Tom Goes to the Mayor is an American animated television series on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim. Created by Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim, the show premiered on November 14, 2004 and ended on September 25, 2006, after two seasons and 30 episodes. Adult Swim has described this as "one of the most polarizing shows" they have ever had, indicating that viewers "either love it or hate it."^{[1] [2] [3]} A sitcom or situation comedy is a genre of comedy performance originally devised for radio but today typically found on television. ... 1867 edition of Punch, a ground-breaking British magazine of popular humour, including a good deal of satire of the contemporary social and political scene. ... Tim Heidecker (born February 3, 1976) is an American actor, comedian, and one half of the duo of Tim & Eric, the other being Eric Wareheim. ... Eric Wareheim (born April 7, 1976) is an American comedian and actor. ... Craig Ward Anton (born August 28, 1962) is an American actor and comedian. ... Ron Lynch is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and writer. ... Robert Bob Odenkirk (born October 22, 1962) is an American actor, writer, director and producer. ... Michael Quentin Schmidt (born April 20, 1953) is an American actor and fine arts model. ... Motto: (traditional) In God We Trust (official, 1956–present) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington, D.C. Largest city New York City Official language(s) None at the federal level; English de facto Government Federal Republic  - President George W. Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence - Declared - Recognized... Adult Swim is the name for an adult-oriented television programming network. ... is the 318th day of the year (319th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 268th day of the year (269th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!, created by and starring Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim, is an American television series which premiered February 11, 2007 on Adult Swim. ... An animated series or cartoon series is a television series produced by means of animation. ... For Cartoon Network outside of the United States, see Cartoon Network around the world. ... Adult Swim is the name for an adult-oriented television programming network. ... Tim Heidecker (born February 3, 1976) is an American actor, comedian, and one half of the duo of Tim & Eric, the other being Eric Wareheim. ... Eric Wareheim (born April 7, 1976) is an American comedian and actor. ... is the 318th day of the year (319th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 268th day of the year (269th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A television program (US), television programme (UK) or simply television show is a segment of programming in television broadcasting. ... An episode is a part of a dramatic work such as a serial television or radio program. ...

Tom Goes to the Mayor started off as a web cartoon on timanderic.com. It was popular enough to get a web sequel, in which David Cross guest stars. Bob Odenkirk noticed the show's potential, and has been producing it on Adult Swim. The basic plot of the show centers around Tom Peters, a new citizen to the town of Jefferton who is "full of ideas," and the Mayor who always tweaks Tom's ideas and causes them to backfire. For other persons named David Cross, see David Cross (disambiguation). ... Robert Bob Odenkirk (born October 22, 1962) is an American actor, writer, director and producer. ...

The show features a crude yet distinctive animation style which is made by taking photos of the cast with different expressions. The photos are filtered using the 'photocopy' filter in Adobe Photoshop, 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. ^[4] Photoshop redirects here. ... Mimeograph machine The mimeograph machine (commonly abbreviated to mimeo) or stencil duplicator was a printing machine that was far cheaper per copy than any other process in runs of several hundred to several thousand copies. ...

On August 21, 2006, at 12:30, Tom Goes to the Mayor was broadcast as scheduled. Adult Swim then answered a fan letter requesting a marathon of the show by actually showing numerous episodes instead of the normal scheduled programming, as if on a whim.

Creators Tim and Eric recently announced in Chicago that this series will be out-of-production for the foreseeable future so that they may concentrate on their new series, Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! However, the Tom Goes to the Mayor DVD set is marketed as "The Complete Series" which may indicate that there will be no more episodes. Production ended in September 2006 with 30 episodes. Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!, created by and starring Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim, is an American television series which premiered February 11, 2007 on Adult Swim. ...

Many characters, segments, and content from Tom Goes to the Mayor have been recycled for Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!, including the Channel 5 Married News Team, Uncle Muscles Hour, Gibbons, and even a live action version of Tom Goes to the Mayor used as an opening for the episode Pepperoni. Brian Posehn (born July 6, 1966) is an American actor and comedian, known for his roles as mail clerk Kevin Liotta on NBCs Just Shoot Me!, as a cast member of HBOs Mr. ...

Cast

Tom (right) and the Mayor

• Tim Heidecker - Tom Peters / Jan Skylar / Various

Tom is a 32-year-old entrepreneur who seems rather listless. Despite the mutilations and failures of his ideas by the moronic Mayor, Tom retains an accepting, mellow attitude to it all, never becoming too enthusiastic or overwhelmed. He is often taunted by his stepchildren (whom his wife Joy had in previous marriages), not to mention the beratings he receives from Joy, who is depicted as obese, angry, and quite possibly the worst wife that anyone could have. Tom has no apparent job (besides "local entrepreneur") and drives a Maluch that has severe emission problems. A common running gag on the show is that despite Tom's name being very simple, it is always misspelled when written out, such as "Tom Petres", "Thom P. Tiers" and "Taumpy Tearrs". Sometimes Tom resembles Simon LeBon from Duran Duran in terms of hairstyle and outfit^{[citation needed]}. Image File history File links Tom_mayor. ... Image File history File links Tom_mayor. ... Tim Heidecker (born February 3, 1976) is an American actor, comedian, and one half of the duo of Tim & Eric, the other being Eric Wareheim. ... For the computer game by Peter Molyneux, see The Entrepreneur. ... Polski Fiat 126p (in English: Polish Fiat 126p) is a small car produced in Poland between 1973 and 2000. ... Simon John Charles Le Bon (born October 27, 1958) is the lead singer and lyricist of the pop band Duran Duran. ... Duran Duran are an English rock band notable for a long series of popular singles and vivid music videos. ...

• Eric Wareheim - The Mayor / Wayne Skylar / Various

The Mayor is a friendly yet foolish (and somewhat childish) man who often spends his working days watching the TV in his office. He often uses homo-erotic undertones when speaking to Tom^{[citation needed]}. He usually gains control of Tom's suggestions for the community and twists them into embarrassing situations. 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. The Mayor is married and has three sons, though so far they are only seen in the episode "Puddin's." Also from that episode, it is revealed that the Mayor and his family apparently worship Zeus. Eric Wareheim (born April 7, 1976) is an American comedian and actor. ... Adult Swim is the name for an adult-oriented television programming network. ... For other uses, see Zeus (disambiguation). ...

• Stephanie Courtney - Renee the Receptionist / Joy Peters (voice only)
• Craig Anton - City Council Member (voice)
• Ron Lynch - City Council Member (voice)
• Bob Odenkirk - Various random characters in nearly every episode, often appearing in live-action segments
• Michael Q. Schmidt - Joy Peters & various characters in live action segments

Craig Ward Anton (born August 28, 1962) is an American actor and comedian. ... Ron Lynch is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and writer. ... Robert Bob Odenkirk (born October 22, 1962) is an American actor, writer, director and producer. ... Michael Quentin Schmidt (born April 20, 1953) is an American actor and fine arts model. ...

Premise

Tom Goes to the Mayor episodes are often 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. Usually this failure is assisted by the Mayor, who often adds unwelcome dimensions to Tom's ideas or hi-jacks them completely. Often, external forces derail his plans, and he is left "holding the bag" after disaster occurs. And, without fail, even when other characters could help Tom, none do so.

Most episodes end in such a way as to make them impossible to work into any sort of true timeline. Tom is often left in situations which would land him in jail or otherwise destroy his life; at least one episode ended with the destruction of Jefferton in a massive flood and the presumed deaths of everyone in town except Tom ("Bassfest"), and another episode ended with Tom's assisted suicide and descent into Hell ("Spray a Carpet or Rug"). In many ways it is hinted that each episode is totally separate, and that they happen at roughly the same time. The Mayor almost never seems to know who Tom is when he brings an idea to his front desk, though it's not known if this is a memory dysfunction or a hint at the show's unique timeline. The chronology of the episode in which Tom picks his father up from the Jefferton airport ("the Layover"), however, hints at the mayor's "memory loss" being more a function of Tom's tragic insignificance, a theme mirrored in the formula of the show.

Even when Tom succeeds at something, such as his role as matchmaker during "Toodleday", his efforts are still portrayed as failures. 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. Absurdism is a philosophy, usually translated into different art forms, that holds that any attempt to understand the universe will fail. ...

Episodes

Main article: List of Tom Goes to the Mayor Episodes

DVD releases

Season Releases

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References

For the news website, see msnbc. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 151st day of the year (152nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Tom Goes to the Mayor

• Adult Swim page for TGTTM
• Tim and Eric
• Tom Goes to the Mayor at the Internet Movie Database
• Website of Bob Odenkirk and David Cross
• AdultSwim.co.uk - TGTTM on Adult Swim UK
• TGTTM at TV Tome
• abso-LUTELY! the origins of the Season 2 stinger.