Welcome to Eltingville
Created by Evan Dorkin
Broadcast on Cartoon Network
The Eltingville stories have always been one of the best things about Evan Dorkin's Dork comic book. Let's face it, there's not much that lends itself more to mockery and derision than four fanboys and their pathetic obsessions with role-playing games, comic books, and obscure details about the case of the 1966 Batman TV series. In his time, Dorkin has no doubt been obsessed with all of these and more, and somehow, this has all turned into a TV show.
I hesitate to say "TV series," because I don't think it's known if "Welcome to Eltingville" will be picked up for future installments. We may, in fact, never find out what happens to the head of Boba Fett.
As you might expect from Dorkin (who was heavily involved in the production of this pilot episode), this is a manic half-hour crammed to the edges with sci-fi trivia, comic book references, and at one point, rivers of pus oozing out of gigantic zits. It's hard not to laugh, but I suspect most Dork fans who tuned in to see the show probably found some secret moment of shame that made it as depressing as it was hilarious. I know I did. Luckily such moments are contrasted by dialogue like "Eh, Battle Broad was a lot better when she had the Battle Broad Brigade. More battles, more broads."
For what it was, the show was very, very well done. The actors capture Dorkin's twisted little fanboys perfectly, and the animation was vibrant, recalling Dorkin's style with a clean look that was quite visually appealing. But like Kevin Smith's Clerks cartoon, I suspect this concept may have too narrow an appeal to ever find a loyal audience large enough to support an ongoing series. There's a reason fanboys like these are marginalized in mainstream society, and it's not because millions of people are hoping they'll show up on their TV screens for an intimate half-hour every week.
But, y'know, this is cable TV, where all sorts of demented losers can find an audience. Look at Larry King, Bill O'Reilly, and that guy that claims to talk to dead people. Surely the pathetic losers in the Eltingville are more fun to watch and do less harm to society than those freaks.
Welcome to Eltingville was an accurate portrait of a segment of society that doesn't laugh at itself much, but is still pretty damned funny to watch. Let's hope enough viewers enjoyed their first glimpse at Josh, Pete, Jerry and Bill Dickey that the network gives them a regular time slot. Grade: 5/5