The complete collection of The Middleman episodes is out on DVD, and now you can discover this tragically-canceled, brilliant show for the first or tenth time, along with tons of goofy extras and strange PSA messages.
If you managed to miss out on ABC Family's amazing series The Middleman last year, now is your chance to finally get the full dose. You'll meet the mysterious, upstanding Middleman, who "solves exotic problems," as well as his assistant Wendy Watson, an aspiring artist who is also really good at fighting enormous genetically-mutated monsters with ballpoint pens. Find out why you shouldn't allow boy bands to create transdimensional doorways using the energy of thousands of fangirls, and why the man who made millions off the solar-powered uMaster cube has taken over the world in an alternate dimension where people eat aerosolized soup provided by the government. Oh, and watch Wendy and the Middleman trade quips as they fight evil ventriloquist dummies and flying Peruvian pikes that cause people to turn into trout-eating zombies. See why we love this show?
It's hard to find well-written SF on TV, let alone well-written comic SF. That's why this show is such a damn treasure.
This video on the Wilhelm Scream classic sound effect, hosted by zany showrunner Javier Grillo-Marxuach, is but one taste of the madness served up in the DVD extras on this set of twelve episodes. I liked this video in particular because it gives you a little taste of the non-linear wordplay and general madness that made this show so wonderful. And, of course, you get to experience the joy of hearing that scream, used in many horror and scifi movies throughout the twentieth century (most famously in Star Wars and Indiana Jones).
There are also loads of other extras, including a commentary tracks, a blooper reel (with extended interrodroid dance and teddy bear dance), Grillo-Marxuach riffing goofily as he answers email, deleted scenes, and (yes) much more. But really, the best part is have all the episodes together, to watch again and again. The dialogue is so fast and packed with references that you'll want to rewatch just to get that one moment where robot secretary Ida makes an obscure reference to the 3 laws of robotics, or the Middleman yells "eyes without a face"!
Pick up a copy for you and your pals!