Episode Log: MTV Oddities

Episode Log: MTV Oddities - The Maxx

Credits

Creator: Sam Kieth
Directors: Gregg Vanzo (Eps 1/2, 3/4, 5/6, 11/12/13)
Eugene Salandra & Ilya Skorupsky (Eps 7/8)
Easy De La Rosa & Miguel Martinez (Eps 9/10)
Supervising Director on Eps 7/8 and 9/10: Gregg Vanzo
Writers: Sam Kieth
Bill Messner-Loebs
The Crappon created by Dave Feiss
Producer at Rough Draft Studios: Claudia Katz
Story Editors: Glenn Eichler & Claudia Katz
Voice Cast:
The Maxx: Michael Haley
Julie Winters/Glorie: Glynnis Talken
Mr. Gone: Uncredited Performance
Sarah: Amy Daniels
Sgt. Ocono, Cop, Fridge, The Crappon: Tony Fucile
Sarah's Mom: Patty Wynne-Hughes
Additional voices: James Dean Conklin, Scott Curtis, Tony Fucile, Molly Mc Lucas, David Thomas, David Valera, Chris Vanzo.
Storyboards: Jeffrey Clark, Seth Kearsley
CGI Director: Scott Vanzo
Sound Design: Kurt Vanzo
Animation Services: Rough Draft Korea, a division of Rough Draft Studios, Inc.
Animation Director: Chang Yeol Jung
MTV Post-production Supervisor: Nick Litwinko
Supervising Producer at MTV: John Andrews
Creative Supervisor: Sam Kieth
Executive Producer at MTV: Abby Terkuhle

The Episodes:

Episodes 1/2:
We meet Maxx as he attempts to save a woman from thugs. The police arrive on the scene, and the thugs accuse Maxx of attacking them. So Maxx is carted off to jail, the thugs go free, and the woman becomes the prey of Mr. Gone -- occultist and serial rapist/killer.
We meet Julie Winters, freelance social worker, as she bails Maxx out from jail. As the episode progresses, elements of Maxx's fantasy world, "The Outback" are introduced. A teenage girl, Glorie, also falls prey to Mr. Gone, leaving her boyfriend to pick up the pieces.
The second episode ends with Maxx confronting Mr. Gone at a gas station.
Based on "The Maxx" #1

Maxx and Mr. Gone struggle Episodes 3/4:
Julie is abducted by Dark Isz, creatures which are the inhuman servants of Mr. Gone. Another friend of Glorie pulls up to the gas station, and is caught up in the tussle between The Maxx and Mr. Gone. Maxx is shot by Mr. Gone, but is only wounded.
The Dark Isz have taken Julie to Mr. Gone's lair, where she is tied up and held prisoner. Julie escapes her restraints with a jagged Dark Isz tooth, then decapitates Mr. Gone with the same tooth.
The Maxx has another confrontation with Mr. Gone, this time in the Outback otherworld. In the midst of the battle, Maxx learns that he is actually in Julie's dreamscape, not in his own.
Based on "The Maxx" #2 and #3

Episodes 5/6:
We are introduced to Sarah, a 16-year-old aspiring writer. She lost her father when he killed himself after a murder spree at his work. Her mother has retreated into a '60s fantasy world. And she herself is a self-absorbed loner, scorned by her peer group.
Sarah is also in therapy with Julie, and Julie and Sarah's mom are friends. In a strange chain of events, Sarah finds herself in a car with Maxx and Julie, and she sees Maxx pummel two Dark Iszes into pulp. Sarah then pulls the gun which belonged to her father on Maxx and Julie -- and she stops before she repeats the actions which doomed her father.
Based on "The Maxx" #4

Episodes 7/8:
The Maxx goes from the Outback into a weird cartoon land in a hilarious parody of SatAM cartoons and Dr. Seuss nursery rhymes. What's the matter with me? I'm off-model and flat-er! I've been outlined and blue-lined, yes, that is the matter!
Episode 7 ends with Maxx meeting Julie as a child in the Outback.
Episode 8 opens with Julie and Sarah's mom on vacation, and finishes with Maxx fighting Hammerhead, a super villain/hit man hired to kill Maxx by Mr. Gone. Based on "The Maxx" #5 & #6
NB: There have been some subtle changes in Episode 8 to avoid copyright problems with other Image creators. The cop who talks like William Shatner was The Savage Dragon in issue #6, and Hammerhead was originally called Mako.

Episodes 9/10:
A coroner is doing an autopsy, and finds that the man he was to autopsy actually is a Dark Isz. Maxx and Julie are in the Outback together, and Sarah is visited by Mr. Gone in the form of a block of clay.
All of the sudden, Maxx is tiny, and chasing after a huge Dark Isz in the "vast expanse" of Julie's living room and kitchen.
Conversely, everything in the Outback is getting smaller, including Mr. Gone. Sarah brings the block of clay to Julie's apartment, in exchange for Gone's instructions on how she can find her Spirit Animal.
Based on "The Maxx" #7 & #8.
NB: In the original comics, the tiny Maxx was joined by a tiny Pitt in the Isz hunt in Julie's living room and kitchen.

Episodes 11/12/13:
The events of the last 10 episodes are recapitulated, then the action begins. Mr. Gone has his head reattached by the coroner we met in Episode 9, Sarah learns the real identity of her father, and the final secrets of Julie's past are revealed. The series ends with Julie leaving the city, and The Maxx finally remembering who he was before donning the mask which turned him into a superhero.
Based on "The Maxx" #9, #10 and #11.
NB: The resolution of The Maxx' story is not in the original comic book series.

Another Isz bites the dust
Notes on the video release:
The Maxx was released as a single videocassette a few months back. It has several cuts, some of which render some parts of the video into sheer nonsense. Mr. Gone's recap is not on this tape, and neither is the song "I Want To Marry A Lighthouse Keeper" from the soundtrack of "A Clockwork Orange," which figured so strongly in the original. From what I can gather, the cuts were made to squeeze the entire series on a T-120...ludicrous when you consider that VHS duplicator tape stock comes in longer lengths without resorting to the thin tape stock you see with T-180s. Save your money and find a friend who's taped the entire series and copy their tapes. The official MTV release is not worth the tape it's recorded on. (set rant mode OFF)