Cancelled Before It Began: The Amazing Screw-On Head (2006)

The pilot for The Amazing Screw-On Head, based on the comic of the same name, delivered sheer lunacy and was a ton of fun but was sadly never picked up to series.

What Is It?

Combining spy fi, steam punk, and supernatural elements with a generous helping of quirk and whimsy, this followed the title character which is a robot head that can be screwed-on to various bodies at his disposal which have different abilities.  It takes place in the mid-19th century and Screw-On Head receives his orders directly from President Lincoln.  The idea originated as a one-shot comic book written and drawn by Mike Mignola. The television pilot follows the comic pretty closely and also expands upon it as it had time to develop the characters further. It was totally batshit crazy–in a good way–and probably most interesting is the talent that was involved with bringing the pilot to life. Of course, Mignola is the creator of the acclaimed Hellboy comic book series (which was brought to the big screen by Guillermo del Toro). Bryan Fuller assisted with the writing of the pilot and executive produced the project. The voice talent included Paul Giamatti as Screw-On Head, Patton Oswalt as his manservant Mr. Groin, Molly Shannon as Patience the Vampire, and David Hyde Pierce as the nefarious Emperor Zombie.

Aired: 2006 (scifi.com)

Created By: Mike Mignola

Starring: Paul Giamatti, Patton Oswalt, Molly Shannon, and David Hyde Pierce

Why Didn’t it Fly?

The Sci Fi Channel produced the pilot for this odd little animated series back in 2006, though unfortunately it never went to series. The Network put it up on their website and allowed viewers to vote on it–something that Amazon would do with its pilots for a while–but apparently the response was not favorable enough.  Ultimately, the show may have been too far out in left-field to gain much of an audience on the network at that time. And since the comic was only a one-shot, it did not bring much of an audience with it from that medium. But I sure would have liked at least one season of this one which would have certainly gone on to become a cult classic.

Would the Series have Worked?

Absolutely! At least for a while. Sure, this one was pretty far out there and likely would not have appealed to the general audience, but I believe it could have found an audience and could have turned into a genre gem. And this one could still happen and might work better in the current television environment. Since it is animated, the original cast and crew could just pick it up where they left off. It would be a great fit in the Adult Swim lineup or possibly Syfy’s TZGZ, that network’s attempt to capture the adult animation audience. It might be a good fit on one of the streaming services as well. Unfortunately, the property never gained much of a following and it has since been relegated to the status of forgotten curio. Perhaps, if fans showed some interest The Amazing Screw-On Head could be revived, but that would almost certainly be a longshot.

Where Can You Watch It?

The pilot was released on DVD, though it is out of print and fetching pretty high prices now.  And it is not currently available for purchase VOD.  (The TPB edition of the comic is still available).  You can find the pilot on YouTube from time to time, and I highly recommend checking it out for its sheer lunacy and a glimpse of what could have been from the amazing talent assembled.

Read about more Sci Fi TV pilots that did not fly at this link.

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