The Xtacles

The Xtacles
Created by	Matt Thompson
Starring	Marshall Bell Rachael Harris Michael Ian Black Christian Danley Stuart Culpepper Mr. Ford
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	2 (list of episodes)
Production
Running time	11 minutes
Release
Original network	Adult Swim
Picture format	16:9 HDTV
Original release	November 9, 2008
Chronology
Preceded by	Frisky Dingo

The Xtacles is a spin-off from Frisky Dingo in which the Xtacles, Xander Crews' private army, take a lead role. The series revolves around the Xtacles' lack of direction following the abduction of their leader by aliens at the end of Frisky Dingo. They take on random missions from President Stan, who returns from the previous series. The series premiered its only two episodes in the United States on Cartoon Network's late night programming block Adult Swim on November 9, 2008.

In early 2009, Adult Swim declined to fund the production of any episodes beyond the first two. Around the same time, 70/30 Productions closed.

Plot

As a spin-off from Frisky Dingo, The Xtacles takes place in the same fictional world, with the primary setting being the Xtacles' flying aircraft carrier, the Xcalibur. The Xtacles are the private army of Iron Man-esque superhero Awesome-X (Xander Crews), who like their leader are outfitted with flight-capable, self-contained powered armor and an arsenal of high-tech weaponry. Xander Crews leaves the Earth aboard the spaceship of Killface's alien race at the end of Frisky Dingo, and since then the Xtacles have been simply milling about aimlessly, because Awesome-X's last orders were to wait for new orders. However, about a year after Awesome-X leaves for space, the Xtacles finally activate the Xcalibur's on-board AI, A.L.E.X., who informs them that a clause in their contract directly states that if Awesome X dies, is lost in space, or has sex to death while in space, all of their previous orders are cancelled.

Now led by their highest-ranking member, Jack Taggart, the Xtacles once again become a freelance private army of crimefighters. President Stan, unable to locate any other heroes for various reasons, is forced to depend on the Xtacles to solve crimes. However, the Xtacles prove to be catastrophically incompetent, making their attempts to complete the missions they are given humorously destructive and ultimately futile.

Characters

• Jack Taggart (Marshall Bell) - the leader of the Xtacles. Though Taggart presents himself as a stern and by-the-book commander, he is just as incompetent as his subordinates. He has a habit of jumping to conclusions on any given case, such as assuming that Yeti terrorists are responsible for the destruction of the Rocky Mountains (which he in fact had destroyed with the Xcalibur). His right eye is stark white and has a scar running over it, including a bald spot on his eyebrow, while the left is blue.
• A.L.E.X (Rachael Harris) - the holographic avatar for the Xcalibur's computer. She is the only competent person aboard the Xcalibur, despite not being a person. She serves as the voice of reason to the Xtacles' trigger-happy attitude, but they usually don't pay attention to her. She takes her job quite seriously, and insists that she doesn't need to look attractive to do her work; the Xtacles disagree.
• Chase Fontaine (Michael Ian Black) - one of the recurring Xtacles who doesn't normally wear his helmet. He is attracted to A.L.E.X., and seems to be oblivious to the fact that she can't have sex with him since she's a hologram.
• Joseph Bigsby (Matthew Stanton) - a younger and more naive Xtacle who is usually seen manning the bridge.
• President Stan (Stuart Culpepper) - the president of the United States. His man-eating clones serve as his press secretaries. Stan makes little effort to hide the fact that he abuses his power, such as building giant statues of himself. He is reluctantly forced to rely on the Xtacles for help, as all the other heroes are either retired or unreachable.
• Mr. Ford (Mr. Ford) - a man whose house was destroyed by the Xtacles. He now lives rent-free in the Xcalibur's reactor room.

Episodes

No.	Title	Original air date	Prod. code
1	"Operation: Mountain Punch"	November 9, 2008	101
Taggart refuses to do anything in the absence of orders from Awesome X, which includes changing course to avoid crashing into the Rocky Mountains, resulting in the Xcalibur smashing through the peaks. The Xtacles decide to drink on the deck while A.L.E.X. convinces Taggart to change course. The Xtacles' destructive inaction does not go unnoticed, and President Stan has no choice but to call on the Xtacles themselves to figure out who's destroying the Rocky Mountains. Taggart blames Yeti terrorists, then proceeds to kill one of his crew-members who happens to look like a yeti at the time, and then considers his job done.
2	"Operation: Murderous Conclusions"	November 9, 2008	102
President Stan's new statue is anally violated, so Stan calls upon the Xtacles to solve the mystery. When it is determined that a gorilla must have done it, Taggart blames a criminal named Rape Ape, who he just made up. No file exists for the made-up criminal, so the Xtacles move to the next item, Rapier Ape, a retired ape fencer whom they assume to have taken raping to a new level. A massacre at the restaurant where Rapier Ape is employed ensues and Rapier Ape is brutally beaten for his "crime," while the actual Rape Ape proceeds to rape Stan's new statue.

External links

• "Operation: Mountain Punch" at Adult Swim
• "Operation: Murderous Conclusions" at Adult Swim
• The Xtacles at the Internet Movie Database