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Invader Zim, branded as Invader ZIM, is an American animated television series that was created by Jhonen Vasquez, and produced by and subsequently aired on Nickelodeon. The series is centered around an alien invader named Zim who is attempting to conquer and/or destroy a dark and satirical version of Earth. Zim's schemes are usually foiled by his own stupidity or by his enemy, Dib. Dib is a paranormal enthusiast who goes to school with Zim and seems to be obsessed with saving the Earth. He is one of the few characters who is aware of Zim's true identity.
When first broadcasted on March 30, 2001, Nickelodeon had wanted to air a show for their older demographic when Invader Zim was given the okay. Nickelodeon promoted Invader Zim for this purpose, to much critical acclaim, but did not provide a consistent time slot that the creators of the program thought suitable for the demographic. Consequently, the show suffered in the ratings after an initially lukewarm viewership. When it was obvious that Nickelodeon would drop the show, the crew requested that Invader Zim be moved to MTV as Ren and Stimpy and Rocko's Modern Life had been, but this didn't work out even after the show entered syndication. Before the second season was completed, Nickelodeon cancelled the series completely, leaving at least seven episodes and a planned television movie series finale unfinished.
Because of its continued fan base and above average DVD sales since series production ended, various observers have labeled Invader Zim a cult hit. The show completed its run in European and South American territories normally, and can currently be seen in syndication on Nicktoons Network, which started airing the completed season two episodes in Summer 2006. In Canada, YTV began airing the series on its Bionix programming block on September 8, 2006. The Invader Zim DVD collection has been released by Media Blasters in North America. The series has also been translated into several different languages for foreign broadcast in more recent times.
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