Men in Black: The Series

"Men in Black: The Series" really was a good series. I used to watch it after "Batman Beyond" on Kids WB Saturday mornings. I am HUGE fan of the Men In Black movies and I think "Men in Black: The Series" was a good continuation to the movies.

My favorite characters were the worms. They were cute, funny, and original. I also thought Agents Jay, Kay and Elle were pretty cool. My favorite episodes, and some I even have on video, are: "The Black Christmas Syndrome", "The Jack O'Lantern Syndrome", "The Lost Continent Syndrome", and "The Big Bad Bug Syndrome".

I really enjoyed this show and I give 9/10 stars!

An animated series based on the popular movie of the same name. Jay, Kay and Elle are back as the men in black, a top-secret organization set up to deal with extraterrestrial immigration and keep the general public from knowing that aliens have arrived on Earth. Being an avid cartoon fan, I must admit I really enjoyed "Men in black: The TV series". Voice acting was very good and the alien creatures and various monster featured on the show were awesome. While I will admit the show has it's share of plot holes and flaws (i.e. how K is back despite the fact he was neuralized at the end of the men in black film) but I still really enjoyed watching this show and thought the characters and villians were really cool. Mindless, not question there, but still make an adequate time waster. My rating for "Men in black: The series"--8/10.

I love the Men in Black franchise so so much! And I had such great expectations for this show. I'm not saying it's not a good show, I just expected a lot more!

No, it's not the sequel to the summer blockbuster, but it's still a great series. We have Kay and Jay together, defending the earth from dangerous aliens, along with Elle at the sidelines and in the labs, and Zed the boss overseeing the whole operation. The stories sometimes seem contrived, but they are entertaining because they reveal some element of our world that makes perfect sense but is incredible. The best part of the series is the interaction between Kay and Jay. Kay has that deadpan attitude, and Jay is the wild eyed wonder. My only gripe is Kay's voice, which doesn't sound anything like Tommy Lee Jones. However, a re-cast in the second season has solved the problem. The animation is very smooth, and the art style is very quirky. The look is very stylized. However, there isn't as much detail to faces. But the settings, like MIB headquarters and vehicles, mainly the Ford LTD with tons of gadgets, are all rendered well. By the way, this series apparently takes place after the movie (there is at least one flashback to it). If you're wondering how Kay rejoined the MIB, there's a comic book called Men In Black (Retribution-note: that word is not on the cover) that bridges the gap.

I remember watching this series back when it premiered in 1997 during Kids WB's infancy and I've watched it progressively become worse. The show began decently enough - re-establishing the partnership between Agent J and Agent K that made the movie so memorable. The voice actors, particularly Keith Diamond as Agent J deliver their lines admirably. The writing was and still is relatively top-notch, with a healthy dose of humor.

The rest of the series is extremely flawed. While the character designs are okay, the colors are extremely drab and lifeless, VERY characteristic of Sony animation. The soundtrack just drones on, particularly the monotone theme. Danny Elfman's movie score is WAY better. Heck, they even brought over an instrumental version of Will Smith's catchy but forgettable rap song that played during the closing credits. Why couldn't they use the original movie theme? But the soundtrack is the least of the series' problems.

While the series does right to bring back Agents J, K and Elle as well as Zed, some of other character additions are questionable. The Worms? They were mildly funny break room puppets in the arcade, but their squeaky voices and obsession with coffee in the series is definitely pushing it. It wouldn't be half as annoying if they didn't build ENTIRE EPISODES around them. Jeeves? Maybe, but if he keeps selling contraband to alien terrorists, why doesn't he get arrested? The head-shrinking thing was funny just once. Frank the Pug? Why?

The show fails to be fully faithful to the movie - it seems like the MIB shoot first and ask questions later in the animated series. As a result, the slick image of the MIB from the movie is totally lost. Sometimes it's a wonder that they blow so many things up and get into firefights and are never noticed.

The new characters are just plain bad. Agent Elle's partner Agent X is just terribly annoying. Elle was way better as a lab technician. And what's up with her personality shift? She's gone from the cool personality in the movie and up until season five to a crazy hothead. Even more annoying is the over-happy new alien lab technician. Someone should blast that moron with a noisy cricket.

Men in Black: the series may be decent enough for little kids, but for older viewers, it's certainly a far cry from Batman: The Animated Series. While is does try to add some coherent continuity and decent storylines, it's extremely disappointing for fans of the movie like me and cartoon enthusiasts.