And so we say goodbye to Jhonen Vasquez's wonderfully warped cartoon via the most maddening disc in the Invader Zim series, volume 3. It's not to say that the cartoons in this final volume don't measure up to previous efforts, because by and large they do. But you get an aftertaste of disappointment here that is hard to dispel, a feeling that is not present in the previous discs. Just when the show was finally finding its footing (and, it should be added, falling into some narrative traps) the show was canceled. So what we end up with is the skeletal system and musculature of a larger story that we will never know the outcome of. We will never see its skin. Thanks a lot, Nickelodeon.
Another problem with this release is that the twisted Christmas episode is in actuality the version Nick signed off on, not the uncut, unaired version as the packaging claims. So that adds to the disappointment, if you're some sickly uber-fan who doesn't remember what sunlight feels like. For the rest of us, it's just one final shrug of the shoulders, which is about what Zim was worth to the corporate higher-ups anyway. Fitting, then, to bid farewell via an oversight. Maddening, too.
To review, Invader Zim was a cartoon about an Irken alien invader, Zim, obsessed with his self-perceived genius; his malfunctioning robot sidekick GIR, always ready with a quotable, sugar-hyper saying; his human adversaries, the outcast Dib and his perpetually angry sister Gaz; and Zim's constant wheedling and attention-getting antics for the benefit of his Irken rulers, The Tallest. Zim had some of the most advanced alien technology at his disposal to repurpose Earth for Irken conquest. But he was always too ignorant to do much more than make a spectacle of himself and risk completely blowing his cover -- a freakily unnatural-looking house, and a disguise consisting of contacts to make his eyes look human and a bad wig to cover his antennae.
There are several things this disc does get right. Including incorporating all the final, unaired (in the United States) episodes of Zim, nine in all. They feature, as can be expected from the Zim creative team, some whacked-out, surreal, imaginative premises, full of that boundless energy that I've always loved about the show. You can watch as Zim's Voot cruiser takes on Dib's self-pitying personality and mannerisms. Or eavesdrop on Zim and GIR planning to take over the world while eating unholy stacks of waffles. You can learn what happens when Gaz can only taste pork, and the lengths to which she'll go to get her impaired sense of taste back. Or scratch your head and wonder what the writers were thinking when they made an episode about a supernatural soul-stealer who goes shopping, bums a few bucks off Dib, makes carnival rides come to life, then disappears for another millennium.
We also get three longform episodes that really build on the premise of the Invader Zim universe, while still also remaining full of humor and insight. "TAK: The Hideous New Girl" hides trenchant commentary on human affection and its mind-games, as well as giving us a glimpse of a competent, but still deranged, Irken invader. "Backseat Drivers from Beyond the Stars" fills us in on the Irken caste system, its science and its own glaring vulnerabilities (it seems the Irken are nothing without a shipload of snacks). And "The Frycook What Came From All That Space" gives us more of Zim's backstory as we watch him get abducted back into servitude, working a busy register, dancing in a cute fast-food costume full of boiling grease.
I haven't really taken the time to talk about the commentary tracks before now. I'm firmly of the school that thinks commentary is, by and large, a curiosity and not much else. In fact, listening to commentary over my favorite films usually ruins the films for me. I don't want to know what the production assistant was ordering at the time a writer's meeting was scheduled. I don't care about the minutiae of the entertainment business. It's bad enough we have to sit through that in acceptance speeches for award shows -- why must we deplete the magic and turn everything into bony elbows and gray static in our dreams, too?
Luckily, Vasquez, along with Zim's writers, artists and voice actors, become chatty about everything but the show. It's sort of like sitting in at a party where sleep-deprived individuals comment on their favorite episodes, and suddenly forget that's why they're there and start mumbling on about something else. There are a few insights here and there, but mostly, it's along the line of snarky asides and lots of sections silenced out (Nickelodeon had final say on the content of the DVD releases). Unfortunately, on this last disc, you can feel the disappointment in the show being canceled from right under the creator's feet. We hear lots of conjectures and could-have-beens. We learn about future story ideas that were scrapped. We hear about plans for the show that would never come to fruition. It's friggin' depressing.
So shut off the commentary, and watch the episodes. You don't need to know that the scrappy, idiotic "Resistey" rebel force in the "Backseat" episode was going to make welcome return appearances in future arcs. Nor need you know that the planet Foodcourtia from "The Fry Cook" ep was only the beginning in a long line of planets and systems that Vasquez and his writers were developing. A deeper look into the Irken caste system, from huge, ruling brains all the way down to drone workers, also is a passing mention you don't need to concern yourself with. And the introduction of a new character, "Minimoose" is glimpsed briefly in the Christmas episode, but never heard from again. All in all, there's lots of raw fire that will spark your imagination. Just don't dwell on what could have been, lest you write a passionate, useless letter to Nickelodeon.
There's one more thing I want to mention about this final volume. I don't know if it was an ultimatum from the higher-ups, or the writers were simply growing lazy, but running gags start to run rampant in the series on this volume. If I never hear another joke about the size of Dib's head again, it will be too soon. All in all, though, it's unfair to be too angry with the creative team behind Invader Zim. They put out a quality product, and more importantly, they put themselves into every frame of it. I'm not talking just in blink-and-you'll-miss-them cameos in crowd scenes, either. You can feel the care that went into these episodes, from the voices, to the background, to the music, all the way down to the placement of shadows. These are not assembly line productions, but the end result of many sleep-optional nights suffered by funny, dedicated, like-minded writers, artists and producers. It's a pity that Zim never found a home. His naked ambition to take over the world was quashed by the realities of advertising rates and network mangling. You have to wonder what could have been. But what we have, what we'll always have on these discs, will do.
Zim is an enthusiastic, well-meaning alien working hard for the betterment of the universe. Of course, this means trying to purge Earth of the human f...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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