The Head 

Jim and Roy, a friendly violet demonic-looking alien that inhabits Jim's giant head, must stop an alien invasion. Misguided FBI agents and a manipulated mad doctor stand in their way, but Jim finds allies.

Creator:

Eric Fogel

Stars:

Michael Ruschak, Gordon Barnett, Jason Candler

Cast

Series cast summary:
Michael Ruschak	...	Ivan 7 episodes, 1996
Gordon Barnett	...	Himself 2 episodes, 1994-1996
Jason Candler	...	Himself / ... 2 episodes, 1994-1996

Storyline

Roughly-drawn but well-written cult cartoon about alien invasion. Small aliens on Earth, needing human receptacles, expand their hosts' craniums to ludicrous dimensions to use as living quarters. One such alien inhabits an average bloke's head during a mugging, giving him special powers to fight off his attackers. He explains that he's on the trail of an enemy from his planet, who's looking to take over the world. Not believed by anyone, and as a stand-out with his huge head, he teams up with a group of other freaks to save the world. They have to battle not just the alien, but the FBI agents also on the trail - and things aren't helped by his girlfriend, whose head is taken over too.

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Plot Keywords:

alien | fbi agent | alien invasion | fight | mad doctor | 

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Genres:

Animation | Action | Adventure | Comedy | Sci-Fi

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Details

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 August 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

MTV's Oddities Presents The Head

Company Credits

Production Co:

MTV Animation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

22 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Alternate Versions

The video version, "The Head Saves the Earth," runs 110 minutes. When the show aired on MTV, the same 13 episodes (minus commercials and credits) had a running time of around 130 minutes. Chops were made to keep the video's running time under 2 hours.

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Connections

Followed by The Maxx (1995)

User Reviews

Gritty Style, Great Lines, and Interesting Characters

To say that "the Head" was my favorite show during its actual television run would be an overstatement. I watched it as frequently as I could, but missing it wouldn't mean heartbreak.

The series is about a man named Jim trying to find love and friendship in New York City. The only thing is, an alien encounter left him with a massive head playing home to an alien named Roy. Season one (Which, unfortunately, is the entire show) follows Roy and Jim as they work together to stop an alien invasion from a parasitic species bent on the domination of Earth.

The artistic style seems simplistic and gritty, but definitely has a certain compelling quality to it. The characters move awkwardly and unrealistically, but it's forgivable when you consider it's a show about freaks that was first aired as a segment on a show called "Oddities." Eric Fogel and Ray Kosarin do some downright incredible things with perspective to give every scene a very fresh and interesting feel. And the characters themselves are all well-designed and fascinating to look at.

The story is a little weak and predictable. The usual alien invasion bit with meddling federal agents and a mad scientist. But it has its own quirks to liven it up. And the characters were all fascinating. Unfortunately, since it was such an action-oriented plot, most of Jim's friends seemed underdeveloped and two-dimensional, and Jim himself seemed like a generic Everyman sort, but his alien, Roy, had a distinct and enjoyable personality. And Dr. Elliot is one of the few mad scientists to have a clear background that shows why he is who he is. He's honestly among the most enjoyable villains I've ever seen.

Ultimately it's the jokes that make the show. There are some decent puns, but it's mostly the dead-pan sort of stuff that seems incredibly popular in this, the Family Guy era.

"The Head" was a great show if you were into it, but it definitely wasn't for everybody.