The Amazing Screw-On Head - Awesome show that never got picked up (WHY??) - General

First some copypasta and then my two cents and then the pilot episode. [quote=Wikipedia]The Amazing Screw-On Head is the title of a one-shot comic book written and drawn by Mike Mignola and published by Dark Horse Comics in 2002, starring the character of the same name. Mignola got the idea from action figures, particularly Batman ones, which seemed to be the exact same figurines with different paint jobs. So he imagined a robot with a head that screwed onto different bodies to suit the occasion, hence "Screw-on Head". [B]An animated pilot, based on the plot of the comic, was made by the Sci-Fi Channel in 2006 with Bryan Fuller of Dead Like Me and Wonderfalls fame as executive producer.[/B] While similar in tone and theme to Mignola's better known Hellboy, The Amazing Screw-On Head is a black comedy.[/quote] [quote][B]Comic[/B] Screw-On Head is an agent for President Abraham Lincoln. He is summoned by Lincoln to track down Emperor Zombie, an undead occultist and originally a groundskeeper at Hyde Park. Zombie and his henchmen, the vampire Madam and scientist Dr. Snap, have stolen an ancient manuscript. This will allow him access to the temple of Gung, a warlord who nearly conquered the world over ten thousand years ago with supernatural power gained from "a fabulous melon-sized jewel", which Zombie obviously plans to use for himself. With the aid of his manservant, Mr. Groin, and dog Mr. Dog, Screw-On Head manages to track down Zombie, but not before the villain and his henchmen find the treasure: instead of a jewel, the tomb contains a turnip with "a small parallel universe" inside. Zombie unleashes the Demigod within, but Screw-On Head manages to defeat it in combat. [B]TV pilot[/B] The 22-minute pilot differs from the comic mainly in that the characters are fleshed out with backstories. Rather than a master of languages, Emperor Zombie (David Hyde Pierce) is the first of Screw-On Head's (Paul Giamatti) manservants, who has turned to evil despite Screw-On Head's advice. Out of revenge for his first defeat, Zombie developed what he refers to as a "petty vengeance fetish", killing the seven replacement servants after him, and before Mr. Groin (Patton Oswalt), in gruesome ways. Zombie's vampire mistress, now named Patience (Molly Shannon), is much more talkative; a flashback reveals she was Screw-On Head's former love, until snatched from him by a vampire servant of Zombie. Instead of Dr. Snap, Emperor Zombie's other servants are a monkey named Ricky and two horrible old women named Aggie and Geraldine (both voiced by Mindy Sterling), one a werewolf and the other a cannibal who apparently takes over Dr. Snap's role as scientist as well. The pilot begins with the theft of the Kalakistan fragment and Professor Fruen (the only man who can translate it), by Zombie's henchmen. Emperor Zombie smokes Fruen in a giant hookah to gain the knowledge to read the fragment pertaining to Gung's temple. An interlude has Screw-On Head track down Patience in Marrakesh, then torture her to try to find Zombie's whereabouts. At the conclusion Zombie sinks to the bottom of the Mississippi River while his henchmen kidnap Mr. Dog by impaling him with an anchor from an air balloon. President Lincoln gives Screw-On Head permission to deal with whatever supernatural things lurk in the western frontier after signing the Homestead Act. On July 12th 2006, The Amazing Screw-On Head TV pilot was aired online at scifi.com with a survey to decide whether or not the show goes to series. According to Mike Mignola on the November 29th 2006 Fanboy Radio podcast, the series was not picked up by the Sci-Fi Channel. The pilot was released on DVD on February 6, 2007.[/quote] So the show is about a robotic head that screws into different bodies and works as an agent for Abraham Lincoln, apparently against the Confederacy in the American civil war. The words to describe its bizarre (but very funny) humor elude me right now, so you'll just have to watch for yourself. All else I can really think to say is that it astounds me that it never got picked up, and I think you'll agree with me. I think they should try submitting it to Adult Swim. Here is a 3 minute clip to hook you. Thanks BmB! [media]http://youtube.com/watch?v=ugTOQpfL1Y0[/media] This is the full-length pilot episode. Enjoy. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_64GdGhuOkU[/media] [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=un_l-hrjoWE[/media] [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ug0h_3jlY3k[/media]

I don't see the difference between a library and a museum of dangerous books. They both hurt like hell when you get hit by a book. Would have loved to see it on TV though.

This actually does sound like a good show

"I'll smoke you!" I love this. :D [editline]10:21AM[/editline] If you can't be bothered to watch the whole episode; this is a better more digestible sample of a measly 2-3 minutes. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugTOQpfL1Y0[/media]

[QUOTE=BmB;21322495]"I'll smoke you!" I love this. :D [editline]10:21AM[/editline] If you can't be bothered to watch the whole episode; this is a better more digestible sample of a measly 2-3 minutes. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugTOQpfL1Y0[/media][/QUOTE] added to the OP

Why didn't it become a full show?

that was pretty cool, more entertaining than half of the shitty cartoons out there.

Pretty cool, but [i]weird[/i] as fuck.

looks pretty intressting, am gonna check it out

This was just simply awesome.

At least Adventure Time got picked up <3

i like mr. zombie

That's Emperor Zombie to you.

Mike Mignola is the best

is Mike Mignola the artist because if so yes, he is, the art style is fantastic

He created the comic, but I'm not sure he had much to do with the show. The style is definitely very true though.

Man, I bet that would've been a good show.

The idea seems cool.

it's a bit too childish and a bit too violent for someone to dare pick it up. I guess if it was either one or the other it would work but the problem is: Cartoon shows for a mature audience needs to be funny otherwise it won't really live long on television. (At least not in Europe) A cartoon for the younger demographic needs to be totally clean or you'll hear the parents whine. This show is just too dark.

It IS for a mature audience and it IS funny what are you on about [editline]03:07PM[/editline] you can't tell me that fucking garbage like family guy (for example) still deserves to be on the air and this doesn't

[img]http://www.cubeupload.com/files/b9a600screwonhead.png[/img] The show seemed to leave out some of the better gags from the comic.

Well it was a pilot. To the shows credit the characters had their voices in that comic for me.