Riding on the coattails of the big blockbuster Men in Black, the animated series picked up where the movie left off and debuted on the WB. The characters of Agents J and K—played in the movie by Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, respectively—were once again ready to protect Earth against alien threats.

The cartoon had the same back story as the movie: due to the high number of alien life forms traveling to Earth, the INS established a special branch that would monitor and police them, ensuring that the aliens remained hidden from public view. The branch was called the Men in Black, which an apt description for the dark suits and sunglasses. The head Man in Black was Zed, and Jay, Kay and Elle (plucky girl Agent L) reported to him. The agents enjoyed the benefit of alien technology and cooperation with several alien species like the Fellas (the gossiping coffee machine aliens) and twins Bob and Unpronounceable Name. Other characters transferred over from the movie were Jeebs, the pawnshop owner and informant and Frank the Pug.

The main villain in the animated series was Alpha, a rogue ex-Man in Black, who used to run MiB but had since turned against the organization. There was also a steady parade of extraterrestrial life forms lining up to beat, enslave, extort, exploit and do other nasty things to our home planet.

The show could introduce new aliens in every episode and never run out, limited only by the writers’ imaginations. You didn’t have to be a kid to appreciate the screwball humor and fascinating aliens and Men in Black: The Series had four very successful seasons on the air.