The Hellboy spinoff show The Amazing Screw-On Head was scrapped back in 2006, but it could have been even better than Guillermo del Toro's live-action Hellboy films. Even though the Hellboy franchise has had some rocky moments — Hellboy: The Crooked Man comes to mind — Guillermo del Toro's movies have been a bright spot for adaptations of Mike Mignola's work.
One other bright spot was The Amazing Screw-On Head. Based on a one-shot comic by Mignola, The Amazing Screw-On Head followed Screw-On Head, a robot from the Civil War who could swap out his head onto many different bodies. He fought Emperor Zombie, his undead former manservant, and did covert operations for Abraham Lincoln. Unfortunately, however, The Amazing Screw-On Head is only one of the best pilots that was never picked up.
The Sci-Fi Channel Should Have Given The Amazing Screw-On Head Multiple Seasons
Prudence and Screw-On Head in The Amazing Screw-On Head pilot
Though it had a wild premise, a brilliant animation style that looks like it was lifted straight from the pages of Mike Mignola's comics, and an all-star vocal cast that included Paul Giamatti and Patton Oswalt, The Amazing Screw-On Head was never picked up for a full series order. The Sci-Fi Channel had a pilot episode created, but the show never got to its second episode.
Luckily, the full pilot episode still exists and can be watched above today. Unluckily, the pilot episode shows just how much we're missing out on. There's some great deadpan humor from David Hyde Pearce's Emperor Zombie, brilliant action and moody, dark animation, and the perfect set-up for a "monster of the week" show. None of that potential ever made it beyond the pilot, though.
In a more just world, the Sci-Fi Channel would have picked up The Amazing Screw-On Head for multiple seasons. If later episodes could have had the same quality as the pilot, Screw-On Head may have even grown to be better than Guillermo del Toro's Hellboy movies. It's certainly a more faithful adaptation of the comic it's based on, and it could have been even more entertaining in its own right.
The Amazing Screw-On Head Was The Perfect Comic Book To Adapt To TV
Emperor Zombie in The Amazing Screw-On Head pilot
One of the things that makes The Amazing Screw-On Head's lack of new episodes so disappointing is the fact that it was the perfect comic book to adapt to television. As previously mentioned, The Amazing Screw-On Head is based on a one-shot comic. That means that after the pilot, the showrunners could have taken the series in any direction they wanted without being held back by comics that told the story better.
Additionally, the pilot of Screw-On Head also set up a perfect formula. Abraham Lincoln sent Screw-On Head West to continue making America safe from occult threats in the middle of the Civil War. Every week could have seen Screw-On Head tackling a new, fascinating threat from the beyond. That premise alone had unlimited potential that we'll never get to see.
The best sign of how great Screw-On Head could have been is that unaired pilot episode. Watch it for yourself, and you'll see just how well the show worked. You'll also notice that Screw-On Head fixes most of the problems with the Hellboy movies, from its tone and humor to its dedication to Mike Mignola's work. The Amazing Screw-On Head could have been truly special.
How The Amazing Screw-On Head Connects To Hellboy
Ron Perlman as Hellboy aiming a gun
As if The Amazing Screw-On Head wasn't already good enough, the way it connects to the larger Hellboy universe is also an interesting tidbit in itself. Screw-On Head isn't an actual figure in Hellboy like Hellboy himself or Liz. Instead, he's a fictional character within Hellboy's fictional universe. Screw-On Head only appears in three stories written by the fictional Walter Edmond Heap at the beginning of the 20th century.
|
Live-Action Hellboy Films |
|
|---|---|
|
Title |
Year |
|
Hellboy |
2004 |
|
Hellboy II: The Golden Army |
2008 |
|
Hellboy |
2019 |
|
Hellboy: The Crooked Man |
2024 |
The way Screw-On Head relates to Hellboy is essentially the same way Invitation to Love relates to Twin Peaks or The Itchy and Scratchy Show relates to The Simpsons; as a "show within a show." Of course, Screw-On Head is more of a "book within a comic book," as he appears in The Incredible Adventures of a Small Mechanical Head and its fictitious sequels.
In real life, The Amazing Screw-On Head was written by Mike Mignola, the writer of the Hellboy comics. Screw-On Head also has connections and references to Mignola's other works, such as Abu Gung and the Beanstalk, The Prisoner of Mars, and The Witch and Her Soul. Unfortunately, all The Amazing Screw-On Head's references will likely never make it to the screen.
