| Mission Hill | |
|---|---|
 Mission Hill DVD cover. |
|
| Format | Animated Sitcom |
| Created by | Bill Oakley Josh Weinstein |
| Starring | Wallace Langham Scott Menville Brian Posehn Vicki Lewis Nick Jameson Tom Kenny |
| Opening theme | "Italian Leather Sofa" |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 13 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 21–23 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Bill Oakley/Josh Weinstein Productions Castle Rock Entertainment |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | The WB (1999 - 2000) Adult Swim (2002) |
| Original run | September 24, 1999 – August 11, 2002 |
| External links | |
| Official website | |
Mission Hill (formerly known as The Downtowners) is an American animated television series that first aired on The WB in 1999. Although 18 episodes were planned only 13 episodes were produced, but the show was canceled after six were aired. The show was put on hiatus by the WB Network after two episodes due to poor ratings. It returned to the WB in the summer of 2000 but was canceled after four additional episodes. The show went on to develop a cult following, thanks to repeated airings of all 13 episodes on Teletoon's "Teletoon Unleashed" block, Cartoon Network's popular late night programing block, Adult Swim and Too Funny To Sleep, a late night programing block on TBS. Mission Hill was formerly known as The Downtowners, although MTV's production of the similarly titled Downtown forced a name change.
It has also been popular outside of the United States and Canada, receiving broadcasts in Australia, Eastern Europe, Latin America, Spain and New Zealand. Stylistically, the series is recognizable for its bright, neon color palette, and features a peculiar mixture of modern animation and traditional "cartoonish" drawings (dashed lines coming from eyes to indicate line of vision, red bolts of lightning around a spot in pain).
The show was created by Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein, former executive producers of The Simpsons, and the artistic designer was Lauren MacMullan. It featured the voices of Wallace Langham, Scott Menville, Brian Posehn, Vicki Lewis, Nick Jameson, Tom Kenny, Herbert Siguenza, Jane Wiedlin, Tress MacNeille and Lisa Kushell. The theme song was a faster, instrumental version of "Italian Leather Sofa" by Cake.
Mission Hill is not currently available on Itunes and no longer airs on Teletoon or TBS, and the rights to its reruns have expired on Adult Swim. Warner Home Video released all 13 completed episodes on DVD, along with animatics from unfinished episodes and other extras as well, on November 29, 2005.
Contents |
Characters
Main Characters
| Character | Voice actor | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Andrew "Andy" French |
Wallace Langham | A 24 year old in his third consecutive "post-college slump year." Andy is an aspiring cartoonist. From the pilot episode to "Unemployment, Part 1," Andy worked at a waterbed store where his boss was a short, ill-tempered foreign man who frequented strip clubs. From "Unemployment, part 2" to "Plan 9 from Mission Hill," Andy works as an artist for Jim's advertising agency. Though he's often bored and mellow, Andy is easily annoyed by his younger brother, Kevin. |
| Kevin French | Scott Menville | 17 years old. Kevin moved in with Andy when his parents left for Wyoming, bringing his sheltered, suburban mindset to Mission Hill. He hopes to attend Yale University. |
| Jim Kuback | Brian Posehn | In his mid 20s, loft mate Jim has been Andy's best friend since high school. He is extremely tall and lanky, with red hair and a beard. Jim is a genius at all things electronic, whether it's electronic music or computers. He is mellow and able to express a wide variety of sentiments by nuancing the word "Okay." Jim is a high-powered advertising agent who is paid vast amounts of money to alter marketing campaigns to appeal to Generation Y. |
| Posey Tyler | Vicki Lewis | In her mid 20s, Posey, the fourth loftmate, is somewhat a flower child, and very concerned about the health and well-being of her plants. |
| Stogie | None | Andy's Golden Retriever, who can apparently stomach anything from alcohol to remote controls. At one point in the series his primary source of food was eating the couch cushions. |
Neighbors & other characters
| Character | Voice actor | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Gus | Nick Jameson | A gay man in his late 60s, he owns a diner in Mission Hill. He is married to Wally. According to audio commentary by the producers, Gus is based on Broderick Crawford. |
| Wally | Tom Kenny | A gay man in his late 60s, Wally is a projectionist at the local art movie house. He is based on David Niven. He enjoys cinema and ragtime music. In the episode "I Married a Gay Man from Outer Space", it is revealed that he directed a film in the 1950s entitled The Man from Pluto (which was a parody of Plan 9 from Outer Space'). It starred his partner Gus in the titular role, a reference to Tom Graeff's film Teenagers from Outer Space. |
| Natalie Leibowitz-Hernandez |
Vicki Lewis | Late 20s. Politically correct and intellectually well-endowed, Natalie is a professor of Women's Studies at the local college. Sensitive to biases in our culture, she refuses to name her newborn baby so as not to assign it a preconceived gender stereotype. She is of the Jewish faith. She is a working mother who supports both "Baby Nameless" and her non-working "marital partner" Carlos. |
| Carlos Hernandez-Leibowitz |
Herbert Siguenza | Late 20s. He is a struggling artist and stay-at-home dad for Baby Nameless. Unlike his wife Natalie, Carlos is a Christian, his work is, at times, reminiscent of Jackson Pollock, Diego Rivera and Bob Ross. He prides himself on having no discernible style. Carlos and Natalie have a pet snake as a result of an episode involving a lab raid. |
| Gwen | Jane Wiedlin | Early 20s. Andy's on and off again girlfriend, Gwen completed two years of community college before settling in Mission Hill. She met Andy working at Ron's Waterbed World. Someday she'd like to be an accomplished person who achieves her goals and makes a serious contribution to society. |
| Toby Mundorf | Josh Weinstein | 17-years old and one of Kevin's best friends in Mission Hill. His overprotective mother worries a great deal about him, as he frequently suffers from allergies, asthma, and hunger. A born pacifist. |
| George Bang | Bill Oakley | Kevin's other best friend. George works long hours after school in his father's market. George is extremely competitive in everything from taking tests to playing video games. He shares all the same interests as his best friends and is particularly proud of owning the complete Babylon 5 Collectible Card Game. Unlike his friends Toby and Kevin, his parents don't seem to be overprotective, so he is more sarcastic and aggressive than either of them. |
Episodes
Thirteen episodes of the show were produced while five more were written, but never completed. Animatics for some of these episodes were in production at the time of the show's cancellation. It was planned to put these animatics on the DVD for the series, but this never came to fruition. However, several of the animatics—including a completed video animatic and synchronized audio read-through of the episode "Pretty in Pink (Crap Gets in Your Eyes)"—have been released through various internet outlets.
Season One: 1999 - 2002
| # | Title | Airdate | Production code |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Pilot (or The Douchebag Aspect)" | September 24, 1999 | 3950-01 |
|
Andy French, an aspiring cartoonist working at a waterbed store, is forced to take in his annoying little brother, Kevin, after Andy's parents decide to move away to Wyoming and not take Kevin with them. Music: "Burning Flies" by Looper, "Couldn't You Wait" (Acoustic Version) by Silkworm, "Don't Let the Bastards Grind You Down" by The Toasters, "Rude Boy Rock" by Lionrock |
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| 2 | "Andy Joins the PTA (or Great Sexpectations)" | May 26, 2002 | 3950-02 |
| When Andy attends Kevin's parent-teacher conference en lieu of their mother and father, he joins the PTA in order to impress Kevin's English teacher. Meanwhile, Kevin becomes obsessed with an online role playing game. Music: "Machete" by Moby, "Do That Thing" by the Halo Benders, "Major Leagues" by Pavement |
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| 3 | "Kevin's Problem (or Porno for Pyro)" | October 8, 1999 | 3950-03 |
| Kevin faces a moral dilemma when two bullies (Griffo and C-Dog) get blamed for burning down the Mission Hill market, which was an accident Kevin caused after trying to hide a pornographic magazine after one of the bullies catches him masturbating to it. Meanwhile, Jim returns from Japan wearing Day-Glo short-shorts which becomes popular with everyone (except Andy). | |||
| 4 | "Andy Vs. The Real World (or The Big-Ass Viacom Lawsuit)" | June 9, 2002 | 3950-04 |
| Kevin finds a collection of old videos chronicling the time that MTV's The Real World filmed a season in Mission Hill--and how Andy became part of the cast after one of the house mates gets hit by a bus. Music: "Ape Self Prevails in Me Still" by Quasi, "Everybody Hurts" by R.E.M., "Begin" by Lambchop, "Who's Afraid of Elizabeth Taylor" by Joan of Arc |
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| 5 | "Andy and Kevin Make a Friend (or One Bang for Two Brothers)" | June 25, 2000 | 3950-05 |
| Kevin and Andy fight for the affections of George's sister. Meanwhile, Gus gets stabbed in the head and Wally urges him to go to the hospital to have the knife removed. Music: "Ape Self Prevails in Me Still" by Quasi, "Everybody Hurts" by R.E.M., "Begin" by Lambchop, "Who's Afraid of Elizabeth Taylor" by Joan of Arc |
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| 6 | "Andy Gets a Promotion (or How to Get Head in Business Without Really Trying)" | July 9, 2000 | 3950-06 |
| After having his work rejected, Andy decides to abandon his dreams as a cartoonist and become Ron's assistant at the waterbed store, which changes Andy's personality for the worse. Music: "Blue Monday" by New Order, "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" by Culture Club, "Le Freak" by Chic |
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| 7 | "Kevin Vs. the SAT (or Nocturnal Admissions)" | July 2, 2000 | 3950-07 |
| Kevin and his friends work furiously to crack the code for perfect scores on the SATs. Meanwhile, Posey advertises her massage services in a newspaper -- which lands her in trouble with a local pimp. Music: "Blue Monday" by New Order, "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" by Culture Club, "Le Freak" by Chic |
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| 8 | "Unemployment Part 1 (or Brother's Big Boner)" | July 16, 2000 | 3950-08 |
| Andy finds himself unemployed when his boss, Ron, gets arrested for tax evasion and the waterbed store is seized by the government. When Andy can't hold down a job, Kevin goes to Ron to sign a form that activates Andy's unemployment payment--and becomes the owner of Ron's sports car. Music: "Sundown" by Gordon Lightfoot, "In-a-gadda-da-vida" by Iron Butterfly |
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| 9 | "Unemployment Part 2 (or Theory of the Leisure Ass)" | July 14, 2002 | 3950-09 |
| Andy discovers that Jim has a successful career at an advertising agency. This prompts him to jump into the job market when he realizes his generation has turned its back on the slacker lifestyle and left him behind. Music: "Supermarket" by Clemek (from the Run Lola Run soundtrack), "The Spark that Bled" by The Flaming Lips, "9 to 5" by Dolly Parton, "Urban Gentleman" by The Jim Ruiz Group |
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| 10 | "Kevin Finds Love (or Hot for Weirdie)" | July 21, 2002 | 3950-10 |
| Kevin asks out Eunice Eulmeyer, the weirdest girl at his school, in the hopes that her famous scientist father will write him a letter of recommendation for college. Meanwhile, Andy, Jim, and Posey are denied admission to a new nightclub, prompting them to create their own nightclub. Music: "Yo Yo" by Basement Jaxx, "Phalanx" by Jega, "Yakety Sax", "Breaking the Law" by Judas Priest |
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| 11 | "Stories of Hope and Forgiveness (or Day of the Jackass)" | July 28, 2002 | 3950-11 |
| Andy is asked to the Grammys by actress Becca Michelle Butterfield; Posey meditates in an attempt to find nirvana; and Kevin gets involved in a protest when news of an international crisis hits. Music: "Arctic Cat" by The Gloria Record |
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| 12 | "Happy Birthday, Kevin (or Happy Birthday, Douchebag)" | August 4, 2002 | 3950-12 |
| When Kevin becomes depressed, Andy attempts to cheer him up by throwing him a birthday party. Meanwhile, Natalie and Carlos worry that their new pet boa constrictor may pose a threat to Baby Nameless. Music: "Unsung" by Helmet, "Everloving" by Moby, "Cherry Pie" by Warrant. |
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| 13 | "Plan 9 from Mission Hill (or I Married a Gay Man from Outer Space)" | August 11, 2002 | 3950-13 |
| Kevin becomes fascinated with classic films--and uncovers an unseen B-movie Wally directed starring Gus in the 1950s. Music: *"Everybody's Talkin" by Harry Nilsson, "Midnight Cowboy" by John Barry, György Ligeti's "Requiem for Soprano, Mezzo Sprano, two mixed choirs and orchestra" as performed by the Bavarian radio orchestra and conducted by Francis Travis is played as Kevin watches the film 2001: A Space Odyssey. |
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Incomplete Episodes
| # | Title | Written By | Production code |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | "Supertool (or Meditations on a Career in Advertising)" | Ben Kull | 3950-14 |
| Andy and Jim work together on the "Chef-A-Rooni" account at the ad agency. They learn a deep, dark secret about the American advertising business. | |||
| 15 | "Freaky Weekend in the Crappy Crudwagon (or To Grandmother's House We Go)" | Michael Panes | 3950-15 |
| Andy, Kevin, Jim, and Posey take a road trip on Memorial Day Weekend. But, even as the trip progresses, they are unable to agree on their destination. Each one freaks out in turn, leaving Posey in command. Meanwhile, Gus and Wally take care of Stogie. | |||
| 16 | "Crap Gets in Your Eyes (or Pretty in Pink)" | Aaron Ehasz | 3950-16 |
| Andy and Gwen's relationship goes through a rocky period after Andy sleeps with Jim's assistant Stacie. | |||
| 17 | "Premature Metriculation (or Death of a Yale Man)" | Robin Stein | 3950-17 |
| Kevin sinks to his lowest point ever when he pretends to be a terminally-ill boy in order to get a guaranteed admission to Yale. | |||
| 18 | "I Was a Teenage Porn Star (or Bye Bye Nerdy)" | Andrew Kreisberg | 3950-18 |
| Kevin accidentally appears in the background of a porno movie being filmed in the building. When his parents discover this, they force Kevin to move with them to Wyoming, only to find out that Kevin's stay in Mission Hill has changed him. | |||
Location
The show takes place in a district called Mission Hill. Mission Hill is a diverse neighborhood in a much larger city called Cosmopolis. Cosmopolis is depicted as a large modern urban metropolis. The official website states Mission Hill is a mix of Silver Lake in Los Angeles, Wicker Park in Chicago, and Williamsburg in Brooklyn. The exact location of Cosmopolis has never been revealed, as it is a mix of East and West Coast cities. Most of the series takes place in the neighborhood of Mission Hill, although the skyscrapers of Downtown Cosmopolis are seen in the background. In the DVD commentaries, Josh Weinstein says that a large portion of the development of the show was spent developing Mission Hill into a functional, albeit fictional, city. Writers and animators worked together to create fictional advertisements, bands, food, and even bus schedules.
Awards
Mission Hill received the 2000 Pulcinella Award for "Best Series for All Audiences"; the award cited the show's "stylized design and honest approach to sexual and moral issues."
The show won an award from GLAAD for its positive portrayal of a gay relationship.
Trivia
 |
Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (October 2008) |
- The first song in the pilot episode is "Burning Flies" by Scottish indie-pop band Looper.
- The song "Don't Let The Bastards Grind You Down" by ska band The Toasters was featured in the pilot episode.
- It is revealed through a T-shirt that Kevin French had made for himself on the show, that his SAT scores were Math:760 and Verbal:700. These are creator Bill Oakley's SAT scores.
- In episode 5 "One Bang for Two Brothers", Andy calls Gwen who has a Go-Go's poster hanging by the phone. Gwen is voiced by Go-Go's guitarist Jane Wiedlin.
- In the 12th episode, "Kevin's Birthday", the song "Cherry Pie" by Warrant can be heard in the background at his party in Briarhurst, as well in the same episode when Andy and Jim are shown in a flashback the song "Unsung" by Helmet can be heard in the background, and the song "Everloving" by Moby can also be heard during Andy & Kevin's reunion at their parent's old house.
- The DVD version of this show replaces most of the popular music with a generic sound-alike of the original songs (or just generic, royalty-free instrumental music). This is because the rights for these songs ran out several years after the show was cancelled, and since the studio is no longer in business, they could not afford to pay the royalties for the songs to appear on the DVD as they did. The only exception is in "Andy vs. The Real World", where the scene of everyone singing R.E.M.'s "Everybody Hurts" was left in, but not the actual song that closes the episode.
See also
External links
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