For those who enjoy the ridiculous and the bizarre in their cartoons, look no further than Adult Swim’s Mike Tyson Mysteries. The 10 episodes of Season One are now available on DVD and Digital HD.
Spoofing Saturday morning shows of the past, such as Scooby Doo! Where Are You?, The Funky Phantom, and Mr. T, Mike Tyson Mysteries finds the former heavyweight champion of the world going on adventures, traveling around the globe and off it, assisted by Yung Hee (Rachel Ramras), his adopted Korean (“which is a kinda Chinese,” according to Mike) daughter who was left on his doorstep as a baby; the ghost of Marquess of Queensberry (Jim Rash), a frequently unsuccessful voice of reason; and the alcohol-swilling, foul-mouthed Pigeon (Norm Macdonald), who was turned into a pigeon by his ex-wife, making it even odder that they call him “Pigeon” rather than use his real name.
The Mystery team’s cases are very unusual, usually submitted by carrier pigeon from people looking for help. In the first episode, Cormac McCarthy calls upon Mike because he is having trouble with the ending to his latest novel. While there, they discover a Chupacabra has been attacking Cormac’s horses and other secrets the ranch contains. There are also stories with the gang between jobs like “Mite Tyson” where Mike finds himself covered in bug bites and on doctor’s orders has to ask Pigeon to leave.
The stories are silly, outlandish, and unpredictable, mainly because those words accurately describe Mike and Pigeon. Each episode is about 10-11 minutes long, and Tyson makes a live-action appearance after the credits. The DVD is labeled “uncensored,” but that is only in regards to language, as the naughty bits of the woman Pigeon is watching through binoculars in “Is Magic Real?” remain pixilated. I like swearing as much as the next fucking guy, but I find that the bleeps funnier. There are no extras on the DVD.
