Invader Zim: Operation Doom

Nickelodeon's anime-style series presents the misadventures of Zim (voiced by Richard Steven Horvitz), an insect-like creature from the planet Irk. Punished for attacking his own kind, Irk is dispatched to the outer reaches of the universe—Foodcourtia, where he trains to become a waiter/invader and eventually lands on Earth. Once there, Irk pretends to be a regular boy, but classmate Dib—an aspiring paranormal investigator—has no problem seeing through his subterfuge (Zim does, after all, have green skin and pink teeth). Unfortunately, no one else—not even Dib's famous father, Professor Membrane—believes him, so Dib enlists school counselor Mr. Dwicky and the host of Mysterious Mysteries to help him expose the alien. Zim has the emotional maturity of a toddler, which makes him reliant on his robot slave GIR, who loves him and wears a dog suit to fool the earthlings. Meanwhile, Dib has to contend with sarcastic little sister Gaz, who knows the truth about Zim but thinks he's too stupid to be dangerous. Created by comic book writer Jhonen Vasquez, Invader Zim occasionally delivers clever dialogue, particularly on the topics of institutional hierarchies and junk-food culture, but a little gross-out humor goes a long way, and the action leans toward the manic. Compiling 13 assorted top-rated episodes from 2001-02, this is a strong optional purchase. Aud: P. (K. Fennessy)