Invader Zim clip, episode 6a, "Career Day"

"Invader Zim" is an animated television series that ran on the Nickelodeon television network between 2001 and 2003. The network was concerned about the percentage of their older demographic they were loosing to Cartoon Network's "[adult swim]" programing block. To combat this they hired Jhonen Vasquez, the creator of the comic book series "Johnny the Homicidal Maniac," to create a new cartoon series targeted at an adult audience.

"Invader Zim" told the story of a lone alien invader who is sent to some obscure planet at the edge of the known universe (Earth). He believes he has been sent to conquer the planet, when in reality his superiors sent him there to get rid of him. The only human on to Zim's scheme is a young aspiring paranormal investigator, Dib.

The show repelled and confounded the network programers who found it overly grotesque and disturbing. Episodes routinely involved Zim engaging in diabolical plots such as harvesting the organs of elementary school children. The second episode in particular ended with a child getting his eyes ripped out of his skull by mechanical claws and replaced by robotic duplicates. (what were they thinking of when they hired the creator of "Johnny the HOMICIDAL MANIAC")

The show was canceled in the middle of its third season with many already finished episodes left unaired. The show however developed a devoted cult following, and the show became a success when it was released on DVD.

This clip comes from one of the more tame episodes "Career Day." At school the children are paired with a future career mentor. Dib gets his wish granted to be paired with a professional paranormal investigator. The investigator "Bill" turns out to not as good of an investigator as Dib was hoping for. In this clip Dib gives Bill a short lesson on "Occam's Razor."

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• ZimSkeptic