Earthworm Jim

[Spark Of Spirit]

Back in the 1990s there were a lot of video game to cartoon transitions. Mario, Sonic, Mega Man, Street Fighter, even Bubsy! There were tons of series floating around out there at the time, and while that's not the case so much anymore (since few video games even attempt to be kid-friendly anymore) one of the better ones was Earthworm Jim.

Everyone knows that the appeal of EWJ when it came out on the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo Entertainment System was that it felt like you were playing a cartoon. The humor was bizarre, the action was comical, and the aesthetics (atmosphere, sound, and music) were way ahead of their time. So when it was made into an actual cartoon, the fit was obvious. The show didn't last very long, but I'm still not really sure why. It was funny and well-liked, and pretty much exactly how more video game to cartoon adaptions should have gone (as opposed to stuff like Mortal Kombat which just totally missed the mark), but nonetheless it was a good show for as long as it lasted.

Thankfully it's being released on DVD soon enough, so hopefully the show will get a second look. Maybe I'll give this a review when I get a copy.

[Avaitor]

I've only seen the pilot a couple of years ago out of curiosity. I liked it, but I didn't get a chance to pursue the rest.

I'm hoping that I can find this for cheap.

[Speedy]

I only saw a few episodes of EWJ as a young teen, but I got the chance to see the rest in the last week.  The first season is honestly not very good; it's a lot of wacky, random situations but wacky, random situations in and of themselves aren't that funny.  The only stand-outs in season 1 to me were "Sword of Righteousness" and "Bring Me the Head of Earthworm Jim".  But the second season is a big improvement, with the same type of fourth-wall breaking humor that Freakazoid! did so well, and the send-ups of superhero tropes that The Tick did so well.  I guess the writing staff just needed to find the show's groove, but sadly by the time they did, it was cancelled.

[Lord Il]

Me and the oldest nephew were talking about this series only last year as we had some fond memories of it. We were both pretty much confused by how it got cancelled at its peak. Interestingly enough, we had no idea this was ever released on disc yet. I guess we just figured the series got doomed to oblivion by its relatively short run.

I'd be up for getting the complete set for a fair price.

[gunswordfist]

is it on netflix?

[Spark Of Spirit]

No. It's usually pretty cheap on DVD, though. Under $20.

I always thought it was a shame it was canceled.

[gunswordfist]

of course. netflix has nothing. lol

[Avaitor]

The first Kids WB! line-up was pretty great.

Animaniacs
Pinky & the Brain
Freakazoid!
Earthworm Jim
The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries

Granted, Animaniacs was never really the same after leaving Fox, and S&T wasn't really more than serviceable, but what a heck of a morning that must have been.

[gunswordfist]

i hated s&t. so dull.

i have seen like two snippets of ej. a shame i never got to see more back then.

[Speedy]

I love how surly the narrator got in season 2.  (paraphrasing)  "Our heroes are passing through the forest-  why am I tell you this like you're stupid?  You have eyes, you can see it happening!"

Favorite episodes from season 2:
-Hyper Psy-Crow
-Peanut of the Apes
-Lounge Day's Journey Into Night
-The Wizard of Ooze (perhaps the best WoO parody I've ever seen)

[Goldstar]

Earthworm Jim: TAS was pretty cool, while it lasted. The series never quite captured the look and feel of the games, but it was still good for a few laughs. Dan Castellenetta was good as the voice of Jim.

[gunswordfist]

hey, both stars are back!

[Daikun]

New series announced!

Check out the website and trailer!

https://www.beyondthegroovy.com