Butt-Ugly Martians
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Butt-Ugly Martians is a computer-animated television series, which aired on the Nickelodeon cable channel between 2001 and 2002. It is also a computer game for several platforms.
The Butt-Ugly Martians (B.U.M.) are forced to invade planets for the evil Emperor Bog. When they are sent to Earth they discover comic books, hamburgers, video games and music videos and become addicted to Earth culture, deciding not to hurt the earth and simply pretend to be occupying the planet for Bog. They are shown around by their new friends: Mike, Ronald, Cedric and Angela. The Butt-Ugly Martians will continue to hang out on Earth as long as Emperor Bog never finds out.
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[edit] Characters
B-Bop-a-Luna - B-Bop-a-Luna is the diplomat and leader of the Butt-Ugly Martians. Brave, showy, and a little big headed (although increasingly less as the show went on), B-Bop can always be trusted to think up a good cover story and look convincing doing it. He's a natural leader, able to get even the most cowardly characters behind him even when he's not entirely sure what to do. Nevertheless, B-Bop can think on the fly and usually comes up with a plan that works. He also has a bit of a temper; 2-T and Do-Wah are usually the two to calm him down. He is more tactile than the other two Martians. B-Bop is officially the commanding officer of 2-T and Do-Wah in the Martian Fleet (he is occasionally addressed as "Commander" by the two). He wears a yellow uniform and BKM suit.
2-T-Fru-T - 2-T-Fru-T is the mechanic (described on the BUM merchadise as a "tech commando", he is most likely a lieutenant as he of lower status than B-Bop but higher than Do-Wah) for the Butt Uglies and inventor of BKM. A mechanical prodigy, 2-T is the MacGyver of Martians and has been able to construct anything from invisibilyt rays to the BKM (Butt Kicking Mode) suits using parts that were immediately available. He often finds himself at the mercy of sub-standard parts sent to him by Dr. Damage, ironically, but these never slow him down for long. 2-T is a bit socially inept, often forgetting Earth colloquialisms and fading into technical jargon when it's not necessary. He's also a bad liar under stress, although he can think of a good one whenever B-Bop is indesposed. He's usually calm, but has been known to snap at his friends whenever he feels betrayed (this may be insecurity; one episode has him stopping Muldoon in his usual slew of anti-alien insults with cracking voice, as if he's about to cry). He wears a blue uniform and BKM suit.
Do-Wah-Diddy - Do-Wah-Diddy is the fun Martian of the Butt Uglies. Do-Wah has a huge appetite and loves milkshakes, hamburgers, junk food and all other unhealthy foods. Not surprisingly, Do-Wah is the fattest of the Martians (although not obese). Despite a prominent belly, Do-Wah has super-Martian strength (Martians on the show are stronger than humans by themselves, so this is a particularly powerful statement). Despite his thickness (or possibly because of it), he is extraordinarily sweet and usually the first to look on the bright side and find the good in people. Do-Wah has a light crush on Angela, the show's only female human. Do-Wah-Diddy wears a red uniform, and the merchandise gave his rank as a corporal.
Shaboom Shaboom - A female Martian secret agent. She's aware of the trio's defection but keeps it a secret, and it's often implied that the Butt-Uglies have crushes on her.
Mike Ellis - A red-headed, green eyed 13-year-old boy, Mike is the unofficial and sometimes debatable leader of the human friends of the Martians. A typical teenager, Mike enjoys TV, junk food, hoverboarding, and the newest pop music. Mike is prone to bouts of big headedness, much like B-Bop, but can also get his confidence shattered readily whenever he's upset. Mike's also a pessimist at times, but is the first to jump in and take charge whenver the situation calls for it. Along the course of the show, Mike has been exposed to deadly radiation, electrocuted, kidnapped (twice), and several other unearthly threats. Mike hates it when people call him "Mikey".
Angela Young - The only female human ever shown on the show, Angela is a dark haired, blue-eyed and slightly hefty teenaged girl, breaking the "skinny as a stick" trend in teenaged girl characters on TV. Angela is level-headed and smart, often the voice of reason to the more reckless boy characters on the show. Much to Mike's dismay, she is also very good at video games (breaking another stereotype in the process) and once saved the world with her skills with a joystick. Angela is typically considered beautiful by other alien species, and has been kidnapped twice as a result. Both instances had her fighting her kidnapper, but being rescued by the Martians anyway. Not quite a tomboy, Angela will sometimes "squeak" when she talks, especially when she's excited. Angela acknowledges that Do-Wah has a crush on her; whether she likes him back romantically is debatable.
Cedric - A 12-year-old African-American, Cedric hangs out with Mike and Angela (he was moved forward in school, which explains his age and his height). Cedric has big glasses and, for some reason, brown eyes that reflect silver if the light hits them the right way (this was most likely an animation glitch or the light reflecting off of his glasses, as it is never addressed on the show). He is a techinical wizard akin to 2-T, although he more of a computer hacker than a mechanic. Cedric also has incredible aim, able to hit very small targets from very far away. Cedric tends to make corny jokes which either go unheard or make him the target strange looks. Cedric can be very nervous, and is sometimes seen wringing his hands in worry. Contradictory, Cedric is obsessed with fame and, more importantly, fortune , with his quest for money leading to almost callousness towards his friends (although, in the end, he always pulls through). Overall, he's a good person. Cedric was never given a last name on the show.
Stoat Muldoon - Stoat Muldoon is an alien hunter who discovers the martians on Earth several times throughout the series, but every time he has, the martians have outwitted him and erased his memory. He has an underground base in the middle of the desert where he broadcasts his television show and dedicates his time to studying paranormal activity. Throughout most of the series, Stoat Muldoon is considered the antagonist of the show, but on a few special occasions, he joins forces with the martians to defeat Emperor Bog and Dr. Damage. His name is a reference to another famous alien obsesser, Fox Mulder of the X-Files.
[edit] Enemies
Emperor Bog - The evil but foolish ruler of the Martian populace, Bog is often fooled by the Butt Ugly Martians fake progress reports. He has little tolerance for imperfection, his idea of perfection being everything going according to what he wants. In short, Bog is little more than a whiny spoiled brat. As the show progressed, Bog became more suspicious of his "loyal subjects". He likes to roll his R's. He is incredibly lazy, admitting to not even having to pluck his own nose hair, but for some reason has prominent abs and pecs.
Dr. Damage - Bog's more intelligent right-hand-man, Damage constantly suspects that the "Butt-Uglies are up to something. He's usually right, but rarely listened to. Damage (pronounced "dah-mahj") invents many instruments to try and win the conquest of Earth, but these usually lead to the Butt Uglies destroying them and making Damage look like a fool in the process. He constantly insults Bog behind his back, despite Bog usually hearing him, and so always has to make up a compliment that sounds vaguely like what he was saying (e.g. "Royal nincompoop" becomes "loyal troops" in the first episode). He has also, on some occasions, tried to overthrow Emperor Bog as Martian emperor. However, Emperor Bog eventually found out about this ambition and, as Damage's punishment for his attempts to take over the position of Martian Emperor, made Damage wash and wax every ship on their base, and had Shaboom and Infi-Knight watch him to make sure that he did the job right.
Jax the Conqueror - A warlord who despises Martians, but after being defeated and imprisoned by B-Bop and the others pretends to be willing to help them invade Earth to get a chance for revenge. He pilots a ship called the Doom Jax which is impervious to Martian weaponry. He has been "destroyed" three times in the series run, but always manages to come back.
Humanga - A giant alien villain who is the only player of an alien game called Toget that has won as many games as the Butt-Uglies themselves.
Infi-Knight - A four-armed robotic warrior created by Damage to speed the Earth invasion along. Probably the Butt-Uglies' most powerful enemy.
Gorgon - A fire-breathing lizard-like alien characterized by the ability to change into or possess others and a TERRIBLE smell. He speaks with a hiss.
Klaktor - A Reconabot (portmanteau for "reconnaissance robot") that the Butt Uglies had to defeat in the first episode that reappeared later in the series. Can fall apart and reassemble himself at will.
[edit] Criticism
Butt Ugly Martians, which had sported early promotional ads of being "the next Ninja Turtles," has been often criticised for its supposed displaying of "Earth Culture", which is in reality simply 90's-2000's American youth culture, revolving around hamburgers and video games. Critics argue that this promotes a steryotypical image of the world to the show's young audience.
The show has also gained a lot of criticism from fans of the show Invader Zim, as it took the timeslot of that show after it's cancellation. This show, along with Super Duper Sumos, became running jokes on fan-made Zim message boards.
[edit] Trivia
- TVs and viewscreens on this show are constantly playing the combining footage from the Lion Force Voltron show.
- Midway through the show's run, ads began airing on Nickelodeon promoting a B.U.M. movie. However, the show was cancelled after only one season, and no movie was ever aired. Whether a movie existed at the time and simply never got a chance to air or if it was simply in preparation and was never completed is unknown.
- During the show, alien investigator Stoat Muldoon would frequently mention his website of http://www.stoatmuldoon.com .This actually existed as a promotional website, including a moderated message board where viewers could list 'alien sightings' (actually alien-themed Mad Libs).
