Mission Hill

From some of the creative minds behind the Simpsons comes Mission Hill. It's a great show that reminds me of real life as a young schmuck in the city. The subtle, but gut-busting situations make for great viewing. I guess the show used to be on the WB, I guess, but it's found its niche as part of Cartoon Network's Sunday night "Adult Swim" block. I wish them many years of success.

This was a great attempt at trying to create an animated show that WASN'T based around an 'overweight father figure who's beset by life's problems'. Oakley and Weinstein used their experience on 'The Simpsons' to put together a really solid show with great characters. But it didn't find much of an audience when it was on the air and they were never given the chance to finish the first season.

Andy French is a wannabe cartoonist who lives with his two roommates in a New York-like hipster enclave called "Mission Hill", when his parents decide to move, they send his nerdy little brother, Kevin to live with him until he graduates.

The show is undertoned with youth culture commentary:Andy is unaware that his beloved 80's slacker peers have moved on into early yuppiedom, the show pre-dates the major gentrification of most major U.S. cities, it was designed to look similar to alternative press comic books and Kevin is obsessed with online role playing games and nerd-centric activities. Even though this is probably the shows greatest contribution, it tends to dates it a little.

It comes as no surprise that the show has become a cult favorite.

This is a great show. Anyone who judges the show on only a few clips and it's poor animation isn't giving it a fair chance. The reason it didn't last on the WB is because it was way over the heads of anyone watching the WB. This is a wonderfully dry and witty cartoon, and the "poor" animation quality is part of this. I was so excited to see it on Cartoon Network and I hoppe that it continues tere for a long time. If you like cartoons and have half a brain, check Mission Hill out.

I remember when "Mission Hill" debuted on the WB in '99 and I never watched it because I didn't think I'd care. However, recently Cartoon Network has started something called "Adult Swim", where every Saturday and Sunday they show more "adult" cartoons. Not necessarily sex and violence filled, but mostly just cartoons that are actually funny rather than the garbage that is out there now for kids. Anyway, in their Sunday night line-up is "Mission Hill" and it's quite possibly one of my favorite adult-oriented cartoons. It never fails to make me laugh and it's written like a very good sitcom. The voice acting is perfectly normal without sounding too "cartoony", but at the same time it contrasts with the animation so that you never forget you are indeed watching a cartoon and that you shouldn't take it too seriously. The characters are well-developed and it's just overall a very hilarious show.

I really wish that somebody would renew this great show. It was well written and acted and was only getting better.

The show was produced by two of the guys that were responsible for the funniest seasons of the Simpsons, and one of them, Josh Weinstein, was also involved in the early days of Mystery Science Theater 3000.