This article describes a work or element of fiction in a primarily in-universe style.(September 2020) |
The X's | |
---|---|
Genre | Comedy Action-adventure Science fiction Espionage Farce |
Created by | Carlos Ramos |
Directed by | Dave Marshall |
Voices of | |
Composer | Shawn Patterson |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 1 |
No. of episodes | 20 (38 segments) |
Production | |
Executive producers | Carlos Ramos Rico Hill (co-executive producer) |
Producer | Monique Beatty (line) |
Running time | 22 minutes (2 specials) and 11-minute segments |
Production company | Nickelodeon Animation Studio |
Original release | |
Network | Nickelodeon |
Release | November 25, 2005 – November 25, 2006 |
The X's is an American animated television series created by Carlos Ramos for Nickelodeon. The series centers on a nuclear family of four highly trained spies who must conceal their identity from the outside world but normally having trouble in doing so. The show consists of a single 20-episode (38 segments) season, running from November 25, 2005, to November 25, 2006. Although it was compared to The Incredibles and Alias , [1] Ramos has stated that the show takes inspiration from the James Bond film series, the 1960s TV series Get Smart, and the 1960s TV series The Avengers . [2]
The X's work for SUPERIOR, a covert agency sworn to defend Earth from evil. Mr. and Mrs. X have their daughter named Tuesday, their younger son named Truman, and many gadgets at their disposal. An organization called S.N.A.F.U. (short for Society of Nefarious and Felonious Undertakings) led by the evil Glowface is continually trying to cause trouble for the X's and other SUPERIOR agents through their plans to take over the world.
The series takes place in 2006, according to the episode: "X Takes a Holiday." The location of the show is in a coastal city, likely somewhere in the United States, as Mr. and Mrs. X have used the country's currency in the episodes "Secret Agent Manual," "Wealth vs. Stealth," and "Train Rex."
The series was pitched in 2002, with development from 2002 to 2003. Production ran from May 2004 to September 2006. [3] [4]
The end credits of each episode reveal that in production order, the first ten episodes were completed by 2005, while the last ten were completed by 2006. [5] [6] [7]
After production wrapped in late 2006, Carlos Ramos and director Dave Marshall moved on to work on Ni Hao, Kai-Lan 's pilot and series. Ramos left Nickelodeon in June 2007 after working as a character designer. [8] [9] CG Supervisor Ernest Chan, along with voice-director, writer, and Dave the Barbarian creator Doug Langdale, moved to providing 3D special effects and writing episodes of El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera respectively. [10]
Dave Marshall has directed every episode of the show.
The final episode, "Theater of War" / "Breaking Camp," remains unaired in the United States, but has aired in Europe and Asia. [11] [12]
No. | Title | Written by | Storyboard by | Original air date | Prod. code |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1a | "AAIIEE, Robot!" | Doug Langdale | Jim Smith | November 25, 2005 | 105a |
Mrs. X breaks her leg. To solve this problem, Truman builds a replacement. This does not seem to work well. | |||||
1b | "Mission: Irresponsible" | Carlos Ramos | Jim Smith, Roque Ballesteros, Alan Lau, and Brad Rau | November 25, 2005 | 105b |
SUPERIOR decides to take Mr. and Mrs. X out of their ranks as punishment for destroying Stonehenge as they have Home Base place Truman and Tuesday in command instead. | |||||
2a | "License to Slumber" | Doug Langdale | Vincent Waller | November 25, 2005 | 103a |
Mrs. X arranges a slumber party for Tuesday; during it, the family begins to fight Glowface. Tuesday tries to cover up the truth about her family. | |||||
2b | "Three Days of the Coin-Op" | Ralph Soll | Vincent Waller | November 25, 2005 | 103b |
Truman's unauthorized upgrade of Home Base forces the computer offline for a day. They try to work to get all the household chores done before an inspector from SUPERIOR shows up. If anything is out of place, the X's will be sent to a foreign country to herd farting goats. | |||||
3a | "Photo Ops" | Gene Grillo | Carlos Ramos, Carl Greenblatt, Erik C. Wiese, Carey Yost, and Joe Daniello | November 25, 2005 | 101a |
The X's get a family portrait taken to try to blend in as a normal family. Unfortunately, this turns out to be an ambush by S.N.A.F.U. as Glowface leads Lorenzo Suave, Sasquatch, the Scream Queens, the McVampires, Bio-Harold, Missing Link, and Some Old Guy into attacking the X's. | |||||
3b | "Boy's Best Fiend" | Mike Ryan | Li Hong | November 25, 2005 | 101b |
After missing every birthday celebration because of world-saving missions, Truman gets a puppy for his birthday and names it Rex, but it turns out it is from Sasquatch, who has amassed an animal army. | |||||
4a | "Mr. Fix It" | John Behnke & Rob Humphrey | Li Hong | December 9, 2005 | 104a |
In his effort to pass for a normal dad, Mr. X learns that normal dads fix things, so he begins to do that. Of course, he's terrible at it. | |||||
4b | "Doommates" | John Behnke & Rob Humphrey | Li Hong, Chong Lee, and Jim Smith | December 9, 2005 | 104b |
Truman and Tuesday are forced to share a room after Truman's room accidentally goes nuclear. | |||||
5a | "Secret Agent Manual" | Doug Langdale | Carlos Ramos | December 16, 2005 | 102a |
Mrs. X and the kids trick Mr. X into giving them stuff they want by rewriting his official spy manual with the Retextinator to include the items they desire. | |||||
5b | "The Spy Who Liked Me" | Gene Grillo | Vincent Waller | December 16, 2005 | 102b |
Tuesday's first date is with a guy named Brandon who is too good to be true: in fact, he is a spy working undercover for his uncle Glowface. | |||||
6a | "To Err is Truman" | Earl Kress | Roque Ballesteros, Alan Lau, and Brad Rau | January 13, 2006 | 106a |
Truman attempts to be good and refrain from pulling pranks for one entire day, so he may join his family at the "world's greatest" amusement park. | |||||
6b | "No More Mrs. Nice X" | Doug Langdale | Louie del Carmen | January 13, 2006 | 106b |
Mrs. X is filled with peace and tranquility after she returns from a retreat. Unfortunately, these qualities prove useless when confronting Glowface. | |||||
7a | "On Her Majesty's Postal Service" | Scott Peterson | Li Hong and Andy Kelly | February 3, 2006 | 108a |
Mr. X gets a job as a mailman. Meanwhile, Sasquatch works to breed the ultimate dog. | |||||
7b | "Pinheads" | Duane Colbert & Shahrzad Warkentin | Jim Smith | February 3, 2006 | 108b |
Tuesday wants the family to learn how to bowl. Their lessons get crashed by Glowface, Lorenzo Suave, Sasquatch, and Brandon who were annoyed that they are bowling when not trying to stop their heists. Note: This episode guest stars John Kricfalusi, creator of The Ren & Stimpy Show as the Bowling Alley Guy. This was Kricfalusi's first time at Nickelodeon after he was fired after season 2 of Ren & Stimpy. | |||||
8a | "From Crusha with Love" | John Behnke & Rob Humphrey | Andy Kelly | February 17, 2006 | 111a |
A girl at school picks on Truman, but he finds out it is because she has a crush on him. Note: This episode guest stars Will Arnett as Pork E. Bacon. | |||||
8b | "Xcitement" | John Behnke & Rob Humphrey | Andy Kelly | February 17, 2006 | 111b |
Mr. X has a dirty little secret that is locking him away from being a spy and hanging with his family, but what could it be? | |||||
9a | "You Only Sneeze Twice" | Carlos Ramos | Li Hong | February 24, 2006 | 110a |
The entire family gets sick, except for Tuesday. The same thing happens at S.N.A.F.U. HQ where Glowface, Sasquatch, and the Scream Queens get sick, leaving Lorenzo Suave to care for them. Seeing this as an opportunity to do one of his plots, Lorenzo begins his plot for world conquest, which attracts Tuesday's attention. | |||||
9b | "X Takes a Holiday" | Doug Langdale | Li Hong, Andy Kelly, Carlos Ramos, and Marcelo Souza | February 24, 2006 | 110b |
Mr. and Mrs. X go on a romantic date, but Tuesday and Truman throw a party while they are away. Glowface seizes the opportunity to attack Home Base. | |||||
10a | "Mock Tutors" | John Behnke & Rob Humphrey | Andy Kelly | March 3, 2006 | 109a |
Truman and Tuesday are failing their cooking and tennis classes (Tuesday with cooking; Truman with tennis). They'll be forced to go to summer school if they fail their test. So their parents try to help them with those subjects. Mrs. X helps Tuesday and Mr. X helps Truman; the only problem is that Mrs. X, who is a good tennis player, turns out to be a terrible cook while Mr. X, who is a good cook, turns out to be a terrible tennis player! | |||||
10b | "Meddle Mouth" | John Behnke & Rob Humphrey | Jim Smith | March 3, 2006 | 109b |
Truman finds the perfect opportunity to drive Tuesday crazy when she gets braces. He interferes with her braces to make Tuesday say crazy things while she is on her date with Brandon. | |||||
11a | "Family Issues" | Tracy Berna | Li Hong | March 17, 2006 | 107a |
In their continuous effort to be like "normal families", the X's visit a family counselor to see what kind of issues "normal families" have. However, it is not long before they start to take their "roles" too seriously. | |||||
11b | "Truman's Choice" | Doug Langdale | Roque Ballesteros, Alan Lau, and Brad Rau | March 17, 2006 | 107b |
Truman gets a chance to capture the most wanted villain which is Copperhead. The rest of the family begin to suck up to Truman to capture Copperhead with him. | |||||
12a | "Wealth vs. Stealth" | Doug Langdale | Li Hong, Andy Kelly, and Carlos Ramos | April 7, 2006 | 112a |
When the X's win a billion dollars, they must balance their new fame and fortune with their spy work. | |||||
12b | "Wee House" | Carlos Ramos | Jim Smith | April 7, 2006 | 112b |
Sick and tired of being short, Truman builds a small replica of Home Base for him to live in until he misses his family. | |||||
13 | "Truman X: Super Villain" | Carlos Ramos | Li Hong, Andy Kelly, Carlos Ramos, and Jim Smith | June 16, 2006 | 113 |
When the X's punish Truman for hotdogging a mission and blowing up the X jet by selling all of his spy gadgets, Glowface persuades the boy to join S.N.A.F.U. His first mission: destroy the X's. | |||||
14a | "A Truman Scorned" | Scott Peterson | Andy Kelly | September 22, 2006 | 114a |
Truman has a crush on Tuesday's friend Kimla. Truman realizes there's only one way to get past this "little kid" thing – he has to tell her he's really an international super spy. Not surprisingly, Kimla doesn't believe him. Surprisingly, she continues to disbelieve his story even when he sneaks her along on a mission and the truth is right in front of her nose. | |||||
14b | "Y's Up" | Rob Humphrey & John Behnke | Andy Kelly and Jim Smith | September 22, 2006 | 114b |
The archenemies of the X's, the Y's, move in next door. The X's suspect they are up to no good, but cannot prove anything until the Y's show their true colors during Glowface's next plot. | |||||
15a | "Quit Your Day Job" | Tracy Berna | Jim Smith | September 29, 2006 | 115a |
When Tuesday is suspicious of Brandon, the X's find out he is a part-time S.N.A.F.U. agent. | |||||
15b | "Missing Home" | Doug Langdale | Carlos Ramos | September 29, 2006 | 115b |
Home Base explodes when the X's forget his birthday. Without Home Base, the X's need to survive on their own. | |||||
16a | "Live and Let Diaper" | Heather Lombard & Evan Gore | Michael Mullen and Carlos Ramos | October 6, 2006 | 118a |
The X's have to babysit a neighbor's baby, and they cannot change his diaper. Will they ever be able to change that diaper? | |||||
16b | "In-Law Enforcement" | Tracy Berna | Li Hong, Andy Kelly, and Jim Smith | October 6, 2006 | 118b |
The X's try to prevent Mrs. X's parents from realizing that they are spies when they come for a visit. Note: This episode guest stars Jessica Walter as Louise and M. Emmet Walsh as Stanley. | |||||
17a | "Train Rex" | Rob Humphrey & John Behnke | Andy Kelly | October 13, 2006 | 116a |
After the X's go on a mission, Truman faces an ultimatum where he has a single day to train Rex or else he will go to the pound. | |||||
17b | "Homebody" | Rob Humphrey & John Behnke | Steven DeStephano and Andy Kelly | October 13, 2006 | 116b |
Truman creates a body for Home Base so he can carry the X's weapons, but the X's hate it. It even gives Home Base problems when he tries to stop Sasquatch, Bio-Harold, and the Scream Queens alone. | |||||
18 | "The Haunting of Home Base" | Rob Humphrey & John Behnke | Li Hong, Andy Kelly, Michael Mullen, Carlos Ramos, and Jim Smith | October 27, 2006 | 120 |
Truman attempts to scare his family by turning Home Base into a haunted house, but Glowface takes control of the Home Base, and soon, Tuesday, Mr. X, and Mrs. X are zombies. Can Truman stop Glowface's evil plot before his brain is eaten? | |||||
19a | "Accidental Hero" | Alessia Costantini | Li Hong, Andy Kelly, and Michael Mullen | November 25, 2006 | 119a |
Truman saves a baby from one of his paintball traps, and the public hail him as a hero; Tuesday tries to expose Truman as the culprit. | |||||
19b | "Untied" | Rob Humphrey & John Behnke | Li Hong, Andy Kelly, and Jim Smith | November 25, 2006 | 119b |
After Mr. X's necktie reflects off Glowface's base walls, he suffers a tie loss. He now cannot fight. Can the other X's save Mr. X from his loss of "Mr. Tie-tie", or will the X's become nothing? | |||||
20a | "Theater of War" | Doug Langdale | Carlos Ramos | Unaired | 117a |
Brandon will play Romeo in the school play of Romeo and Juliet , and Seven Y competes with Tuesday to see who may play Juliet. | |||||
20b | "Breaking Camp" | Rob Humphrey & John Behnke | Andy Kelly and Jean Texier | Unaired | 117b |
Mr. X takes Truman to his favorite childhood camp, hoping he will love it, too. Turns out Truman does not, much to Mr. X's dismay. |
As confirmed by Carlos Ramos on Tumblr, he had written an episode in December 2005 titled "Bro Face," which would have been about Glowface's brother coming to visit him. This story would have been a part of episode 18 or 19, given that episode 17 at that time was in production since summer 2005. [13] Nickelodeon scrapped the episode in favor of "a more kid-centric story." [14]
The series aired on Nickelodeon and premiered in the United States on November 25, 2005, with three back-to-back episodes. [15] The final episode aired on November 25, 2006. As of 2007, "Theater of War" / "Breaking Camp" remain unaired in the United States.
The X's premiered in multiple countries throughout Latin America in summer of 2006, [16] [17] along with Germany on February 10, 2007, [18] and in South Korea from 2008 to 2009. [19]
In 2018, series director, Dave Marshall released nearly the entire series on his Vimeo account (with the exception of 2 episodes). [20] The remaining episodes can be found on Internet Archive. [21]
The X's is available on Pluto TV and Apple TV in Mexico (however, a few episodes are missing). [22]
While the series never saw any official complete series releases, there were two Nick Picks volumes that each included an episode in 2006 and 2007. The episode "To Err is Truman" was to be featured on the Nick Picks Vol. 6 DVD, with a release date for August 7, 2007. The DVD and the Nick Picks series overall were cancelled for unknown reasons. [23]
Title | Episode count | Release date | Episodes | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Nick Picks Vol. 4 | 1 | June 6, 2006 | "Photo Ops" | |
Nick Picks Vol. 5 | 1 | March 13, 2007 | "Secret Agent Manual" | |
Nick Picks Vol. 6 | 1 | — | "To Err is Truman" |
During the mid-2000s, Nickelodeon featured comics for The X's in Nickelodeon Magazine. It is currently unknown how many comics were produced. However, the last known comic, "In Like Fish" (Written and illustrated by Kyle Baker), was featured in the October 2006 issue. [24]
This article needs additional citations for verification .(January 2024) |
Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Work | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2006 [ citation needed ] | Artios | Best Animated Voice-Over Television Casting | Sarah Noonan and Meredith Layne | The X's | Won |
2006 | Annie Award | Storyboarding in an Animated Television Production | Hong Li | "You Only Sneeze Twice" | Won |
2006 | Annie Award | Character Design in an Animated Television Production | Carlos Ramos | "Homebody" | Nominated |
2006 | Annie Award | Character Design in an Animated Television Production | Eric Robles | "You Only Sneeze Twice" | Nominated |
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