Product Details

• Actors: Nick Jameson, Wallace Langham, Scott Menville, Brian Posehn, Vicki Lewis
• Directors: Christian Roman, Cynthia Wells, Gary McCarver, Scott Alberts, Tricia Garcia
• Writers: Bill Oakley, David N. Weiss, J. David Stem
• Format: Animated, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
• Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Castle Rock
• DVD Release Date: November 29, 2005
• Run Time: 30 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000ARXF7I
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #4,369 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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  #1 in	Movies & TV > Animation > Adult Swim > Mission Hill
  #33 in	Movies & TV > Animation > Television

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
A colorful cross between the graphic art of Daniel Clowes (Ghost World) and the TV work of Judd Apatow (Freaks and Geeks), Mission Hill centers around 24-year-old slacker Andy French (Wallace Langham, CSI). A wannabe-cartoonist, Andy works at Waterbed World with part-time girlfriend Gwen (Jane Wiedlin, the Go-Gos). In the pilot, his nerdy 17-year-old brother, Kevin (Scott Menville, The Wonder Years)--beer-swilling pooch, Stogie, in tow--moves in with Andy and spacey roommates Jim (Brian Posehn, Mr. Show) and Posey (Vicki Lewis, Newsradio) when the French parents relocate to Wyoming.

Created by Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein (The Simpsons), Mission Hill began life on the WB, but was unjustly axed after six episodes. As Andy notes in "Andy vs. the Real World," "I'm not MTV material. Hell, I'm barely WB material." The hand-drawn 'toon was a better fit for the Cartoon Network's Adult Swim animation block, which aired the remaining seven. (Five more were written, but not produced.) During its run, Andy and Kevin meander through their share of mishaps. They include Kevin accidentally burning down pal George’s mini-mart in "Kevin's Problem," the brothers falling for George's sister in "Andy and Kevin Make a Friend," and Andy losing his job in "Unemployment Part One."

Guest voices include David Clennon (thirtysomething) as Jim's boss ("Unemployment Part Two") and Jennifer Jason Leigh (Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle) as the strange object of Kevin's affection ("Kevin Finds Love"). Other voices include Tom Kenny (SpongeBob SquarePants) and Dave Thomas (SCTV), who voice a variety of characters. Cake performed the funky title theme ("Italian Leather Sofa"); although not all of the other alt-rock acts featured in the show made it to DVD. Fun fact: Kevin's gravel-voiced gay neighbor, Gus (Nick Jameson, Foghat), was based on tough guy Lawrence Tierney (Reservoir Dogs). --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Product Description
From Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein, former Executive Producers and Head Writers of The Simpsons. It's just around the corner and close to home - a funky, colorful neighborhood where a college degree can bring you an exciting career in retail sales. Welcome to Mission Hill. Meet overqualified, underemployed, 24-year-old Andy French. Ambition: to be a cartoonist. Occupation: salesman at Waterbed World. Hobby: Where's the party? But responsibility soon knocks on the door of the loft apartment Andy shares with two fellow slackers: Kevin, a nerdy 17-year-old who wears his SAT score on his shirt and his admiration for big brother Andy on his sleeve, moves in. And for good measure, so does the French family's dog. Friends, roomies, canines, countrymen: lend me your beers. They're all part of the daze of Andy's life. And all here in this Complete Series DVD Set. Party on.

DVD Features:
Audio Commentary:Audio Commentary on four episodes by creators, producers, writers and voice talent.
Other:Extensive Interactive Map of Mission Hill

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A brilliant series, cut short. (Think stocking stuffer...), December 1, 2005

By	Andon M. Coleman (Cape Coral, FL USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This series was truly brilliant, cut short by the WB. Ironically, the WB continues to show mediocre shows while canceling ones such as this. It makes you wonder who the WB's target audience is.

The series was ahead of its time ... on the wrong network, unfortunately. Were it a new series now, it might have been pitched to Comedy Central or Cartoon Network (Adult Swim) and survived not only to _finish_ the first season but for subsequent seasons as well.

The episodes have a slightly higher replay value than most series', a lot of the humor and in fact, some of the best humor is very subtle - such as the No Smoking sign in Jim's office. Moreover, the question everyone always asks is finally answered in the commentary, I am referring of course to the reason all of the characters appear to have Jaundice and yellow teeth. ;)

For ~$20, the two-disc set is well worth it - it would make a great stocking stuffer for anyone with a Kevin or Andy character in his or her own life. :)

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant, December 18, 2005

By	Grant McKee (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Mission Hill is probably my favorite animated series of all time. It succeeds in taking everyday situations and blending in things that couldn't be accomplished with live people and real-world backgrounds. Set against the colorful backdrop of Mission Hill (based largely on Chicago's Wicker Park neighborhood), this series follows the life of Andy French, a 24-year-old hipster and aspiring cartoonist recently saddled with the family dog (who he's happy to share his home with) and his little brother Kevin (who he's not so happy to share his home with). Andy's roommates Jim and Posey are there for the hilarity along with his neighbors, co-workers and Kevin's friends from high school whenever the show needs to "nerd it up."

This show was a great voice for Generation X. In the best episode of the short-lived series ("Unemployment, Part II"), Andy's without a job, and perfectly set to laze about at home, cashing his unemployment checks to fuel his malt liquor needs. In his mind, he's living the lifestyle people of his generation were encouraged to live. Andy gets kicked in the keister, though, when he finds out that his roommate Jim is leading the complete opposite life, without Andy having any clue. This kind of real-life insight set the show apart from more slapstick-inspired series like The Simpsons (where Homer seems to lose his job in every episode, which doesn't disrupt the family's life) or Family Guy (where everything seems to work out in the end, no matter what Peter ends up doing). That isn't to say Mission Hill is melodramatic. Far from it - this show is one of the funniest I've seen in years. But it's funny because the viewer is invited to share themselves with the characters.

This is the perfect DVD for fans of the show, and I think each fan should find some friends that didn't get to enjoy Mission Hill during its brief time on the air, and share this show with them.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A really great show released in a not so great way, April 24, 2006

By	A. E. Prins-Stairs "Spaction3" (Emeryville, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I love Mission Hill, however this DVD set is not as great as the version you see on Adult Swim, a lot of the music is edited out and replaced and a scene is cut out on one of the episodes "Kevin Finds Love (or Hot for Weirdie)" and even worse, the voice audio on one of the episodes "Andy and Kevin Make a Friend (or One Bang for Two Brothers)" is so quiet that you have to turn the TV up all the way to hear it and it makes all the other sounds so loud that it hurts your ears. If you really love Mission Hill, try recording the series onto DVD for yourself when it airs on Adult Swim, at least the episodes there are not edited and the episode with the bad voice track audio on the DVD set is not messed up on the original airing. If you don't have a DVD recorder then for the sake of the episode "Andy and Kevin Make a Friend (or One Bang for Two Brothers)" I would at least record it onto VHS so you can hear it perfectly without having to turn the volume up all the way. The bonus features are pretty cool though but for me that the only good thing. While the episodes are still good on this, if you don't mind changes to music then go for this set, however as I said for one of the episode, damaged voice audio so be careful.