Men in Black: The Series (1997–2001) User Reviews (9)

If Will Smith made this look good, then this series makes it look great.

[alanrayford · 8/10 · 24 September 2011]

This series is a testament to the power of the animated medium. MIB: The Series (MIBTS) takes everything established by the wildly popular and immensely cool 1997 flick and runs wild with it. Everything that movie set up was expanded upon here in a manner live action productions can't match. Even the 2002 MIB sequel wasn't able to capture the energy held by this program.

MIBTS covers so much more than the movie, the original film nearly feels obsolete by comparison. We get more, much more detailed info on Agent K's past as well as on the history of the MIB. The ever droll Elle was graduated from NYC's M.E. to a regular roll as the MIB's chief science officer. The Worm's affection for coffee was explained in full. Frank the Pug and Jeebs were fleshed out past being purely comic relief. When not adding detail, MIBTS adds gobs of new material to the mythology of the Will Smith & Tommy Lee Jones blockbuster.

There's Agents Aileen and Eidi, aliens from an off planet branch of the MIB. Zanzar Canicas is an extraterrestrial symbiote who occasionally teams with Agent J—but not for more than 24 hours at a time. Agent X was another extraterrestrial alien agent of the MIB who worked planet-side and held a rather skewed view of humanity. Dr. Zan'dozz Zeeltor was brought in to serve as the MIB's new tech guy whose experiment often had unwanted and comical side effects.

On the bad guy side was Buzzard, an intergalactic bounty hunter who butted heads with the MIB more than once. Dak Jeebs was the psychotic twin brother of Jeebs. We got to see the Bug Queen, mentioned in the original film by Edgar. When not picking his feet or wreaking havoc, the pyrokinetic alien Drekk was always planning on boiling his enemies alive. And then there's Alpha, who's in another class all by himself.

K's former partner, Alpha was the definitive baddie of MIBTS. Going rogue long before J was in the picture, he liked to graft alien body parts to his anatomy. Each organ or limb he stole did more than make him powerful. They also rendered him extremely grotesque. Every time Alpha showed his face, he looked worse and worse as his plans became darker and darker. Finally, towards the end, he looked like a zombie. The agents of the MIB and even the most intimidating E.T. was scared spitless of Alpha—fitting since the body parts he accumulated never came willingly.

While much of the show was stand alone in nature, certain events managed to successfully establish a loose continuity. One of these is J's eventual transformation from being a borderline liability to a bonafide asset in the field. You can tell what season an episode is from based on how effectively he handles a situation and on K's attitude towards him. Aside from this are the numerous appearances of Alpha, Elle's promotion to field agent and numerous additions to the cast all serving to set things in a loose order.

MIBTS effortlessly outshined the movie it was based on and the sequel which came after it. So if you're a fan of animation; irreverent, science-fiction; or the Men in Black franchise, you need to seek this show out. It can be found in syndication on the Hub (in the States) online or on iTunes and is quality programming.

Regarding its availability, WTF Sony? MIBTS ended its run over ten years ago, yet not one episode has been released on DVD? This is a good series fit for the whole family to watch. As such, it deserves a little more respect than this—especially since MIB 3 is due in theaters in 2012. It's time for this gem to be given its due on home video. I'm not talking about 3-4 episodes a disc. I'm not talking about full season box sets either. I want a complete series box set containing all 53 episodes across all four seasons. But, after this much time, the pot should be sweetened.

It should have all the bells and whistles including, but not limited to: character profiles (a who's who of the MIB); an armory feature (detailing all the notable tech); deleted/alternate/extended scenes (if possible); cast and crew interviews; making of featurettes; a photo gallery; a five minute speed through of all the major events on the series, set to an extended mix of the title theme; selected commentary tracks; and a healthy dose of advertising for the upcoming MIB III. For all these features on top of nearly 20 hours of topflight content, you could name your price. It's just something to think about, Sony.

Really Awesome & Well Done Fantasy-Comedy Series With Beautiful Animation.

[lukem-52760 · 8/10 · 12 April 2023]

I remember buying a video of MIB: The Series back in the late 90's when i was a teenager & i loved it. The video only had a bunch of episodes on it (about 6 I think) but i watched the hell outta it because i was already a mega Men In Black fan. I loved the MIB movie & saw it at the cinema in 1997 & it blew me away & i was already a mega Will Smith fan, i still am & consider him to be my all-time favorite actor & rapper!!!, & I've always loved Tommy Lee Jones & add in amazing Alien Creatures & i was hooked!!! MIB is still one of my all-time top 10 fave movies (i also love part 2 & enjoy part 3) & MIB's main monstrous villain EDGAR the bug is one of my favourite movie villains ever!!!

MIB was a big part of my life in the 90's & i still love it all.

Anyway, i loved all things Men In Black, action figures, the movie soundtrack & books & then i discovered the underrated yet excellent animated version.

First off i have to say how beautiful the Animation is, its made by the same incredible artists who did another one of my favourite animated series ever: EXTREME GHOSTBUSTERS!!! They also did the fun Godzilla series too & i think maybe the groundbreaking 90's Batman the animated series, i think so as the art is so similar. Anyway MIB the animated series is full of fun with it's witty humour like the movie & silly playful banter between Agents Kay & Jay & other families faces like Zed & Frank & a whole cast of new awesome creatures to battle against or save.

The series isn't as dark as some of their other work such as Extreme Ghostbusters or Batman, but it still feels slightly darker & edgier than the movie did. Maybe it's the look of the characters, the animation & the creatures but it felt edgier with a hint of darkness at play.

The colourful cast of Aliens look Awesome & the stories are done very well & the episodes are alot of fun & Jay & Kay are very well portrayed in cartoon form, different enough to be there own versions of the hero Agents in their own universe as it doesn't really follow on from the movie.

The voice cast is great & i just really enjoyed it. The colours & look of the show was beautiful.

The 90's gave us some of the greatest Cartoons of all-time in my opinion with greats such as: Extreme Ghostbusters, Batman, MIB, Biker Mice From Mars, Gargoyles, Tales From The Crypt Keeper, Swat Kats, The Mask, Attack Of The Killer Tomatoes, Street Sharks, The New Adventures Of Johnny Quest, Pirates Of Dark Water, The X-Men, Spiderman, Skeleton Warriors, Swamp Thing & many, many more forgotten or underrated gems.

Awesome music/theme tune at the beginning & the end of the show.

If you liked Extreme Ghostbusters or Batman series from the 90's then you will love MIB.

8/10!

[AnnaPagrati · 8/10 · 12 April 2022]

I love the Men in Black franchise so so much! And I had such great expectations for this show. I'm not saying it's not a good show, I just expected a lot more!

A Great Series

[Ginger87 · 23 August 2004]

"Men in Black: The Series" really was a good series. I used to watch it after "Batman Beyond" on Kids WB Saturday mornings. I am HUGE fan of the Men In Black movies and I think "Men in Black: The Series" was a good continuation to the movies.

My favorite characters were the worms. They were cute, funny, and original. I also thought Agents Jay, Kay and Elle were pretty cool. My favorite episodes, and some I even have on video, are: "The Black Christmas Syndrome", "The Jack O'Lantern Syndrome", "The Lost Continent Syndrome", and "The Big Bad Bug Syndrome".

I really enjoyed this show and I give 9/10 stars!

Good, Could Have Been Great

[deathbysloth · 7/10 · 5 May 2022]

This show had a great tone, great voice work, and pretty good writing. If it had been willing or able to take itself more seriously a là Batman: The Animated Series, it could have been a top-tier show. Instead it seems every episode had a mandated appearance by Jeebes, Frank, or The Worns. To me, they were never funny, and the show would have been better without them. Also, I never liked the second Kay as much as the first. If they could bring it back today with the same voice cast and make it more serious, I'd watch the hell out of it.

good, mindless fun!

[willywants · 16 August 2004]

An animated series based on the popular movie of the same name. Jay, Kay and Elle are back as the men in black, a top-secret organization set up to deal with extraterrestrial immigration and keep the general public from knowing that aliens have arrived on Earth. Being an avid cartoon fan, I must admit I really enjoyed "Men in black: The TV series". Voice acting was very good and the alien creatures and various monster featured on the show were awesome. While I will admit the show has it's share of plot holes and flaws (i.e. how K is back despite the fact he was neuralized at the end of the men in black film) but I still really enjoyed watching this show and thought the characters and villians were really cool. Mindless, not question there, but still make an adequate time waster. My rating for "Men in black: The series"--8/10.

A lighthearted romp with fine animation and good actors.

[Kevin-11-2 · 21 February 1999]

No, it's not the sequel to the summer blockbuster, but it's still a great series. We have Kay and Jay together, defending the earth from dangerous aliens, along with Elle at the sidelines and in the labs, and Zed the boss overseeing the whole operation. The stories sometimes seem contrived, but they are entertaining because they reveal some element of our world that makes perfect sense but is incredible. The best part of the series is the interaction between Kay and Jay. Kay has that deadpan attitude, and Jay is the wild eyed wonder. My only gripe is Kay's voice, which doesn't sound anything like Tommy Lee Jones. However, a re-cast in the second season has solved the problem. The animation is very smooth, and the art style is very quirky. The look is very stylized. However, there isn't as much detail to faces. But the settings, like MIB headquarters and vehicles, mainly the Ford LTD with tons of gadgets, are all rendered well. By the way, this series apparently takes place after the movie (there is at least one flashback to it). If you're wondering how Kay rejoined the MIB, there's a comic book called Men In Black (Retribution-note: that word is not on the cover) that bridges the gap.

Truly Excellent American Animation Series

[Smiling_slinky · 16 November 2010]

The MIB Animated series was very enjoyable when I used to watch it. I was impressed at the greater depth in story telling and action compared to other series on US TV. In fact I felt the animated series filled out the characters of K, J, L better than the first film, although I felt Tommy Lee Jones' K was better than the too-serious, monotone, and flat K of the series.

I feel from reading around this show wasn't getting the attention it deserves because when I watched it the series was head and shoulders above other series at holding my interest and being fun.

They had cute parodies like having an Arnold sounding actor taking on the "Predeterminator," having the worms leak the story of the MIB to Hollywood, resulting in a in an animated trailer for the MIB movie, complete with animated Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones. In that way they did a good job of making the series its own entity, away from the film, which some people who didn't follow the series when it was out seem to miss. There were off episodes of course, but for the most part I enjoyed the show very much.

I would go so far as to say the series influenced MIB II, (for worse in my opinion), as rather then keeping with the feel of the first film, it broke off and adding much more worm, who were in character from the series, having all the MIB agents have super human abilities, giving K much less soul than in the first film, spending too much time on random alien characters rather than the main cast, bringing back Jeebs, who was in character with Jeebs from the series. It really was a shame actually, they should have made the film sequel fitting with the first film, and just leaving the series to itself.

Men in Black comes out flat

[Jtalledo · 18 July 2001]

I remember watching this series back when it premiered in 1997 during Kids WB's infancy and I've watched it progressively become worse. The show began decently enough - re-establishing the partnership between Agent J and Agent K that made the movie so memorable. The voice actors, particularly Keith Diamond as Agent J deliver their lines admirably. The writing was and still is relatively top-notch, with a healthy dose of humor.

The rest of the series is extremely flawed. While the character designs are okay, the colors are extremely drab and lifeless, VERY characteristic of Sony animation. The soundtrack just drones on, particularly the monotone theme. Danny Elfman's movie score is WAY better. Heck, they even brought over an instrumental version of Will Smith's catchy but forgettable rap song that played during the closing credits. Why couldn't they use the original movie theme? But the soundtrack is the least of the series' problems.

While the series does right to bring back Agents J, K and Elle as well as Zed, some of other character additions are questionable. The Worms? They were mildly funny break room puppets in the arcade, but their squeaky voices and obsession with coffee in the series is definitely pushing it. It wouldn't be half as annoying if they didn't build ENTIRE EPISODES around them. Jeeves? Maybe, but if he keeps selling contraband to alien terrorists, why doesn't he get arrested? The head-shrinking thing was funny just once. Frank the Pug? Why?

The show fails to be fully faithful to the movie - it seems like the MIB shoot first and ask questions later in the animated series. As a result, the slick image of the MIB from the movie is totally lost. Sometimes it's a wonder that they blow so many things up and get into firefights and are never noticed.

The new characters are just plain bad. Agent Elle's partner Agent X is just terribly annoying. Elle was way better as a lab technician. And what's up with her personality shift? She's gone from the cool personality in the movie and up until season five to a crazy hothead. Even more annoying is the over-happy new alien lab technician. Someone should blast that moron with a noisy cricket.

Men in Black: the series may be decent enough for little kids, but for older viewers, it's certainly a far cry from Batman: The Animated Series. While is does try to add some coherent continuity and decent storylines, it's extremely disappointing for fans of the movie like me and cartoon enthusiasts.