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Tom Goes to the Mayor - Season 1
3 DVDS/APPROX. 348 MINS/2004/USA M
3 DVDS/APPROX. 348 MINS/2004/USA M
The formulaic plot of Tom Goes to the Mayor is as follows- the main character Tom ( a new resident to the town of Jefferton), goes to the Mayor in
every episode and presents the Mayor with his ideas, each new episode brings a new idea. Tom’s ideas range from improving child safety,
opening a World War II themed restaurant, novelty t-shirts, renewable power provided by human waste to opening up stores and kiosks.
Tom’s ideas never pan out, as the Mayor (a friendly but clueless nincompoop ) always manages to innocently twist and take over his ideas,
utterly destroying any merit the ideas had in the first place. Tom is always left to deal with the destruction and chaos that these ideas bring upon
the town of Jefferton or his financial state. Nobody ever helps Tom out , and he is never dismayed by the repercussions and damaging effects
these ideas bring about. In Sealab and Aqua Teen fashion, the endings never really make sense and don’t adhere to a timeline; such as Tom
being left financially ruined, the town being destroyed, and then there is the assisted suicide of Tom episode. Most of you already acquainted
with Adult Swim’s line-up will already know that realism, structure and verisimilitude never apply to the shows that they air.
Tom Goes to the Mayor also features special guests, ranging from Tenacious D as the bear trap brothers ( who are called upon by the Mayor to
lay traps to improve child safety as requested by Tom,) Jeff Goldblum as a pet store owner, Curb Your Enthusiasm’s Jeff Garlin (he steals Tom’s
novelty t-shirt idea; “Rats off to ya” and turns it into a phenomenon). Edward Herman (The Lost Boys) Sarah Silverman, David Cross, Dustin
Diamond, Paul Reubens and Patton Oswalt also guest appear on the show as well as a bunch of other guests.
Now that I have got the premise of the show out of the way, here comes the fun part…Tom Goes to the Mayor is totally insane, you will either
love it or hate it. I know that is a hackneyed saying, but it is true. The show is utterly and insanely warped and is unlike any other Adult Swim
show. Sure there are some live action scenes, but the characters…well, I did some research and the creators Tim and Eric, take still photographs of
real live actors and process them with a computer filter. The characters mouths never move, and only show different expressions, no mouthing of
words. They are not very anatomically correct, and hardly ever bend their arms or legs. This simple method of animation is very effective and
combined with the animated sets produces some insane visuals. To put it more simply- the characters look like cut out paper dolls. Some of the
characters are disgustingly trashy and ugly and could pass as the freaks from down the street. The humour goes beyond any idiotic plans the
Aqua Teens come up with and are usually played out in a more tasteless and seedy fashion than the cute and bad mouthed Aqua Teens.
The underlying context of Tom Goes to the Mayor seems to be that suburban life stinks, no matter what you try to do to improve it. No matter
how many asses you kiss or people you try and please, someone or something will always shit on you. Wether it be Joy (Tom’s obese and ugly
wife) running back to her ex husbands or abusing Tom because she can‘t buy snacks, or Terry (the Mayor’s hyperactive nephew) making Tom’s life
and job hell, we can all relate to Tom in some way. Tom is the ultimate good guy, trying to get along in life, with his wife and his step kids whom
he loves as his own (but not vice versa.) Tom’s is a plight that some of us will identify with , and could indeed by why a lot of people hate the
show. Of course this is only my opinion, and this is not an overtly obvious theme, but I definitely think it is there, if you think about it.
You have to give Adult Swim major credit for being bold enough to air shows like this, that do not appeal to the mainstream. Ratings are not the
agenda here, obscure entertainment is. I can not express how transgressive, subversive and bizarre the show is, but believe me it is. There are
no holds barred when it comes to taste, from Tom covered in dog shit and sniffing dogs butts to Tom being humped by numerous dogs, I guess
this show isn’t for those who are easily offended. I highly recommend this set, but would recommend that you try and catch a few episodes on
Adult Swim before purchasing in case you don’t like it, as it is a series that will appeal to a minority.
Tom Goes to the Mayor: Season 1 was part of Adult Swim’s line up from 2004 - 2006. Madman Entertainment have released all 30 episodes in a 3
disc set loaded with heaps of extras including commentaries, featurettes, married news and deleted scenes.
every episode and presents the Mayor with his ideas, each new episode brings a new idea. Tom’s ideas range from improving child safety,
opening a World War II themed restaurant, novelty t-shirts, renewable power provided by human waste to opening up stores and kiosks.
Tom’s ideas never pan out, as the Mayor (a friendly but clueless nincompoop ) always manages to innocently twist and take over his ideas,
utterly destroying any merit the ideas had in the first place. Tom is always left to deal with the destruction and chaos that these ideas bring upon
the town of Jefferton or his financial state. Nobody ever helps Tom out , and he is never dismayed by the repercussions and damaging effects
these ideas bring about. In Sealab and Aqua Teen fashion, the endings never really make sense and don’t adhere to a timeline; such as Tom
being left financially ruined, the town being destroyed, and then there is the assisted suicide of Tom episode. Most of you already acquainted
with Adult Swim’s line-up will already know that realism, structure and verisimilitude never apply to the shows that they air.
Tom Goes to the Mayor also features special guests, ranging from Tenacious D as the bear trap brothers ( who are called upon by the Mayor to
lay traps to improve child safety as requested by Tom,) Jeff Goldblum as a pet store owner, Curb Your Enthusiasm’s Jeff Garlin (he steals Tom’s
novelty t-shirt idea; “Rats off to ya” and turns it into a phenomenon). Edward Herman (The Lost Boys) Sarah Silverman, David Cross, Dustin
Diamond, Paul Reubens and Patton Oswalt also guest appear on the show as well as a bunch of other guests.
Now that I have got the premise of the show out of the way, here comes the fun part…Tom Goes to the Mayor is totally insane, you will either
love it or hate it. I know that is a hackneyed saying, but it is true. The show is utterly and insanely warped and is unlike any other Adult Swim
show. Sure there are some live action scenes, but the characters…well, I did some research and the creators Tim and Eric, take still photographs of
real live actors and process them with a computer filter. The characters mouths never move, and only show different expressions, no mouthing of
words. They are not very anatomically correct, and hardly ever bend their arms or legs. This simple method of animation is very effective and
combined with the animated sets produces some insane visuals. To put it more simply- the characters look like cut out paper dolls. Some of the
characters are disgustingly trashy and ugly and could pass as the freaks from down the street. The humour goes beyond any idiotic plans the
Aqua Teens come up with and are usually played out in a more tasteless and seedy fashion than the cute and bad mouthed Aqua Teens.
The underlying context of Tom Goes to the Mayor seems to be that suburban life stinks, no matter what you try to do to improve it. No matter
how many asses you kiss or people you try and please, someone or something will always shit on you. Wether it be Joy (Tom’s obese and ugly
wife) running back to her ex husbands or abusing Tom because she can‘t buy snacks, or Terry (the Mayor’s hyperactive nephew) making Tom’s life
and job hell, we can all relate to Tom in some way. Tom is the ultimate good guy, trying to get along in life, with his wife and his step kids whom
he loves as his own (but not vice versa.) Tom’s is a plight that some of us will identify with , and could indeed by why a lot of people hate the
show. Of course this is only my opinion, and this is not an overtly obvious theme, but I definitely think it is there, if you think about it.
You have to give Adult Swim major credit for being bold enough to air shows like this, that do not appeal to the mainstream. Ratings are not the
agenda here, obscure entertainment is. I can not express how transgressive, subversive and bizarre the show is, but believe me it is. There are
no holds barred when it comes to taste, from Tom covered in dog shit and sniffing dogs butts to Tom being humped by numerous dogs, I guess
this show isn’t for those who are easily offended. I highly recommend this set, but would recommend that you try and catch a few episodes on
Adult Swim before purchasing in case you don’t like it, as it is a series that will appeal to a minority.
Tom Goes to the Mayor: Season 1 was part of Adult Swim’s line up from 2004 - 2006. Madman Entertainment have released all 30 episodes in a 3
disc set loaded with heaps of extras including commentaries, featurettes, married news and deleted scenes.
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