Tom Goes to the Mayor started off as a web cartoon on timanderic.com. It was popular enough to get a web sequel, in which David Cross guest stars. Bob Odenkirk noticed the show's potential, and has been producing it on Adult Swim. The basic plot of the show centers around Tom Peters, a new citizen to the town of Jefferton who is "full of ideas," and giving them to the Mayor, who always "tweaks" the "ideas," which causes them to "backfire."
The show features a crude yet distinctive animation style which is made by taking photos of the cast with different expressions. The photos are filtered (the effect can be accomplished in Photoshop using the 'photocopy' filter) so that they are made up of only blue and white; resembling mimeographs. There are some live action scenes, usually on a television within the show.
On August 21, 2006, at 12:30, Tom Goes to the Mayor was broadcast as scheduled. Adult Swim then answered a fan letter requesting a marathon of the show by actually showing numerous episodes instead of the normal scheduled programming, as if on a whim.
Creators Tim and Eric recently announced in Chicago that this series will be out-of-production for the foreseeable future so that they may concentrate on their new series, Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! However, the upcoming Tom Goes to the Mayor DVD set is marketed as "The Complete Series" which may indicate that there will be no more episodes. Production ended in September 2006 with 30 episodes.
Tom is a thirty-something man who seems rather listless. Despite the mutilations and failures of his ideas by the moronic Mayor, Tom retains an accepting, mellow attitude to it all, never becoming too enthusiastic or overwhelmed. He is often taunted by his stepchildren, (whom his wife Joy had in a previous marriage), not to mention the beratings he receives from Joy, who is depicted as quite possibly the worst wife that anyone could have. Tom has no apparent job (besides "local entrepreneur") and drives a Maluch that has severe emission problems.
The Mayor is a friendly yet foolish (and somewhat childish) man who often spends his working days watching the TV in his office. He usually gains control of Tom's suggestions for the community and twists them into embarrassing situations. According to the Adult Swim website, he has served Jefferton for the past twelve years, due to family connections, low voter turnout, and a strange local law which gives the mayor thirteen-year terms of office. The Mayor is married and has three sons, though so far they are only seen in the episode "Puddin's."
Bob Odenkirk - Various random characters in nearly every episode, often appearing in live-action segments
Premise
Tom Goes to the Mayor episodes are often formulaic; Tom has an idea, and someone—usually the Mayor—manages to twist it into something terrible (or at least something non-beneficial). This is not to say that Tom's ideas are good; some of his ideas are portrayed as being better than they really are, such as his "Rats Off To Ya" T-shirts. But, whether Tom's ideas are good or bad, his mere association with them dooms them to failure. Sometimes this failure is assisted by the Mayor, who often adds unwelcome dimensions to Tom's ideas ("Bear Traps") or hi-jacks them completely ("Porcelain Birds"). Often, external forces derail his plans ("Vehicular Manslaughter", "Rats Off To Ya", "WW Lazerz"), and he is frequently left "holding the bag" after disaster occurs. And, without fail, even when other characters could help Tom, none do so.
Most episodes end in such a way as to make them impossible to work into any sort of true timeline. Tom is often left in situations which would land him in jail or otherwise destroy his life; at least one episode ended with the destruction of Jefferton in a massive flood and the presumed deaths of everyone in town except Tom, and another episode ended with Tom's assisted suicide and descent into Hell ("Spray a Carpet or Rug"). In many ways it is hinted that each episode is totally separate, and that they happen at roughly the same time. The Mayor almost never seems to know who Tom is when he brings an idea to his front desk, though it's not known if this is a tragic memory dysfunction or a hint at the show's unique timeline. The chronology of the episode in which Tom picks his father up from the Jefferton airport, however, hints at the mayor's "memory loss" being more a function of Tom's tragic insignificance, a theme mirrored in the formula of the show. During the episode, Tom announces he is "working with the mayor" before entering into the formulaic, forgotten-name gag.
Even when Tom succeeds at something, such as his role as matchmaker during "Toodleday", his efforts are still portrayed as failures. This is the essence of Tom Goes to the Mayor: the complete haplessness of Tom and his travails as a hyper-tragic figure against an absurdist backdrop.
While the Mayor is watching a television program of Mike Fox's Scared Safe, a show dubiously devoted to child safety, Tom pops by with some half-witted ideas about improving child safety. Somehow, the Mayor comes up with the perfect child-safety solution: bear traps. With the aid of the Bear Trap Brothers (played by Jack Black and Kyle Gass of Tenacious D), Jefferton becomes the locale of the highest bear-trap-to-child ratio in the state.
Inspired by a TV commercial, the Mayor decides to resurrect the Jefferton theme park Pioneer Island, which burned to the ground many years ago. To celebrate the re-opening of the park, the Mayor launches a week-long "pioneer time" to the town. With Tom as his point man, the Mayor shuts off the town's power, makes everyone exchange their car keys for horses, and dons a turn of the 18th century French courtier costume. Without power, problems ensue, manifested by electronics salesman-turned-warlord Zynx (played by Patton Oswalt), and it's up to Tom to make things right.
Flush with a chest full of World War II memorabilia he bought from the online auction site Webuy, Tom pitches an idea for a theme restaurant to the Mayor, who happens to have a grant from the city council for $250,000 for a historical project previously slated for a live monkey encased in an eclair covered with delicious chocolate-flavored sauce. Unfortunately for Tom, the Mayor insists his nephew Terry assist him in his efforts. Terry, though a child in appearance, is actually a twenty-something; his extreme child-like nature is a side effect of the inhaler he constantly puffs. Tom and Terry have creative differences, and the resulting restaurant (WW Lazerz) turns out to be a mockery of his ideas.
Although he has limited experience with dogs (and no dog), Tom is selected by the Mayor to provide a canine matchmaker for Jefferton's yearly holiday Toodleday, in which all eligible dogs in town are married. After purchasing the "last dog" from the local pet shop (run by Jeff Goldblum), Tom sets about the difficult task of training his new pup to become the Toodleday matchmaker. But the dog-doo hits the fan when Tom's pup is waylaid by an accident, and it's up to Tom to make sure the town's dogs achieve wedded bliss.
When Tom comes up with a novelty T-shirt depicting a top-hat doffing rat and the phrase "Rats Off To Ya!", the Mayor is so delighted by it he grants Tom a kiosk in the mall to peddle his wares in time for the Christmas shopping season. But after setting up his stand in front of a novelty store run by the glad-handing Pat Croece (played by Jeff Garlin), Tom has his shirt concept stolen (and improved) by the devious Croece. Tom's subsequent attempts to capitalize on the "Rats Off" idea (which becomes an overnight sensation) center around a pathetic "Hats Off To Ya" shirt, which is not nearly as endearing. ("Rats Off To Ya!" shirts were actually produced and can be purchased from the show's creators.)
When Jefferton's bird sanctuary is threatened by development, Tom brings the Mayor a petition from the town to save the birds. But the Mayor has a better idea: buying thousands of dollars worth of porcelain birds that are sure to appreciate significantly in value. Of course, Tom foots the bill, but when the birds turn out to be worth a bit less than the Mayor anticipated, woe is in the wind for Tom's finances and the real, non-porcelain birds.
Tom actually has a good idea for once, a renewable power source based on human waste. Predictably, just as the City Council is about to approve the idea, the Mayor steps in, demanding a third party to verify Tom's plan. The third party turns out to be an old friend of the Mayor (played by Michael Ian Black) who seems more interested in dancing with the Mayor and calling Tom "Steven" than verifying anything. When Tom accidentally kills Black in a traffic accident, he's presented the choice of giving a eulogy at the funeral or facing manslaughter charges. Due to the fickle nature of his "Fun-Puter" (wife Joy is using his laptop for on-line sex), he's also forced to choose between saving his eulogy file or the file with his power plan.
Scandal grips Jefferton as a sex tape of the Mayor and the town's band leader makes it to the media. The Mayor needs a PR man to help him ride the storm, and wouldn't you know it, Tom is that PR man. In order to distract the furor over the sex tape, Tom, the Mayor and the sickly son of a local sandlemaker, Mr. Sandleman (played by Bob Odenkirk) take to a hot-air balloon and attempt to break a hot-air balloon record previously held by Sandleman.
The subject of the Joy's ex-husband's TV pilot Mi$ter Entrepreneur, Tom has developed a novelty calculator, the Calcucorn, which features a pink unicorn that speaks results of equations. The Mayor orders 3,000 of the calculators and distributes them to all local government officials and businesses - including a construction firm building a major cross-town bridge - before Tom "works out the kinks", exposing in dramatic fashion that the calculators are inaccurate. Tom, faced with the stress of being constantly filmed by Joy's ex-husband (played by David Cross) and the various crises caused by his faulty calculators, has a very non-Tom-like breakdown.
Tom's old friend Gibbons (played by Brian Posehn) gives a solid example of someone who's even a bigger loser than Tom when he visits Jefferton and fails to leave as expected. Tom has a falling out with Gibbons, and when the Mayor stumbles on Gibbons at the Friendship Expo, he becomes smitten with the diminutive, annoying man. Tom's shortcomings as a friend are exposed at the expo when Gibbons falls in a well and gets media attention.
After all three of Tom's stepsons have heart attacks, Tom decides to take the initiative and form a "health camp for boys". The Mayor is delighted by the idea, so long as it's funded by Pipe's Buffet, a pipery/eatery located above the Mayor's office specializing in pipe tobacco and fatty meats. But when Tom suspects that the female counselor at Pipe Camp (played by Sarah Silverman in a fat-suit) may be pushing fatty meats and pipe smoking on the young boys at the camp, he is faced with yet another insurmountable dilemma.
When Tom tries to start his own consultingbusiness, the City Council rejects his application because his family is not registered. With the Mayor's assistance, Tom embarks on a three-step program to "normalize" his family, which may or may not help get them registered.
Before Tom can flee Jefferton (being quite distraught that nothing has "worked out" for him), the Mayor awards him the post of ViceMayor. However, this turns out to be the Vice Mayor of Hobotown, and it doesn't take long for Tom to become embroiled in a bad real-estate deal and a hobo-revolution.
Tom opens a store called My Big Cups, which sells 1.8 liter cups. When The Mayor stops in to buy some cups, he falls in love with Tom's son's macaroni art on the wall. Tom must then duplicate the style of the painting for Jefferton's upcoming 30th Anniversary Celebration.
After his adult school field trip reveals cracks in the Richardson Family Dam, Tom goes on a mission to halt the upcoming Jefferton Bass Fest. With The Mayor, bass musician Wizzard, Joy and his children standing in the way, Tom launches a protest canoe to warn the town.
Tom and The Mayor invent a fake sea serpent to attract tourism. Unfortunately, Tom loses control of the machine, with fatal results, and the Mayor forgets it's all a ruse.
The Mayor hires Tom as a manager on a top-secret project. When Tom reports to work the first day, he realizes it's not the job he expected as the elevator descends deep into the Jefferton Mines.
When the Jefferton wrestling coach collapses, Tom is called upon by the Mayor to coach the team. Tom quickly discovers the wrestlers have been using Flaxamax, a dangerously addictive weight enhancer made for racehorses.
The Mayor hires a homeless saxophonist who plays smooth jazz and is managed by Tom, to perform at the Grand Opening of a Waterbed Galleria. Things go awry when Tom hosts the Saxman at his house and the Saxman begins pushing the limits of proper hospitality.
A.K.A. Cosmo's Nightmare=The Mayor's obsession with getting rid of the Lawnmower Man ends with the Mayor hiring Tom to replace all the grass in the park with spray-on instant carpet. The carpet reacts in the sunlight, killing thousands and sending Tom to jail, and then on to Hell courtesy of Judd Hirsch.
After buying his kids a Bounce-House, Tom's funds are depleted. Unfortunately, Gibbons's birthday is fast-approaching (which falls on the same day as Tom's), and Gibbons is anticipating a new $800 sword signed by the dojo where it was forged. Tom stoops to new lows by stealing from kids wishing for dreams.
After Tom is having problems with frequent wet dreams involving him and his wife in a field of ponies, he sees a doctor (Zach Galifianakis). After his insurance runs out, he sees Dr. Michael Ian Black. Tom becomes a celebrity to achieve the pills to help with his Chronic Nocturnal Emissions (CNE).
Tom makes a new friend on a MySpace-esque site entitled Friendship Alliance, in John C. Reilly. After John accidentally snipes Gibbons, madness ensues, as Tom and Gibbons are held captive by the panicked Reilly, with the Mayor desperately on the hunt to find Gibbons.
Tom and the Mayor team up to renovate the Public Zoo. Profits had been diminishing since Brian Doyle-Murray opened up a three-dimensional animal adventure across the street, and the duo decide to investigate their competition.
Tom embarks on a couple's cruise in an attempt to bond better with his wife Joy, only to find that the Mayor also on board -- and also trying to bond better with Joy. Joy, of course, is not on the cruise.
This three disc boxset contains all 30 episodes from the shows first and second seasons. Bonus features include Commentary on every episode, Making of featurette, Married News, Deleted Scenes, Music Jukebox, Deleted Art Slideshow.
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