn't just go for a generic look; aliens, space suites, star ships and various other technologies are all very well designed and - for the most part - look unique. Though the shows appearance would fluctuate more often than I would like, I think the series had a lot of visual ambition and was often successful in implementing it.
Like so many other aspects of MIB the series the shows audio has its ups and downs. Secondary characters Elle, Zed, Frank and Jeebs all feature solid voices and I had no issues with any of them. What I did have a problem with were the voices of Agents K and J. I mentioned before that these two main characters had none of the charm found in their feature film counterparts. A big reason for this stems from the very off the mark casting of both K and J. To start with Agent J is supposed to be very self assured person, but the voice of cartoon J lacks any real confidence. Oh the writers try and fill him with all the false bravado they can muster, but none of it comes across in actor Keith Diamond's performance. At best he makes J sound like a self-deluded, happy-go-lucky goofball. Worse is the monotonous voice used for Agent K. Gone is the cadence and inflection that Tommy Lee Jones brought to the role. In its place we get a robotic performance that fails in its ability to deliver even the simplest of punch-lines. Interestingly enough the voice of K was performed by two different actors. Ed O'Ross did the voice in season one while Gregg Berger did so for seasons two through four. Though the change is indeed noticeable both O'Ross and Berger fall into the same traps when handling the character. This actually makes me wonder if the problem is not so much with the actors but with the shows producers. Given the characterization and writing for Agents K and J it is very possible that O'Ross, Berger and Diamond were coaxed into these misguided incarnations of the characters, otherwise it was just bad casting. Just one additional thing I want to mention, Agent L (Elle) also had a voice acting change going into the shows final season. Jennifer Lien was the original actress and Jennifer Martin was her replacement. Both do a good job so the change isn't really that big a deal, but I still would have preferred more consistency from the show.
Musically MIB the series is pretty average. The in show music gets the job done but offers nothing memorable. I did like the title song though, it had a very harmonic "alien" sound that fit the series nicely. In fact I would have to rank MIB's opening as one of the better title sequences made during the 1990s.
Men in Black the series featured a lot of talented creators; Frank Paur, Victor Cook and Greg Weisman to name a few. Unfortunately none of these individuals were showrunners. Though Executive Producer Duane Capizzi's resume is respectable, he just doesn't have that little extra something necessary to be considered good, just like MIB the series. Given a stronger creative talent like Greg Weisman or Boyd Kirkland this show may have stood a chance of escaping its perpetual mediocrity. That said, when you compare MIB with other live action movie to TV cartoon adaptations the show takes on a whole new light. Take, for example, The Mummy, King Kong and Godzilla. All of these shows came about as a result of "blockbuster" movies, yet they all sucked unbelievable ass. It would have been real easy for MIB the series to go down that same cheap and easy road. Thankfully it at least tried to do something more. As for recommending the show I would probably not advise anyone to go out of their way to do so, especially since it's not even available on DVD in the US. The only release I know of was in the UK, and that was just for season one. If you are bound and determined to watch anyway then you'll probably need to do so online.
