If you haven't read our review (shame on you!), MIB is the story of a extra-governmental secret service that specializes in alien traffic on and off earth, and the protection of our planet from the knowledge and effects of alien civilization. Based on the Malibu Comics by Lowell Cunningham, MIB used the star power of Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones to propel itself into the forefronts of geek consciousness. Not only was it cool to watch such a geeky movie, it was so well done that it's generated a huge fan base (fan sites litter the internet... some better than others, but all of them feverishly in love with the MIB). Featuring the well known actors as agents K and J (or Kay and Jay, if you want to get all technical about it), the defence of earth from an evil bug alien played by Clare-toy Vincent D'Onofrio was a great story, and lots of fun.

Needless to say, MIB has all kinds of potential for nearly limitless storylines. After all, you can create umpteen new alien species and ship 'em to earth so our boys can battle it out/have hilarious misunderstandings. So where did all these extra stories go? Straight into Men In Black: The Animated Series.

It's perfect, if you think about it. Sure, the big screen MIB had all kinds of budget and time to create it's CG aliens and wacky universe, but the cartoon media made a spectacular way for MIB to adapt to the small screen and do extraordinary stuff every week. Taking some characters from the movie and writing up new ones to suit the plot, the show had free reign to do nearly anything it wanted.

It's worth mentioning, at this point, that the cast of the TV incarnation of the show is great. Nearly every voice is one you'd recognize from someplace else. Jay is played by Keith Diamond, known to Drew Carey fans as pushy neighbour Greg Clemens. Elle (L) is currently voiced by Jennifer Martin, but if you go back to the first episodes, she was done by Jennifer Lien, a.k.a. Kes from Star Trek: Voyager. And while Kay was voiced by Ed O'Ross for the first two seasons (he went on to star as Nikolai in the TV series Six Feet Under), he's currently done by the talented Gregg Burger. Believe you me, if you're a geek, you've heard Burger's voice before. He's done everything from the original Jetsons cartoon, through Grimlock in the Transformers movie, into Cornfed the Pig on Duckman. He's also factored largely into several cult video games, including Baldur's Gate 2, Final Fantasy X, and the recent Jedi Outcast. This guy's list of credits goes on for a mile, and is a fascinating read (check him out on the IMDb if you're interested). If you look through the voice credits on the show hard enough, you'll even note that Vincent D'Onofrio and Tony Shalhoub have reprised their movie roles for an episode or two.

So with such a strong cast, how's the writing? MIB:TAS has all kinds of stories, from the alien-of-the-week you'd expect to long, arcing stories incorporating MIB-turncoats. One of the 'toon episodes is thought to be the blueprint for the script of the upcoming MIB2 movie, due out July 2002. The show also delights in playing with the characters themselves. Episodes have shown Kay regress in age all the way down to diapers, while Jay has been subjected to turning into one of the Fellas (the coffee drinking worm aliens from the movie). The Fellas are joined by Frank the Pug, the Twins, Jeebs, and the Bugs, all characters from the big screen adaptation.

The show retains the fast talking humour of Jay and the straight man deadpan of Kay, but cuts a lot of the humour that wouldn't play too well to the Saturday morning crowd. Bear in mind, this doesn't make it a kiddy cartoon by a long shot... the art style is refined and serious, somewhat reminiscent of the Batman animated series. If it wasn't produced at the pace it was, it would probably be nearly anime quality (the opening of the show is clearly a labour of love, it's fantastic). The cartoon ran from October 1997 to June 2001, featuring 53 episodes (all of the titles are "The _____ Syndrome") on the WB, and if you poke around on the net enough, you'll find ample evidence that a new season is on the way.

Maybe the Men In Black won't change anyone's life. It's not for everyone, I admit (particularly if you're an arachnophobe, the show has one heck of a fixation on bugs). But it's wildly popular in the right circles, inspiring all kinds of fanfic, and a ride at Florida's Universal Studios, and its effects on the animation around it can only be good, bringing gritty, more serious fun to the cartoon world. If you can find the shows on tape, I highly recommend them!