Invader Zim

Its been a while since I sat down and watched this show. I forgot how much I loved it. Jhonen Vasquez is well known for his graphic novels that have an...interesting sense of humor and style. They're not exactly kid friendly so I have no idea what the hell Nickelodeon was thinking when they got Jhonen to produce an animated series for them. But, it kinda worked out because we got an edgy, dark, and really unique series. Invader Zim is about Zim, who is sent on a fake mission to conquer Earth by his leaders because he completely screwed up their first attempt at universal domination. On Earth Zim and his faithful SIR-unit robot sidekick Gir study the human population (who are largely stupid and disgusting) and they come up with stupid ideas to enslave or destroy said population. Zim's schemes are often thwarted by the plans own flaws or by Zim's arch-nemesis Dib, a school kid whose freakishly obsessed with paranormal research. The two often come at odd and usually hilarity ensues.

Its hard to really find something to say about invader Zim that hasn't already been said. The most intriguing thing about the show is how its sense of humor is so unique and clearly of the shows own creation. Most of the humor tends to come from the odd use of a variety of animals (notably piggies and mooses) as well a wonderful disregard for human life. Jhonen Vasquez's whacked-out style works perfectly for the an animated series. His style has more appeal for adults than children, with its dark and sometimes morbid tones and sometimes shocking violence. There's also reference upon reference to science fiction stories and movies along with plenty of jokes that'll fly over the heads of the younger viewers. All these factors seem to have been too much for the figureheads at Nickelodeon too handle as they pulled the plug on the show in its second season.

The characters all have these quarks that would only work with them. Zim has a tendency to go on long rants about his plans and his delusions of grandeur always make him a delight to listen to, thanks in part to Richard Horvitz impeccable voice work. His sidekick GIR may be the only character that can get away with just saying random crap all day. He's adorable and he's one of those characters who's fun to watch do anything, having that right level of idiocy that makes him funny as opposed to annoying. Dib can fall into the annoying category from time to time but his insane attempts to get everyone to see that Zim is an alien are a treat. You really have to feel bad for the poor kid that just wants to help the human race, who in return, think of him as a freak. Its a shame that Nick couldn't handle the show, because it was really starting to get intriguing towards the end, with story arcs popping up here and there along with a greater importance on continuity (and an episode where Zim eats waffles). The show's cancellation was a tragic lost (especially with the pure junk that Nick put it in its place), but at least for a while we got to watch one of the best animated shows in the last decade.