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DAILY VARIETY
TELEVISION REVIEW
to let him be part of their newest attemp at galactic dominamce, which they call Operation Impending Doom II, the sequel to an effort that apparantly didn't go to well. To get Zim out of their hair, they send him on a mission to the remotest part of the universe, an unkown planet that turns out to be ours. Despite his shortcomings, Zim imagines himself to be a great spy, and even though everything proceeds rockily, he convinces himself he's doing a splendid job his ability to keep a postiive attitude even though he's pretty much been abandoned by his own makes him a a likable figure, and Richard Horvitz gives voice to the character by effectively alternating between the insecure and the demonic.

Invader Zim

Animated by nicktoons. Executive Producers, Mary Harrington, Jhonen Vasquez; producer Steve Ressel; writer, Vasquez Rob Hummel; storyboard, Kyle Menke, Shawn Murray; theme music, Mark Tortorici, Music, Kevin Manthei; casting, Donnna Grillo Gonzalez. 30 MIN.

Zim . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . Richard Horvitz
Gir . . . .. . . . . .Rosearik Rikki Simons
Dib . . . .. . . . . .. . . . .. . . Andy Berman
Gaz . . . . . .. .. . . . . . . . . . Melissa Fahn
Ms. Bitters . . . .. . .. . . . . Lucille Bliss

With: Brad Abrell, Rodger Bumpass, Mo Collins, Phil Lamarr, Kevin Hamilton Mcdonald, Michael Mcdonald, Jhonen Vasquez, Wally Wingert.
By STEVEN OXMAN
 this is pic text

In Nickelodeon's "Invader Zim, "
a self deluded alien comes to
Earth in order to find the planet's weaknesses & plan its destruction. Don't worry he's not much of a threat and after just the pilot episode it will be hard not to root for him. If one is going to borrow from a predecessor, one should at least choose wisely, and creator Jhonen Vasquez has done so by picking "Pinky and the Brain" as his dramatic model, another animated series with a protagonist with a bent for destruction who never succeeds. The cartoon captures a nice blend of the innocent and the

satirical. and should appeal to Nick's core audience of youngsters and early teenagers. Vasquez comes to toondom with an interesting pedigree, having authored a comicbook series whose title reveals his interst in black comedy: "Johny the Homicidal Mainiac." He invests "Zim " with a dark sensibility, it's far from maniacal and even farther from homicidal.
Zim, a green square headed , insectlike alien, is an outcast even on his own planet, where he's considered too short to be much of a warrior. Only by being a complete pest to the rulers, the Tallest, decide

 Zim is assisited in his endeavors by a tin can of a robot named Gir( Rosearik Rikki Simons), who makes his master seem like the epitome of competence. They're chased by trhe alien-obsessed human Dib ( Andy Berman), who can shout all he wants that the aliens have landed but nobody will believe him.
The artwork here isn't especially original but still manages to create a niceluyoff-center vision of Earth and its inhabitants. Vasquez and co-writer Rob Hummel throw in some clever quips at life on this planet. taking aim particularly at the doomsaying schoolteacher, Ms. Bitters. Kevin Manthei's music provides strong accompaniment to the escapades.