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Mission Hill




  Show Name Mission Hill
  Caption <small>''Mission Hill'' DVD cover<small/>
  Format Animated Sitcom
  Runtime 21-23 minutes
  Creator Bill Oakley & Josh Weinstein
  Starring Wallace Langham <br> Scott Menville <br> Brian Posehn <br> Vicki Lewis <br> Nick Jameson <br> Tom Kenny
  Country USA
  Network The WB (production, see other networks below)
  First Aired September 24 1999
  Last Aired August 11 2002
  Num Episodes 13
  List Episodes List of Mission Hill episodes


''Mission Hill'' (formerly known as '''''The Downtowners''''', although MTV 's production of the similarly titled '' Downtown '' forced a name change) was an American Animated Television Series that first aired on The WB in 1999 . Although 13 episodes were produced, the show was cancelled after only six were aired. The show was put on hiatus by the WB Network after just two episodes due to poor ratings. It returned to the WB in the summer of 2000 but was cancelled after just four additional episodes. Nonetheless, the show went on to develop a Cult Following , thanks to repeated airings of all 13 episodes on Teletoon 's "Teletoon Unleashed" block, TBS 's "Too Funny to Sleep" block, and Cartoon Network 's Adult Swim .

It has also been popular outside of the United States and Canada , receiving broadcasts in Australia , Eastern Europe , Latin America , Spain and, New Zealand . In Italy , it 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."

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, 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 , who later joined ''The Simpsons'' as a director. 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 .

The DVD release of the entire series (13 episodes) was released on November 29 , 2005 .


EPISODES

''Main article: List Of Mission Hill Episodes ''

Thirteen episodes of the show were produced while 5 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 into 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.


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 depictied as a large modern urban Metropolis . The official website states Cosmopolis as a mix of Silver Lake in Los Angeles , Wicker Park in Chicago or 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.


CHARACTERS


The Roommates



Neighbors and friends



TRIVIA

  • It is revealed through a - 1995 , however, their modern equivalent (prior to the addition of the Writing Section) would be in the 1500 to 1600 range.


  • ''Mission Hill'' won an award from GLAAD for its positive portrayal of a gay relationship. The show is sometimes credited with showing the first gay couple as animated male on male kiss, but the first was actually shown on '' The Simpsons '' in an episode from the second season titled " Simpson And Delilah " (but Homer and Karl, his secretary, weren't a couple; so technically Mission Hill is the first to show a male on male kiss from a male homosexual couple).


  • Some characters were modeled after their respective voice actors.


  • In episode one, "Don't Let The Bastards Grind You Down" by The Toasters is played at the party.


  • In the 12th episode, "Kevin's Birthday", the song "Cherry Pie" by Warrant can be heard in the background at his party in Briarhurst.


  • 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 almost every episode the hair color of Kevin and Andy French change from blue to black or vice-versa. That is because of the light palette the designer created. When it's darker (i.e. at night) their hair is black. When it's brighter (i.e. during the day) their hair is blue. In episode 1-The Pilot (or The Douchebag Aspect), during the scene where Kevin starts drinking at the party, there is a quick moment where you see the back of Kevin and Andy's head. You'll notice that the color of their hair is blue. But when they turn around, its black. They are in shadow or darkness.


  • 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). 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. 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.



SEE ALSO




EXTERNAL LINKS