Actually, those are places that Ernest went. But the new Williams Street/Dipshot Films show, Tom Goes to the Mayor certainly has the potential to go for miles. Its extremely inexpensive animation (mere “clipart-style” rotoscoped drawings with no lip sync) and extremely small staff means a nearly inexhaustible number of episodes can be produced. That could have been a horrible thing. Thankfully, that turns out not to be the case, as the show is actually above average. I think the AS audience will mostly be happy with the series.
The concept literally sells itself. The show is about Tom Peters, a new citizen in the city of Jefferton who goes to the Mayor with ideas. This simple premise, combined with the show’s seemingly-unscripted conversational humor, gives the show a feeling of genuine brainstorming, as the two madmen of the town concoct schemes so preposterous that they often put everyone’s lives in danger.
Which is not to say that the show does not have its problems. As with any retroscripted show (such as Home Movies), there are a few scenes that simply fall flat. Some people may not care for the supporting cast and guest characters such as Jack Black and Kyle Gass, who eat up plenty of screen-time in episode 1, but hardly deliver anything memorably funny. The show is at its best when it is about Tom, the Mayor, and the City Council.
The show already has a great sense of comic timing, it just needs to keep rolling with it and find its groove to become a real standout of the Sunday night block. If it can’t do that it may find itself someday forgotten just like Brendon Small, but if it can improve upon itself, it has the potential to break the comedy block’s six-month unfunny streak.
Tom Goes to the Mayor premieres tomorrow night, November 14, at 11:30 E/P on Adult Swim.
See Toon Zone’s other reviews of this program:
“Tom Goes to the Mayor” Starts Slow, But Has Potential
“Tom Goes to the Mayor” Now With Bear Traps!
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