Tom Goes to the Mayor

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Tom Goes to the Mayor is an animated show on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim, that aired for the first time on November 14, 2004. 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 (though the ideas always backfire). The show features a crude yet distinctive animation style (vaguely reminiscent to sprite comics) 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. Adult Swim has also described this as being one of the most polarizing shows they have had, indicating that fans either love or hate it.

Contents

Cast

Tom is a rather low-key thirty-something man whose life is rather listless. Despite the mutilations and failures of his ideas by the moronic Mayor, Tom retains an even-keeled, mellow attitude to it all, never becoming too enthusiastic or distraught. 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 tiny, Yugo-like hatchback that has severe emissions problems.

The Mayor is a friendly yet foolish (and somewhat immature) man who often spends his working days watching TV. He usually gains control of Tom's suggestions for the community and twists them into embarrassments. 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.

Premise

The premise behind Tom Goes to the Mayor is vaguely 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. Even when Tom succeeds at something, such as his role as matchmaker during Toodleday, his efforts are still portrayed as failures. And 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.

Guest Stars

Episode Guide

Spoiler warning: Plot or ending details follow.
  • Episode 1: Bear Traps - 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 aka Tenacious D), Jefferton becomes the locale of the highest bear-trap-to-child ratio in the state.
  • Episode 2: Pioneer Island - 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.
  • Episode 3: WW Lazerz - Flush with a chest full of WWII memorabilia he got on eBay, 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 affect 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.
  • Episode 4: Rats Off To Ya - 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.)
  • Episode 5: Toodleday - 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.
  • Episode 6: Porcelain Birds - 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.
  • Episode 7: Vehicular Manslaughter - Tom actually has a good idea for once, a renweable 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.
  • Episode 8: Boy Meets Mayor - 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.
  • Episode 9: Re-birth - When Tom tries to start his own consulting business, 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.
  • Episode 10: Calcucorn - The subject of the Joy's ex-husband's TV pilot Mi$ter Entrepeneur, 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 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.
  • Episode 11: Vice Mayor - Before Tom can flee Jefferton (being quite distraught that nothing has "worked out" for him), the Mayor awards him the post of Vice Mayor. 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.
  • Episode 12: Gibbons - 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.
  • Episode 13: Pipe Camp - 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.

Notes and Trivia

  • Tom has a tendency to substitute generic words for profanity in times of stress. Such examples include, "Shirt!" and "Crickets!"
  • The Mayor sometimes has trouble remembering Tom's name moments after meeting him, rattling off a series of truncated "T" names before Tom can remind him he is, in fact, Tom.
  • Tom insists on pronouncing aerobics as "ayer-oobics", though it is possible his style of aerobics is an offshoot.
  • Tom is "allergic" to pipe tobacco smoke.
  • Tom's house is portrayed as a hovel; even his lawn has no grass. Tom's house number is "68 1/2".
  • Joy is usually depicted in close proximity to large amounts of fried foods. In "Pipe Camp" she is seen in the kitchen with a trough of over a dozen eggs and sausage links, and it is implied she intends to eat all of it.
  • Tom attended "Junior Community College."
  • The Mayor is viewed as a man of various passions which seem to change with every episode. He is an apparent afficianado of pipe smoking, fatty meats, porcelain birds, child safety, Chrysler LeBarons, novelty t-shirts, sandals, dogs, boats, theatrical acting ("Calcucorn"), spaghetti and arson.

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