MEN IN BLACK: THE SERIES
(WB, October 11, 1997-June 30, 2001)
Amblin Television, Adelaide Productions, Columbia TriStar
Television
MAIN CAST:
The question of whether or not we’re alone in the
universe is one that has danced in the minds of scientists and common man
alike. Is there life on other planets? In other galaxies? Have they ever been
to Earth? And if so, why do they only target rednecks and cattle? And don’t
they have anything better to do than make lawn art? These are the kinds of
questions answerable only by the Men in Black.
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| The original comic. |
Men in Black started out as a three-issue mini-series published by Aircel Comics, the
insulation company-turned-independent publisher run by Barry Blair, in 1990. The
concept was created by writer Lowell Cunningham
after his friend introduced him to the concept of the men in black: government
agents that wore suits and sunglasses and drove around in black vehicles to
hide all evidence of the existence of aliens by any means necessary. Similarly, Cunningham’s Men in Black (also
known as MIB) used the same--if not more extreme--methodology. To keep the
premise from getting stale, his MIB also dealt with all aspects of the
paranormal including ghosts and monsters.
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| Agent K "recruits" Agent J. |
The primary focus of the book was Agents K (sometimes
depicted as Kay) and J (sometimes Jay). Agent K forcibly recruited Agent J, a DEA agent, during an undercover drug sting. He
threatened J with a memory-wipe from his “neuralyzer” device that
would leave him unable to explain the operation’s failure to his bosses unless
he joined the agency. The neuralyzer was the key instrument in the agency’s
ability to keep the public unaware of strange phenomenon by wiping out all
memory of an encounter and replacing it with a new memory suggestion.
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| Farmer vs. alien. It doesn't end well. |
While Agent J became K’s partner, K regarded him as
completely expendable, kept secrets from him, and made morally questionable decisions
involving him. Essentially, K was corrupted by the love of the power the agency
gave him, according to an interview by Cunningham in the series’ first issue. Their
direct supervisor was Agent Zed who was heard but never seen and hinted at not
actually being human. Another agent, Agent Ecks, went rogue when he discovered
that the MIB’s true purpose was to reshape the world into their own image by
keeping the supernatural hidden.
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| First film promo poster. |
The series proved a success and was followed-up the
next year by a second three-issue series called Book II; published by Aircel’s
new owner, Malibu Comics. Both series were drawn by Sandy Carruthers.
Producers Walter F. Parkes
and Laurie MacDonald came
across the comic and optioned the rights to it in 1992. They hired Ed Solomon to write a script that
was very faithful to the comics and sought Barry Sonnefeld to direct after
seeing his darkly humorous films The Addams Family and
Addams Family Values, which were adapted from the Charles Addams comic strip. When Sonnefeld was unavailable, Parkes
and MacDonald considered other options before deciding to wait for him to be
free.
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| The main receiving area of MIB HQ. |
Production began on Men in Black in 1996. While filming, numerous changes were made to
the concept and the script. The agency became more benevolent, focused solely
on monitoring and policing alien visitors and those who remain as secret
citizens on the planet since they made first contact back in the 1960s. The
secret, of course, was to avoid a worldwide panic at discovering not only are
we not alone in the universe, but the universe was already here. Sonnefeld set
the movie in New York City as a result, feeling its citizenry would be more
tolerant to oddly-behaving aliens disguised as humans as well as a great number
of the buildings there resembled space transports. Operating independently of
the government, MIB was financed by patents on technology appropriated from
alien encounters such as Velcro and minidisc. Unlike the traditional firearms
of the comics, the MIB used more advanced weaponry and tools, including the
neuralyzer (whose effects could be blocked by the sunglasses they wore). Their
primary mode of transport was an unassuming black 1987 Ford LTD Crown
Victoria that held an advanced power plant under its hood and could
transform for a burst of speed. As MIB headquarters was the arrival point for
aliens to arrive on Earth, production designer Bo Welch modeled it after the TWA
terminal at John F.
Kennedy International Airport.
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| Agents K, J and L. |
The characters were given backgrounds, something the
comics stayed away from. Agent K (Tommy
Lee Jones) was just a kid who stumbled upon the first meeting between the
aliens and the agents; opting to join the organization and cut off all ties to
his former life as all agents are required to do. Agent J (Will Smith) was NYPD detective James
Darrell Edwards III who was recruited by K when he ran down an alien
perpetrator on foot. Smith was cast after the original choices of Chris O’Donnell and David Schwimmer turned down the
part because Sonnefeld liked his performance in Six Degrees of Separation
and his wife was a fan of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
K, while grizzled and jaded, was more human than his comics counterpart and
took a mentorship role to J. Agent Zed (Rip Torn) was also fully seen,
and the center of the MIB’s intelligence-gathering and communications were
handled by a pair of one-eyed tentacle aliens known as The Twins: Idikiukup and
Bob.
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| Agent L faces down Edgar's brother. |
Men in Black dealt
with the arrival of Edgar the Bug (Vincent
D’Onofrio), who wanted to take the tiny galaxy possessed by the Arquillian
race in order to destroy them. The MIB had to stop Edgar and retrieve the
galaxy before the Aquillians destroyed the planet in order to keep it out of
the Bugs’ hands. The film ended with K wanting to retire, having trained J to
be his replacement rather than his partner. J in turn gained a new partner in
Laurel Weaver (Linda Fiorentino),
a coroner who became entangled in their adventure.
Released by Columbia
Pictures on July 2, 1997, the film became a box office success grossing
$589.4 million. Marvel Comics, who came to
own the franchise through their purchase of Malibu in 1994, released several
comics to promote the film. One was an adaptation of the film;
another was Retribution, which followed the first movie and saw K returned to active duty
via de-neuralization (similar to what would happen in Men in Black 2); Far Cry had Cunningham return to write a continuation of the
original comics’ continuity; and a reprint of the original
first issue in association with defunct retailer American Entertainment.
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| Making animation look good. |
To capitalize on the film’s success, an animated
series based on the movie was put into production by Amblin Television,
Adelaide
Productions and Columbia
TriStar Television. Developed by Duane Capizzi, Jeff Kline and Richard Raynis, the series
largely took up where the film left off, however there were some changes made.
Agent K (Ed O’ Ross & Gregg Berger) didn’t retire and was made to seem more
stiff and emotionless. Agent J’s (Keith Diamond) personality contrasted K’s as
he was lively and held on to his humanity. He was depicted as more of a rookie
for comedic effect, however; particularly every time he was sent flying by the
kickback from his signature weapon from the film, the Noisy Cricket (J
would later acquire a silencer that put an end to that recurring gag). J’s new
partner from the end of the film, Agent L (Jennifer Lien & Jennifer
Martin), became a veteran agent who spent most of her time in MIB’s lab before
eventually becoming a field agent. Zed (Charles Napier) was just as no-nonsense
as K, rather than displaying some of the sarcastic wit he did in the film. Also
present were the coffee-mooching Worm Guys (Patrick Pinney and Pat Fraley) that
hung out in MIB’s break room, the Twins (also Pinney and Fraley), and MIB
informant Frank the Pug (Eddie Barth).
 |
| Jack Jeebs. |
Tony Shalhoub reprised his role of Jack Jeebs from
the movie for the first season. Jeebs was an alien who worked in a pawn shop
that was actually a front for illegal alien goods and sometimes informant for
the MIB (after they shot head his off first, usually—don’t worry, it grows
back). He was replaced by Billy West for the remainder of the show’s run.
D’Onofrio also returned in several episodes to voice other Bugs that came to Earth as
well as the Emperor
Worm. Agent Ecks from the comic was reimagined as Alpha (David Warner), K’s
former mentor who became corrupt and sought to become all-powerful by grafting
alien parts onto his body. The Agent X name was recycled into L’s new partner (Adam Baldwin), a green-skinned
alien from the G-Dan galaxy as a means to smooth human-alien relations.
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| Rogue agent Alpha. |
Men in Black:
The Series debuted on October 11, 1997 on The WB as part of their Kids’ WB programming block.
It was written by Capizzi along with Steve Roberts, Mark Amato, Alexx Van Dyne, Thomas Pugsley, Greg Klein, Greg Weisman, Dean Stefan, Robin Jill Burger, Steve Melching, Tony Schillaci, Tony Reitano, Nick DuBois, Tony Sommo, Marsha Griffin, Len Uhley, Julia Lewald, Michael Edens, and Baz Hawkins. The series’ theme was
composed by series composer Jim Latham.
An instrumental version of Smith’s “Men in Black”, written
by Smith, Patrice Rushen, Terri McFadden
and Freddie
Washington that served as the movie’s theme, was used as the show’s closing theme over the
credits and mug shots of various aliens. The series ran for four seasons,
expanding to also include reruns on weekdays. The fourth season received a slightly modified intro
to incorporate the new characters introduced.
Although a toy line by
Toysite was announced and promoted at the 2000 Toy Fair, it was never released. Instead
the only toys based on the series came from both Burger King and Wendy’s as part of their kids meals. In 2000, Crave Entertainment
produced two video games based on the series for the Game Boy Color. In the
first, Men in Black: The Series, the player was only allowed to play as
Agent J while using various weapons to work through levels reminiscent of
episodes. Men in Black: The Series 2 allowed the player to switch between
Agents J and K. In 2001, Infogrames
released Men in Black: The Series –
Crashdown for the PlaySation that
had Agents J and K in a first-person shooter combining multiple episodes
together into one story.
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| The American DVD release. |
In March of 1999, Sony Pictures released three
two-episode VHS
collections; one containing a bonus episode. The remainder of the first
season saw
release in 2003 outside of North America. In 2004, UCA Pictures released
the first three episodes to DVD
outside of North America, however low sales resulted in no further releases. Sony
Pictures Entertainment released the complete first season on DVD in 2007 as a
box set in Australia and between two
volumes in the United Kingdom. In May of 2012, in time for the release of Men in Black 3, the
first season came
to DVD in the United States initially as a Target
exclusive. No further releases of the series have been planned or announced,
but the entire series was made available for streaming on Netflix.
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| Now, just look right here for a moment... |
EPISODE GUIDE:
Season 1:
“The Long Goodbye Syndrome” (10/11/97) – When J destroys a Skraaldian
on a mission, he becomes the most wanted man on the planet Skraal.
“The Buzzard Syndrome” (10/18/97) – J and K help alien cop Treblor
track down escaped convict Z-Ron, but Treblor may not be who he says he is.
“The Irritable Bow-Wow Syndrome” (10/25/97) – The Charnock pursue
Frank after he accidentally swallows a black hole generator.
“The Alpha Syndrome” (11/1/97) – J and K stumble upon a theft
committed by K’s former mentor Alpha, who has upgraded himself with alien body
parts.
“The Undercover Syndrome” (11/8/97) – J goes undercover as a Tarkan
bodyguard to protect the Trade Minister of Tarka at an alien conference.
“The Neuralyzer Syndrome” (11/15/97) – J trying to learn more about
K’s past leads him to accidentally neuralyze K back to the age of 16.
“The Symbiote Syndrome” (11/22/97) – J fills in for an infected K on a
mission to transport a symbiote to New York, but Buzzard has his sights set on
the symbiote for his boss.
“The Inanimate Syndrome” (12/6/97) – Intergalactic cop Eileen, an old
flame of K’s, helps the MIB track down an escaped shapeshifter.
“The Psychic Link Syndrome” (12/13/97) – Forbus is absorbing human
body fluids and allowing K to share in his experiences through a psychic bond.
“The Head Trip Syndrome” (12/20/97) – J uses a device that
accidentally increases his intelligence, but before he can fix himself he has
to stop an alien bigot from wiping out the MIB in the past.
“The Elle of My Dreams Syndrome” (1/10/98) – When the MIB attempt to
save the crew of a space shuttle, L has to enter J’s dreams to save him from a
Vermax.
“The I Married an Alien Syndrome” (2/14/98) – J believes K is an alien
spy for the Blastula who are currently increasing Earth’s temperature to
colonize it.
“The Take No Prisoners Syndrome” (5/16/98) – MIB’s inmates escape and
take over the HQ, leaving only J and the worms to stop them.
Season 2:
“The Little Big Man Syndrome” (9/19/98) – J is shrunk down to
investigate the Fmeks thefts of Arquillian human suits.
“The Quick Clone Syndrome” (9/26/98) – J uses quick clones to get some
rest, but Alpha uses one of them to steal Zed’s brain.
“The Heads You Lose Syndrome” (10/3/98) – Alpha’s alien attachments
are failing and decides to use Troy the symbiote to rectify that.
“The Dog Eat Dog Syndrome” (10/10/98) – Frank’s old associate Drekk is
running loose on Earth, but if he helps MIB he could be boiled alive.
“The Big Bad Bug Syndrome” (10/24/98) – The Queen of the Bugs puts a
bounty on the heads of J, K and L for the death of Edgar.
“The Jack O’Lantern Syndrome” (10/31/98) – While trick-or-treating
with the worms, J discovers an alien kidnapping children.
“The Sonic Boom Syndrome” (11/7/98) – J and K team-up again with
Eileen and her partner to track down an escaped alien.
“The Bad Seed Syndrome” (11/14/98) – Parasites from alien seeds take
over MIB and threaten the world.
“The Fmall, Fmall World Syndrome” (11/21/98) – The Fmeks break into
MIB to steal a growth formula and kidnap one of the worms, believing him to be
its creator.
“The Black Christmas Syndrome” (12/12/98) – MIB has to rescue Santa
Claus from Drekk.
“The Supermen in Black Syndrome” (1/16/99) – J, K, L and three alien
criminals are all given super powers.
“The Star System Syndrome” (1/23/99) – K and J are sent to Hollywood
to investigate the disappearance of alien actors.
“The Blackguard Syndrome” (2/6/99) – J and K head into space to rescue
MIB’s satellite from Alpha and Dak Jeebs.
Season 3:
“The Worm-Guy Syndrome” (10/30/99) – J and K are merged with the worms
while trying to stop Kalifadik law enforcement agents from sending the guilty
to alien prisons via teleportation guns.
“The Cold Sweat Syndrome” (11/6/99) – Alpha and Dak, now merged, end
up in Antarctica where they discover a powerful alien spaceship.
“The Puppy Love Syndrome” (11/13/99) – Frank’s new girlfriend Veronica
secretly works for Javkor who is out to steal MIB’s secrets.
“The Lost Continent Syndrome” (11/20/99) – K and J have to prevent the
restoration of the continent of Atlantis.
“The Way Out West Syndrome” (11/27/99) – J and K travel back in time
to the wild west to stop an alien in his vulnerable state before he can
threaten Phoenix in the present.
“The Mine, Mine, Mine Syndrome” (12/4/99) – MIB faces problems when
The Bug Queen and The Emperor Worm end up staying at the same hotel.
“The Bye-Bye Worm Syndrome” (12/11/99) – J tries to clear the worms’
names after Zed deports them for their latest mishap.
“The Lights Out Syndrome” (1/29/00) – J has to help a blinded K to
stop the Darkons from creating a permanent eclipse.
“The Out to Pasture Syndrome” (2/12/00) – Zed retires, K is put in
charge, and Alpha returns more powerful than ever.
“The Sardines and Ice Cream Syndrome” (2/26/00) – While the Fmeks
shrink everything, J becomes pregnant when he accidentally swallows an alien
egg.
“The I Want My Mummy Syndrome” (3/12/00) – A Hyperian, dressed like an
Egyptian mummy, is awakened.
“The Baby Kay Syndrome” (4/23/00) – When the delegate’s daughter
they’re watching is kidnaped, K is exposed to her age-regressing spray and
de-ages into a baby.
“The Bad Doggie Syndrome” (4/30/00) – Frank’s body is taken over by
the king of the Tunstons, who are trying to conquer Earth.
“The ‘J’ is for James Syndrome” (5/7/00) – J joyrides in the LTD and
ends up fired just as the bugs attack.
Season 4:
“The Musical Chairs Syndrome” (9/16/00) – Dr. Zeeltor takes over the
lab for new field agent L while New York is threatened by the Barooga.
“The Spectacle Syndrome” (9/23/00) – J and K have to rescue the worms
from an alien world resembling ancient Rome.
“The Back to School Syndrome” (9/30/00) – J poses as a high school
student to protect an alien prince.
“The Opening Gambit Syndrome” (10/7/00) – MIB has to get information
from Alpha about how he stopped Vangus the first time he came to Earth.
“The Future’s So Bright Syndrome” (10/21/00) – J gets sent to the
future and discovers worms rule the Earth.
“The Loose Ball Foul Syndrome” (4/14/01) – K is on the same
baseball-like tiny planet that the Fmeks decide to conquer.
“The Hots for Jay Syndrome” (4/21/01) – Alien food gives J the ability
to throw fire.
“The Circus Parade Syndrome” (4/28/01) – An alien gang comes to Earth
after discovering someone they’re looking for is hiding out there.
“The Virtual Crossfire Syndrome” (5/5/01) – When J attempts to beat a
virtual reality training program, the program goes haywire and becomes deadly.
“The Breaking News Syndrome” (5/12/01) – An alien film crew follows
the MIB around on the job just as Drekk returns.
“The Zero to Superhero Syndrome” (5/26/01) – When an alien becomes a
superhero, MIB seeks to stop him before his actions attract unwanted galactic
attention.
“The Endgame Syndrome: Episode 1” (6/23/01) – Zed decides to reveal
MIB to the world after Alpha, Vangus and the Ixions band together.
“The Endgame Syndrome: Episode 2” (6/30/01) – Despite MIB successfully
resisting the attack, the Ixions plan to unleash their ultimate weapon that
will kill everyone on the planet.
Originally posted in 2016. Updated in 2019.
Originally posted in 2016. Updated in 2019.
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