Hypothetical Productions presents “Hodg-Man”

Another collaboration with my brother Greg from the Might’ve Bin:  ”The Inexpensively Animated Adventures Of Hodg-Man”.

Greg’s caricatures are also posted at his blog, the Williams Projects Archive. As you might guess, a complete collection of unrealized Williams Brothers projects could become quite voluminous.

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PRESENTING

Starring JOHN HODGMAN,

a professional writer.

 

Thirty weekly minutes of

animated sketches, songs,

recreations of true-life anecdotes,

and a great deal of totally-made-up crap.

 

Anchored by the noted raconteur

JOHN HODGMAN

with all the dry wit and deadpan absurdity

for which he has become

surprisingly famous.

 

Each week, Mr. Hodgman –

or, to be more precise, his cartoon doppelganger –

will embark on a George Plimpton-esque journey into the unknown,

with the advantage that, by making these quests in animated form,

Mr. Hodgman will at no point endanger his own health or safety.

 

At worst, we are talking a head cold

from the air conditioning at the recording studio.

 

Joining him on these excursions

will be a wide and impressive array of Mr. Hodgman’s cosmopolitan

friends, colleagues,

casual acquaintances

and pathetic hangers-on,

 

including his faithful sidekick and personal troubadour,

JONATHAN COULTON,

and serving as Mr. Hodgman’s

spiritual advisor

in times of crisis –

 

his Obi-Wan Kenobi, if you will –

 

THE GHOST OF

GEORGE PLIMPTON. 

Each episode shall explore a given subject.

 

Say, the furry lobster.

 

(You weren’t supposed to say “the furry lobster” aloud.

We should have been clearer about that.)

 

This may take the form of a single episode-long escapade

or a series of related vignettes or “skits”.

 

For example, Mr. Hodgman’s fanciful tales of

the exotic Mall of America food court and its colorful denizens

(as found in his book, “The Areas Of My Expertise”)

could be brought vividly to life through the medium of the cartoon.

 

Mr. Hodgman’s musings on the relative merits of

flight versus invisibility as super-powers

(as heard by radio listeners on “This American Life”)

could be demonstrated in action via a scenario

in which Mr. Hodgman’s cartoon simulacrum

is granted one of these powers and must battle

one of his many nemeses who has,

by a remarkable coincidence,

been given the other.

To play the role of Mr. Hodgman’s archrival,

might we suggest

B-movie icon

BRUCE CAMPBELL?

 

Indeed, we might.

Or, in a fond tribute to

(and blatant ripoff of)

Mr. Peabody and Sherman,

Mr. Hodgman might be joined by

author and assassination buff

SARAH VOWELL,

with whom he would time-travel

to the Garfield administration

only to discover that, if they do not act

to ensure that President Garfield is indeed felled

by the bullets of a disappointed office seeker,

the fabric of time will be ruptured

and the very future of civilization endangered.

 

Pretty cool, huh?

 

 

 

   There will also be hoboes.

  

 

 

Each episode shall also include

ONE (1) ANIMATED MUSICAL VIDEO –

 

Mr. Jonathan Coulton’s

THING A WEEK ^TM

 

– through which Mr. Coulton will weigh in

upon that week’s topic,

with either a song of his own

or a collaboration with a

VERY SPECIAL MUSICAL GUEST.

 

Say, THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS.

 

(You said it aloud, didn’t you?  Our bad.)

The Inexpensively Animated

Adventures Of

 HODG-MAN

 

The tweedy, asthmatic segue between

“South Park” and “The Daily Show”

for which America has unknowingly been clamoring.

 

 

Think of it as a 21st-Century

“Rocky and Bullwinkle”.

 

Think of it as a fully animated

“Monty Python’s Flying Circus”.

 

Think of it as an extremely white

“Chappelle’s Show”.

 

But do think of it.

 

  

 That is all.

  

 

 

ART:

 Greg Williams

 

TEXT:

 Eric Williams

 

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