Butt-Ugly Martians (found CGI animated TV series; 2001-2004)
Butt-Ugly Martians was a 3D animated television series produced by Mike Young Productions, LLC (now Splash Entertainment) in 2001. The series aired in the United Kingdom on ITV in 2001, and in the United States on Nickelodeon in early 2002. It consisted of two seasons with a total of 26 episodes and filled a 30-minute time slot.
Plot
The show revolves around three Martians that have landed on Earth in 2053 in order to conquer it. The Martians - B-Bop, 2T, and Doo-Wah instead grow fond of Earth culture and quickly adapt. In order to stay on Earth, the Martians keep their boss Emperor Bog and his henchman Dr. Damage in the dark by staging fake invasion reports with the help of three human allies - Mike, Angela, and Cedric. Eventually, an alien fanatic named Stoat Muldoon catches onto them and attempts to hunt them down. Using the power of "BKM" (Butt-Kicking Mode), the Martians work together to fight the forces of other alien invaders and keep Earth safe so they can just relax and hang out.
Reception
Though the series saw mild success in the United Kingdom, Butt-Ugly Martians met with severe backlash from viewers in the United States. Critics panned the series for its lacklustre 3D animation and model design, while viewers felt that the series was replacing Invader Zim - a more popular series at the time.[1][2] These same viewers often claimed the series had stolen ideas from Invader Zim, despite the two series bearing little actual similarities besides the theme of aliens. These claims may have arisen when Butt-Ugly Martians premiered on Invader Zim' s time slot.
Production
Because of the 3D graphics used in the show, production costs were high per episode. This led to the show being heavily supported by merchandising, which itself was big.[3] Such merchandise included video games, books, toys, and possibly a magazine.[4]
Availability
As part of the heavy merchandising of Butt-Ugly Martians, many episodes have been released on DVD. Still, not every episode was available to the general public. The show's relative unpopularity in the U.S. made the likelihood of VHS recordings very limited. Though unconfirmed, potential web-based content may have been lost as well.[5]
Starting on September 14th, 2016, the YouTube channel PopTeenToons began uploading episodes of the series periodically. However, the channel has since removed these uploads, once again rendering several episodes lost.
On January 15th, 2019, YouTuber Originalsboy11 uploaded the episode "Bye Bye B-Bop" onto their channel.
Starting August 12th, 2019, YouTuber ToonyCartoony began uploading episodes. The only episode of the series that is currently unavailable is "If the Suit Fits."
On November 13th, 2019, LMW user AiiR shared a MEGA folder with all 26 episodes of the show downloaded from PopTeenToons, including "If the Suit Fits," marking the entire series as found.[6]
Episode List
# | Episode Title | Status |
---|---|---|
1 | Playback/Payback | Found |
2 | Jax the Conqueror | Found |
3 | Meet Gorgon | Found |
4 | You Bet Your Planet | Found |
5 | Mike in Space | Found |
6 | Koo Foo | Found |
7 | The Big Bang Theory | Found |
8 | Damage's Little Girl | Found |
9 | Introducing... the Ultimate Infi-knight | Found |
10 | Brothers From Another Planet | Found |
11 | That's No Puddle, That's Angela! | Found |
12 | Out of Sync | Found |
13 | Bog's Not So Dumb After All | Found |
14 | Bog in Charge | Found |
15 | Muldoon's Big Catch | Found |
16 | Emperor Damage | Found |
17 | Bog's Missing Trophy | Found |
18 | Better Off Without Us | Found |
19 | *Everybody Loves Angie | Found |
20 | Unbrainwashing Muldoon | Found |
21 | Bye Bye B-Bop | Found |
22 | Big Bash in Britain | Found |
23 | Alien Games | Found |
24 | If the Suit Fits | Found |
25 | Let's Make a Deal | Found |
26 | This Is... the Butt-Uglies! | Found |
*Mistakingly referred to as "Once in Love With Angie" on the Hoverboard Heroes DVD.
External Link
- IMDb page on Butt-Ugly Martians. Retrieved 27 Oct '19
References
- ↑ Animation World Network review of Butt-Ugly Martians. Retrieved 09 Apr '16
- ↑ Toon Zone forum post from 2004 that claims Butt-Ugly Martians replaced Invader Zim's time slot. Retrieved 09 Apr '16
- ↑ Lubbock Avalanche-Journal talks about Butt-Ugly Martians' arrival to the US. Retrieved 09 Apr '16
- ↑ Examples of merchandising found on a quoted USA Today article. Retrieved 09 Apr '16
- ↑ Animation World Magazine remarks about a Web series. Retrieved 09 Apr '16
- ↑ A MEGA folder containing all 26 episodes of the show. Retrieved 01 Feb '20