"Men in Black: The Series"
| "Men in Black," one of this summer's most anticipated major motion pictures produced by Columbia Pictures and Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment, becomes an animated television series debuting on Kids' WB! in October 1997. |
 | The "Men in Black" feature film (which stars Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith) as well as the animated series are based on Malibu Comics' comic book series of the same name created by world-renowned comic book writer Lowell Cunningham. |
| "Men in Black: The Series" is a fun-filled, action-packed animated adventure series airing Saturdays at 8:30 AM on Kids' WB! The half-hour series, based on the smash-hit motion picture produced by Amblin Entertainment and Columbia Pictures, explores the possibility that aliens live among us and we don't even know it. |  |
| Aliens, as one might suspect, have been around for so long that there is actually a government team whose purpose is to ensure that foreign beings follow earthly rules and regulations. This organization, better known as Men in Black (MiB), works tirelessly and thanklessly to "protect the Earth from the scum of the Universe." |
| The MiB was organized in 1961, when the Immigration & Naturalization Services of Aliens (INSA) discovered that human beings weren't the only intelligent life form in the galaxy. They learned that a multitude of planets inhabited by other life forms exist beyond our solar system and, as fate would have it, Earth ranked as a "five-star" travel destination for some. After all, Mother Earth has top-notch resources, varied terrain and hundreds of species, making it a great place for vacation, research and unfortunately, crime. |
| Intense negotiations took place between the Intergalactic Travel Commission and the INSA outlining the rules that aliens must obey in order to be granted admission to Earth. The rules state that aliens on Earth must disguise themselves as humans or inanimate objects at all times, acknowledge the unquestioned authority of the MiB, and refrain from engaging in criminal activity of any kind. In exchange for granting the aliens habitation rights, human beings receive some pretty cool previously undiscovered alien technology. (You didn't think that the CD-ROM and 'hip-hop' music were human inventions?!?). Hence, an intergalactic policing agency for alien beings was launched. |
| Being a member of the MiB is not a glamorous job. Once signed on, these agents must cut ties with their past completely, leaving all of their friends, family and fingerprints behind. And, since part of their job is to keep the existence of the alien beings a secret from the public, earthlings never know and can't appreciate when or how often the MiB save lives. |
| The stars of "Men in Black: The Series" are Kay, Jay, Elle and Zed. Kay is the veteran MiB agent, who's been around the block a few times and has seen things beyond most humans comprehension. His life is the MiB and he is fearless, but Kay sometimes loses touch with his humanity. |
| Jay is a rookie with the MiB. He's still learning the ropes and is constantly surprised by what he's up against. A former NYPD cop who was recruited by Kay to be his partner, Jay is enthusiastic, comical and cool. Being partnered with Kay is no picnic for Jay, and he is determined to force Kay to crack a smile -- no easy task. Sometimes Jay misses the life he once had, but he digs the intense action and awesome alien weaponry that are literally "out of this world." |
| Elle, is truly a woman of the 90s -- strong, brilliant, self-confident and a ravishing beauty. She joined the MiB as a research scientist but has goals of one day becoming a full-fledged agent. In the course of her investigative work, Elle is usually able to get close to the heart of the action -- which is exactly where she wants to be! |
| Zed, the head-honcho of the MiB, runs the whole shebang from the MiB Command Center. Extremely intelligent and cunning, Zed tries to acquire as much information as possible from all of the alien races, including their languages, cultures and even their mind-reading techniques. He juggles a million tasks at once while serving as the MiB's cheerleader and commander-in-chief. |
| The MiB Command Center is located at the Immigration & Naturalization Services for Aliens headquarters in Manhattan, near La Guardia Airport. This location serves as a place where all aliens are processed upon arrival on Earth and assigned their secret identities. Ninety- seven percent of aliens assume human likenesses. Assuming the likeness of an inanimate object is allowed with good reason but discouraged as inanimate objects are difficult to keep track of. |
| There are a number of ways an alien can assume a human likeness: some posess the capability to transform themselves; others build their own synthetic human exoskeletons, and some harm humans to take their skins. Some of these ways are, of course, illegal and thus opposed by the MiB. Most alien races, though, recognize and obey the authority of the MiB. |
| Generally, most of earth's alien "visitors" are agreeable, peaceful and law-abiding. However, there are always a few bad seeds, such as the Bugs, which are insect-like aliens. Bugs can possess any or all of an insect's negative characteristics. They consume, infest and pollute, and to make matters worse, they have race-wide memories: whatever one bug experiences, the other members of their particular insect race do as well. The MiB also frequently find themselves up against an intergalactic bounty hunter named Buzzard, who operates outside the jurisdiction of any cosmic law enforcement agency, automatically making him an enemy of the MiB. |
| Even though the MiB will be in business for a long time. These grotesque villains with futuristic weaponry and unpredictable powers prove a constant struggle for the MiB who live by the credo -- Nothing is what is seems. |
| The highly talented voice actors behind the MiB are: Ed O'Ross ("Lethal Weapon," "Dick Tracy") as Kay; Keith Diamond ("Desperate Measures," "Awakenings") as Jay; Charles Napier ("Steele," "The Cable Guy") as Zed; and Jennifer Lien ("Star Trek: Voyager," "Phenom") as Elle. |
| "Men in Black: The Series," executive produced by Walter Parkes, Laurie MacDonald and Richard Raynis, is produced and animated by Columbia TriStar Television for Kids' WB!, The WB Television Network's children's programming service. |
***** Please note that MIB is now on FRIDAYS, too! *****
WEEK NINETEEN
Show #2
"The Buzzard Syndrome"
FRIDAY, 1-16-98
Show #5
"The Undercover Syndrome"
1-17-98
WEEK TWENTY
Show #10
"The Big Sleep Syndrome"
FRIDAY. 1-23-98
Show #1
"The Long Goodbye Syndrome"
1-24-98
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