Axe Cop: The Movie cannot be far behind
January 23, 2013 9:41 AM   Subscribe

Axe Cop (previously) will be airing as an animated series on Fox, scheduled to start airing on July 27.

Regulars will include Ken Marino, Patton Oswalt and Megan Mullaly. Guest voices include Giancarlo Esposito (Gus Fring on Breaking Bad) and Jonathan Banks (Mike from Breaking Bad) and more!
posted by ricochet biscuit (39 comments total) 8 users marked this as a favorite
 
Sometimes good things happen.
posted by Rory Marinich at 9:46 AM on January 23, 2013 [1 favorite]


I love Fox's stone-age programming strategy mentioned later in the article "We'll go up against SNL! White males aged 18-35 will be forced to choose! Brilliant, Jenkins!"
posted by phong3d at 9:54 AM on January 23, 2013


We'll go up against SNL! White males aged 18-35 will be forced to choosefinally find something funny on TV in that slot!
posted by DU at 10:01 AM on January 23, 2013 [5 favorites]


Is the script still going to be written by a six year old?
posted by It's Never Lurgi at 10:03 AM on January 23, 2013 [3 favorites]


Lately I've been playing the new Devil May Cry, and you can replay the missions from the main menu and you can also replay the unlockable ones. So the main menu says, in big letters, first MISSIONS and then

SECRET MISSIONS

and every single time I see that menu, I think of Axe Cop, and the unparallelled brilliance of the line, "I KNOW A SECRET MISSION!"
posted by FAMOUS MONSTER at 10:05 AM on January 23, 2013 [2 favorites]


This sort of thing -- a toddler's stream of consciousness -- is in danger of becoming actually fashionable. Look at SNL's Sugarboy -- it's pretty much the same thing. Yeah, it's still funny but the shark pen is ready and Fonzie's on the water skis rarin' to go. And besides, I'm not sure it signifies good things about where we're going as a culture.
posted by George_Spiggott at 10:06 AM on January 23, 2013 [8 favorites]


Is the script still going to be written by a six year old?

You are right, it might go over the head of the average TV viewer.
posted by DU at 10:08 AM on January 23, 2013 [6 favorites]


With Seth MacFarlane as the voice of the tyrannosaurus. Or the unicorn. Or something.
posted by Roentgen at 10:11 AM on January 23, 2013



posted by w0mbat at 10:13 AM on January 23, 2013


Axe Cop: The Movie
posted by cazoo at 10:18 AM on January 23, 2013 [1 favorite]


Yeah, this was funny and cute as a transient internet thing that happened a few years ago. Why does our culture feel that such things must not, on any account, be allowed to retain their charm by remaining funny, cute and transient? Why must anything like that be milked until dust comes out of the teats?
posted by Decani at 10:20 AM on January 23, 2013 [9 favorites]


Great. Now I have a completely irrational hope of seeing a Doctor McNinja movie.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 10:22 AM on January 23, 2013 [2 favorites]


And besides, I'm not sure it signifies good things about where we're going as a culture.

Actually, I find Axe Cop tremendously reassuring. That something that's just goofy and silly and fun can be so popular. The world is too much with us these days; it's nice to see someone make a bold statement in favor of whimsy.
posted by JHarris at 10:24 AM on January 23, 2013 [7 favorites]


Oh, and:
"FOX has announced plans to use the popular web comic Axe Cop as a means of introducing its new late-night animation block intended to compete with Cartoon Network‘s popular, but increasingly non-animated, Adult Swim."

Adult Swim, or as I like to call it, the Seth MacFarlane Comedy Colon Blockage.
posted by JHarris at 10:27 AM on January 23, 2013


Yeah, this was funny and cute as a transient internet thing that happened a few years ago. Why does our culture feel that such things must not, on any account, be allowed to retain their charm by remaining funny, cute and transient?

Much the same sentiment was made when Fox made The Tick into an animated series. That one turned out OK.
posted by Slap*Happy at 10:27 AM on January 23, 2013 [1 favorite]


Much the same sentiment was made when Fox made The Tick into an animated series.

Apples and orange slurpees. Not even remotely equivalent.
posted by George_Spiggott at 10:34 AM on January 23, 2013 [1 favorite]


Since The Tick was a comic who's appeal is based on surreal humor that was an underground hit, and Axe Cop is a comic who's appeal is based on surreal humor that was an underground hit, I can see how they're not even remotely equivalent.
posted by Slap*Happy at 11:05 AM on January 23, 2013 [4 favorites]


Yeah, this was funny and cute as a transient internet thing that happened a few years ago. Why does our culture feel that such things must not, on any account, be allowed to retain their charm by remaining funny, cute and transient? Why must anything like that be milked until dust comes out of the teats?

I blame everyone at Boing Boing.
posted by Ratio at 11:08 AM on January 23, 2013 [5 favorites]


With the requirements of a TV schedule, they'll have to hire a whole room of six-year-olds to break the story.
posted by RobotHero at 11:35 AM on January 23, 2013


I remember when my roommate told me he'd be working on a half hour series version of the cartoon shorts from the Tracy Ullman show. I thought, "Oh, brother! That's going to suck."
posted by bonobothegreat at 11:41 AM on January 23, 2013 [7 favorites]


And you were right, given a long enough (or short enough) timeframe.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 11:43 AM on January 23, 2013 [4 favorites]


Slap*Happy: I can see how they're not even remotely equivalent.

Heh, well, that did make me grin, but while they're both surreal humor, The Tick was terribly clever at times, and I doubt Axe Cop will manage that.
posted by Malor at 11:47 AM on January 23, 2013


New late night animation block on Fox, eh?

I wonder if they're thinking of moving Archer over from FX. As a non-American who gets Fox but not FX, I could get behind that.
posted by Sys Rq at 11:49 AM on January 23, 2013


Yeah, this was funny and cute as a transient internet thing that happened a few years ago. Why does our culture feel that such things must not, on any account, be allowed to retain their charm by remaining funny, cute and transient? Why must anything like that be milked until dust comes out of the teats?

"Hey penniless comic creator, we think your comic is great, and would like you to help us turn it into an animated TV series!"

"Sorry. Even though I have poured the past four years of my life into this, I would rather keep it as a cute, transient internet thing than accept the money, exposure or experience this opportunity would bring me."
posted by retrograde at 11:55 AM on January 23, 2013 [19 favorites]


Slap*Happy: I can see how they're not even remotely equivalent.

Well, as far as that goes, yeah. (And sorry about my arrogant-sounding declarative tone.) But Axe Cop is a gimmick and The Tick is a fully-formed extended work of fiction. I don't think they can play out the same way at all as a long-term affair.
posted by George_Spiggott at 12:37 PM on January 23, 2013


I wonder if they're thinking of moving Archer over from FX.

They better not, because I don't ever want to hear them bleep "Holy shitsnacks".
posted by Spatch at 12:51 PM on January 23, 2013 [3 favorites]


Even though I have poured the past four years of my life into this, I would rather keep it as a cute, transient internet thing than accept the money, exposure or experience this opportunity would bring me.

That's basically what the Homestar Runner people did, with mixed results. On the one hand, once they got a severe attack of Real Life the site ground to a halt pretty much. On the other, one of the Brothers Chaps is one of the movers behind the Aquabats Super Show, aka, one of the three reasons to watch Hub. (The others are PONY and Dan Vs.) Still leaves me hoping for a revival someday though.

On the other hand, Brad Neely started on the web and moved into television animation with the awesome China, IL, which is just behind Venture Bros as the best thing on Adult Swim.

We don't really know how Axe Cop TV will turn out. I don't think it is necessarily "just" a gimmick, but regardless of its longevity, the property has an intrinsically limited lifespan, it's basically done once Malachi reaches a level of maturity. I say they should go for it, do what they can with it while they can, because the clock is ticking.
posted by JHarris at 12:52 PM on January 23, 2013 [2 favorites]


Weird. I see no mention anywhere if Axe Cop will be voiced by Nick Offerman, as the character has been so far.

They needed more tryouts.
posted by mhoye at 2:21 PM on January 23, 2013 [5 favorites]


Why does our culture feel that such things must not, on any account, be allowed to retain their charm by remaining funny, cute and transient?

Well, there are bucks involved. The two brothers who did Axe Cop as a fun gag, they were approached by whichever publisher it was and the publisher said "Hey, we could make a great comic out of this, you'll make some bucks." Who doesn't want to make some bucks? "Nah thanks publisher it's cool, we'll just keep this as a fun little web thing and do it for free." And then movie royalties? That would have been quite a few grand, I'd imagine. Pretty lucky break I think. Sure it'll be rubbish but, y'know, so are most things.
posted by turgid dahlia 2 at 2:56 PM on January 23, 2013


Sorry, I of course meant to say TV royalties.
posted by turgid dahlia 2 at 2:57 PM on January 23, 2013


Yeah, this was funny and cute as a transient internet thing that happened a few years ago. Why does our culture feel that such things must not, on any account, be allowed to retain their charm by remaining funny, cute and transient? Why must anything like that be milked until dust comes out of the teats?

Because money.
posted by davejay at 3:12 PM on January 23, 2013 [1 favorite]


Great. Now I have a completely irrational hope of seeing a Doctor McNinja movie.

I think it's a very real possibility. Chris Hastings has said that he has been approached more than once about an animated series, but that nothing concrete has happened yet.
posted by Sibrax at 4:12 PM on January 23, 2013


i feel like i'm having that conversation about superjail i had where we were both like "ha ha, it's a super-super-super-max prison on a volcano inside another volcano, ruled by demons and robots with a thousand murders a second" and then they were like "isn't it fantastic" and i started getting nervous
posted by This, of course, alludes to you at 5:38 PM on January 23, 2013


But Axe Cop is a gimmick and The Tick is a fully-formed extended work of fiction.

In the comics, The Tick has a man-eating cow as an ally, and once fed an entire civilization with condiment packets. No, really...
posted by Slap*Happy at 6:20 PM on January 23, 2013


I think it's a very real possibility. Chris Hastings has said that he has been approached more than once about an animated series, but that nothing concrete has happened yet.

So, Chris Hastings is married to Carly Monardo, who works on Venture Bros, and because of that I find myself wishing hard that those things would come together in Jackson Publick/Doc Hammer involvement in a Doctor McNinja series some day.
posted by jason_steakums at 6:33 PM on January 23, 2013 [2 favorites]


No. No, jason_steakums. I am holding out for a live action Dr Strange movie with Doc Hammer as Doctor Strange!
posted by bitter-girl.com at 7:20 PM on January 23, 2013 [1 favorite]


doc hammer is pete white

come on
posted by This, of course, alludes to you at 10:28 PM on January 23, 2013


I am holding out for a live action Dr Strange movie with Doc Hammer as Doctor Strange!

NEED I REMIND YOU, but the Venture Compound ALREADY HAS a parody of the esteemed Doctor Strange, in the person of DR. BYRON ORPHEUS!!!, MASTER of MYSTICISM, and he is voiced most admirably by STEVEN RATTAZZI!!
posted by JHarris at 2:24 AM on January 24, 2013 [1 favorite]


I want to see a friendly and respectful conversation between Dr. Orpheus and Mojo Jojo. The circumlocution would be epic.
posted by Slap*Happy at 4:32 AM on January 24, 2013 [1 favorite]


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