From Adult Swim comes the hilarious animated series Mike Tyson Mysteries, featuring the voices of Mike Tyson, Norm Macdonald, Rachel Ramras and Jim Rash. Season one is available now on DVD!
Do you wonder what it would be like if Mike Tyson were to solve mysteries as Scooby-Doo does? That’s the premise of an animated series geared toward adults — without the talking dog. Tyson voices his character, who tackles problems with help from the Mike Tyson Mystery Team: the ghost of the Marquess of Queensberry, Mike’s adopted daughter Yung Hee, and a pigeon who was once a man. The former boxing champ and his team answer any plea to close unsolved enigmas. Lending their voices to the show are comic Norm Macdonald and Oscar-winner Jim Rash.
There’s a moment when a doctor is examining Mike Tyson after the former heavyweight champ falls ill and becomes covered with bites when the physician says, “Mike you appear to covered in Mite Bites.” To which Tyson replies, “Mike Bites?! Ask Evander Holyfield how those feel!” That’s just a small gimpse into the genius that is Mike Tyson Mysteries, an R-Rated Scooby Doo for man children like myself who grew up watching a bunch of stoner kids chase ghosts in their van but needed something with more violence and cursing in 2015. Note: This season one DVD set is uncensored which is a nice plus from Adult Swim.
Instead of Scooby, we get Norm Macdonald doing the voice of Pigeon, who rightfully steals every scene. Whether he’s rolling a joint or just simply acknowledging moments where Mike has no clue what is going on when something complicated is presented to him – Pigeon is always a highlight. The episodes are all short, clocking in around 10plus minutes which is perfect considering the ridiculous premises. A new mystery is explored in each of the 10 episodes and the series comes out swinging with Mike fighting a Chupacabra. This shit is zany much in the way The Venture Bros. can be, but the strong dialogue and interactions between the cast is what sets Mike Tyson Mysteries apart from other Adult Swim animated shows.
I remember hearing an interview with Tyson on Howard Stern when he was promoting the show and when asked about the other voice cast, he didn’t have a clue who the hell Norm Macdonald was. That alone is hilarious. I don’t know if Mike realizes just how much the show pokes fun at how oblivious he is to his surroundings, because it really goes all out in that department. It’s obvious Mike realizes this is a comedy but to what extent — I’m not sure when it delivers at his expense. The after credit scenes where they show Mike in the studio recording his dialogue are priceless…
The only subtraction here in this season one set would be the complete lack of any special features. With only 10 episodes the first season will fly by at an accelerated rate, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing considering the quality of every episode here. This is funny shit and I was surprised just how strong the comedy was. The price isn’t high for a one-disc season either so do yourself a favour and check out Mike Tyson Mysteries Season One.
Rating: [star rating=”4″]