The Head

This was a video series from the late 1980s and was shown serial form on MTV. Despite the 1997 release date, the film is about a decade older--this date was just when it was released in Europe. It has not, as of yet, been released in the US and it took me years to finally get a copy of all 13 episodes--the total series only lasting about two hours (despite the 22 minute time listed on IMDb).

The artwork, to put it quite bluntly, is awful and predates later MTV cartoon series--such as BEVIS AND BUTTHEAD and DARIA (both by some of the same people who brought us THE HEAD). Interestingly enough, Butthead actually makes a brief appearance towards the beginning of the show--just like Daria first appeared on BEVIS AND BUTTHEAD. While I am not a fan of BEVIS AND BUTTHEAD, I loved DARIA as well as THE HEAD and I respect their edgy and rather subversive humor. Considering my advanced age (42), it is probably pretty odd that I still like these seemingly juvenile cartoons but they are just so funny and written so well I can't resist.

So what is THE HEAD all about then? Well, John goes to see Dr. Axel (who looks almost exactly like Bevis) about his head--which has now grown about five or six feet high!! It seems there is a nice but scary looking purple alien ("Roy") living inside and he comes out on occasion. Roy is using John's head as a place to live while he tries to help the Earth avoid destruction from another race of aliens. To do so, they just travel the world assembling pieces of a broken device to stop the alien invasion. To assist John and Roy, they assemble a team of weirdos from a local weirdo support group. You just have to see these likable freaks to believe them! Countering this force for good are one evil alien and a group of idiotic government workers--a crazed scientist and his two "special" assistants who are very, very funny.

So of course all this sounds weird--and it is. But is also is very engaging, funny and strangely watchable. This is a must-see for lovers of edgy underground cartoons, though I must admit it might be hard to get "normal" people to watch it with you. Also, the humor is a bit adult, with some cursing and references to heterosexuality and homosexuality that might preclude you from letting younger viewers watch it. TRY TO FIND A COPY!! It's worth the search.

FYI--If you look closely at the airplane, it's call numbers are NCC-1701--the same as the Enterprise on STAR TREK.

To say that "the Head" was my favorite show during its actual television run would be an overstatement. I watched it as frequently as I could, but missing it wouldn't mean heartbreak.

The series is about a man named Jim trying to find love and friendship in New York City. The only thing is, an alien encounter left him with a massive head playing home to an alien named Roy. Season one (Which, unfortunately, is the entire show) follows Roy and Jim as they work together to stop an alien invasion from a parasitic species bent on the domination of Earth.

The artistic style seems simplistic and gritty, but definitely has a certain compelling quality to it. The characters move awkwardly and unrealistically, but it's forgivable when you consider it's a show about freaks that was first aired as a segment on a show called "Oddities." Eric Fogel and Ray Kosarin do some downright incredible things with perspective to give every scene a very fresh and interesting feel. And the characters themselves are all well-designed and fascinating to look at.

The story is a little weak and predictable. The usual alien invasion bit with meddling federal agents and a mad scientist. But it has its own quirks to liven it up. And the characters were all fascinating. Unfortunately, since it was such an action-oriented plot, most of Jim's friends seemed underdeveloped and two-dimensional, and Jim himself seemed like a generic Everyman sort, but his alien, Roy, had a distinct and enjoyable personality. And Dr. Elliot is one of the few mad scientists to have a clear background that shows why he is who he is. He's honestly among the most enjoyable villains I've ever seen.

Ultimately it's the jokes that make the show. There are some decent puns, but it's mostly the dead-pan sort of stuff that seems incredibly popular in this, the Family Guy era.

"The Head" was a great show if you were into it, but it definitely wasn't for everybody.

It's amazing that this decade I found out about all these MTV animations other than "Daria" (which I love), "Eon Flux" (great animation, but I don't care for that cartoon), and "Beavis and Butthead" (too uncanny for me *shivers*). First this decade, when it came to other MTV cartoons I had never heard of, it was "Downtown" an animation that was way too short-lived. A couple of years ago, I watched it once a week during the summer! A great experience. I am still pissed off that it was short-lived. Then I got to spend time with "Liquid Television". (Maybe if I were high like those people in the 90s were, I would appreciate it more?!) I kind of liked "Liquid Television," but at the same time, I couldn't stand it. "Cartoon Sushi" was way worse. I hated it. I had to DNF it.

Not that many animated projects came out of MTV's Oddities, which sucks because I was hoping to come across a lot more projects! Now onto the show! So I thought the show was going to be something that I'd see on "Liquid Television," nonsensical, questionable, random, sophomoric, yet entertaining just with a horror touch. But "The Head" wasn't really like that. I thought this was going to be a horror cartoon about an ACTUAL Ave Satani demon living inside Jim's head. But it's a just a cute good alien who uses Jim as a host so they can save the planet together. Yes, this cartoon was bizarre. But it's not completely bizarre. This cartoon grows on you really quickly ~at least it did for me~. Yes, it's gross, but that's when Roy only comes out of Jim's head. There is brain tissue or gunk that spreads out onto the floor and makes a noise whenever Roy pops out. This cartoon wasn't vulgar. And it wasn't doing things for shock value.

Jim's crush, Mona, introduces him to a human anomalies counseling group. The people in the group are important because we see them throughout seasons one and two which I wasn't expecting. This is what adds to the wholesome part of the show. The togetherness and humanity. We get to know more about these characters, and we see episodes from their point of view, and we see Jim, Roy and Mona helping them out. I wasn't expecting this show to touch my heart. Making me feel things. I have a great admiration for cartoons or live action productions that are bizarre but heartfelt. Mister Rogers would've loved this cartoon if he could look past the big heads and brain muck. I loved the voice acting! And I love Mona's monotone voice. It was a little off-putting at first, but I grew to love it, and I love her. She was a great female character.

I was heartbroken when I finished with the last episode. I thought this cartoon had three seasons. It's a pity it was short-lived. I even got to watch a behind-the-scenes episode of how the animation was made! The final stage was made in Korea. Interesting that Koreans were working with Americans in animation in the 90s. I thought it was in the 2000s they started collaborating with the American animations in general.

I do not know what MTV is like nowadays; the last time I paid attention to that channel was in 2017 when they were showing "Floribama Shore", "Jersey Shore" reunions/reboots, "Siesta Key" & "Ridiculousness" garbage. It's amazing how animation is not associated with MTV anymore. They were ahead of their time with "Liquid Television". I hope that someday they go back to their animated roots.

~So if you're someone who loves to watch brain rot or edgelord crap then this cartoon isn't for you.~

Lasted 2 seasons, the 1st collected on video and not sure about the 2nd. The first season was a complete story about the aliens' takeover attempt of Earth, Jim's befriending of the "Human Anomalies" club, and the race to assemble the Anti-Invasion device to save the world. 2nd season went downhill a little going episodic, exploring the origins of the other anomalies besides Jim, but still provided some swell prime-time adult animation and laughs. Too bad it was cancelled, as with all of MTV's best animated stuff.

This was a really interesting show, probably one of the best MTV ever had. Too bad they canceled it, because it's a hell of a lot better than watching Real World 24 hours a day. I don't remember a whole lot about the show but I remember it had a cool story with great animation.