The Maxx

I tried watching one of MTV's newer....TV shows...if they can even be considered that. MTV had some awesome TV shows, Aeon Flux, Liquid TV, Beavis & Butt-Head, and The Maxx: a dark twisted trip into the psyche of a tortured girl trapped in the body of a woman. It was an original piece of work, and I absolutely loved it. MTV used to be about music and TV shows that were actually tolerable. Shame on you MTV!

it truly seems like every time MTV nails something, they throw it away. I fully attribute this to the ever sickening growth of pop culture, and the way that MTV as well as many networks, feel a need to bathe in the conformity of "cuddly" entertainment. in my experience most things being "cuddly" are in actuality extremely non-entertaining. this series/film is a beautifully disturbing piece of art. even as an animation, it is much more a reality then half the rubbish being churned out today. where did it all go?

The Internet Database lists this as a TV show. And yes, it was a series on MTV shown on the "Oddities" program, after "The Head" and before "Aeon Flux" if I recall correctly. But the version I watched this time was a VHS tape with all the episodes run together into a film without annoying credits in between or having to wait a week for the next fifteen minutes.

You have the story of the Maxx, Julie Winters, Sarah and Mr. Gone. The Maxx is a super-hero or a bum, Julie a social worker or a leopard queen, Sarah a girl who should listen to less of The Smiths and Mr. Gone a guy who can't seem to keep his head on. And then there's the other weird creatures...

I use "or" with Maxx and Julie, because part of the fun is trying to figure out which parts of the story are real and which are dreams. Maybe they're all real or dreams. Maybe one of the characters doesn't exist. Maybe only one exists and dreams of the others. You'll have to wait and find out.

I had the comic books before the show came out, and it was one of my favorites. The artwork was spectacular and the story was original -- unlike anything you'll find in Superman or Batman. It will bend your mind, and has strong adult overtones without being obscene or offensive. And the show used basically the same exact artwork (only now it moves) and the same story... guaranteeing that the beauty intrinsically found in the comic would be faithfully reproduced. This was the best show to appear on "Oddities", hands down.

If you like comics of a darker nature or need a good mind trip, this is a show to check out. It's "Donnie Darko" before there was ever such a thing.

The most astonishing thing is that this never went on to become another movie or television series, but I don't say this in disappointment. By keeping it simple, they have sealed this movie in gold and kept it free from the blemishes brought on by successive failures.

I knew I was going to need something good and strong to wash off "Snowed in at the House of Mouse" today, so I rented "the Maxx". I saw bits of it when Mtv aired it as a mini-series and was taken in by the excellent visuals and believable -almost pitiable- cast of characters. But before I gush, a little history is needed here.

Some time in the mid-90's, Mtv actually had a few good shows. No kidding. At the time it pained them to interrupt the music videos (!!!???!!!) for a while to show them, but that's another rant in itself. They had an animated mini-series block called "Oddities". One of these was the grotesque, overplayed "the Head" and the other was "the Maxx".

So what would you say if I told you now that this cartoon is darker, more complicated, and better written than any of the live-action movies in the new release shelves the past three weeks?

Go rent it tonight. This is going to stay with you for a long time.

One of the best animated series of all time.

Here's why...

The writing is some of the best I've ever seen when it comes to animation. It is, at times, utterly confusing and that's the point. You, the viewer, are thrown into the world of "The Maxx." It is as bizarre as the Maxx's psyche and will leave you wondering what you just watched. The amazing cinematography amidst the complexity of storyline make "The Maxx" appealing to the eye as well as the mind.