[adult swim]
By TheLawnWrangler 56 Comments
I've been looking at Adult Swim programs for quite some time, and I feel like it's time for me to give some opinions. Some shows I love, with great passion, and some I see as utter stupidity. The current state of adult swim is a weird one, but a 50/50 one.
In my opinion, the best show Adult Swim ever had and most likely will ever have was Moral Orel. Personally, I believe that show is beautiful for what it did in the 3rd season. By no means were the first 2 slouches, because they were indeed hilarious, satirical, messed up, and well written. But man, the dark turn taken by the creators was a smart one. The fact that a lot of the episodes intertwine with one another really boom with reality in a natural way, with the fact that everyone, and I mean everyone, has their problems that they're hiding. Kind of like this American Beauty effect. I never thought I'd say such amazing things about a 15 minutes per episode claymation show. Honestly, it's underlying tones, amazing voice acting, animation, and writing, as well as deliciously dark drama and comedy make the show amazing. Moral Orel was a great change of pace from the other Adult Swim shows, and it's a shame it was cancelled. But it truly deserved a better home... alas, the show was cancelled, but ended with a heartwarming piece of art as it's finale. It's kind of funny, but ultimately, it's one of the most depressing shows I've ever seen, yet it's overall outcome is an amazing one. Just look at this scene below. The animation, raw emotion with the song, etc. Fucking beautiful. It's almost as if the show says, "Hey, this is sad, like a lot of life. You are watching this."
Another brilliant show Adult Swim had and occasionally shows is Home Movies, which is where the creators of Lucy the Daughter of the Devil (which is an awesome show in it's own right, with it's dark and satirical, anecdotal comedy) and Metaocalypse (amazing music, writing, voice work, and plot) worked together before they went separate ways. The improv like banter between the characters, played brilliantly by Brendan Small, H. Jon Benjamin, Sam Seder, freaking Louis C.K and Jonathan Katz, and et cetera was so natural and hilarious. The parodies, good laughs, and awesome story lines for every character, whether dramatic or comedic; all amazing memories and things to watch. Everything about this show just feels so normal and natural, which is why it's so damned charming. It's kind of like a white version of The Boondocks, which is also an amazing show. The writing is genius, and every time I watch it, I feel special inside and like a huge impact has been made. It's a strong show that's hilarious and doesn't hold any punches, which is exactly why I respect it and love it. Both shows are awesome, and really leave a big boot print in your heart of you bother watching.
Shows with a bit of random humor also strike a chord with me. Aqua Teen Hunger Force's old, smart and yet stupid comedy still has me in tears a lot. Most of the time, it has to do with the delivery, which is almost perfect in each episode from each character. Even though the show has taken a turn for the slightly worse, it still has a place in the hearts of many. Tim and Eric Awesome Show: Great Job! is a perfect example of smart and yes completely random and often retarded (sorry) humor. Something about the show is ridiculously addicting, regardless of how dumb it is. Non-sensical ideas, purposely bad editing, and overall funny acting and writing shows that Tim and Eric is... something special. The show is fucking retarded (sorry), but so good at being retarded, that you'll want to keep watching. It's stupidity, which is evoked with the help of some special guest actors (like Zach Galifinakis, Patton Oswalt, Will Forte, et cetera) and their general writing, is genius, if that makes any sense. For example, they got JOSH FREAKING GROBAN TO DO A SKIT. Watch the magic here [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cqtqxGigAQ]. I would like to show you a plethora of other skits, but this one stands out to me as the general brilliance of the show. PS: I'd also like to give Venture Bros. some credit here... hilarious show, along with Frisky Dingo.
Ever since Tim and Eric Awesome Show: Great Job! and Robot Chicken came on, I feel that the general feel of all the new and original shows has been "be as random and stupid as possible." I don't understand the rationale there, because Tim and Eric are good at being random purposely, whereas shows like Xavier: Renegade Angel (which might have some layer of depth there, but it's practically invisible), Superjail! (sorry, pointless violence), Titan Maximum (funny, but gets nowhere, really), Squidbillies (*cough*), Robot Chicken (occasionally funny), and many others aren't good at. Even the winner of that Burger King pilot contest is freaking dumb, and falls under the category of random for the sake of being random. There was another pilot that actually seemed like it had some sort of story, and it was actually quite funny, and reminiscent of the Office UK, which is also showing on Adult Swim. But no, they went with Cheyenne Cinnamon and the Fantabulous Unicorn of Sugar Town Candy Fudge. I don't get it, is this some sort of new direction that adult swim is taking? Does this sell to a lot of you? If they want this, they should just get Tim and Eric some more air time, because that show is actually funny.
Some shows that are out there that seem like they'd be fit for Adult Swim, like Ugly Americans (from the Superjail guys), or Archer (starring H. Jon Benjamin). These shows are hilarious, and would fit perfectly on Adult Swim's circuit. Hell, they feel like they've been made for the channel... and yet why do they reside on Comedy Central and FX? Is it because it's not what Adult Swim is looking for? Maybe the creators wanted to cover more territory or even avoid working with Adult Swim for some reason. Who knows. I mean what happened to the glory days of Sealab 2021, Space Ghost, The Brak Show, and Harvey freaking Birdman go? The humor in these shows was brilliant, even if it isn't in depth or whatever. At least it was funny and had a sense of entitlement and parody. I even loved Tom Goes to the Mayor (from Tim and Eric), Stroker and Hoop (irreverent and good, plain, old fashioned adult humor), and Assy McGee (*cough*.) I suppose the glory days are over.
A lot of the entertainment I get also comes from non-original shows like King of the Hill, early Family Guy episodes, Mission Hill, the Clerks cartoon, etc. I'm glad they got these shows, I even wish they got more (like Celebrity Deathmatch, Dr. Katz, et cetera.) There are also some shows that would work with their "Brit Block", like Spaced and Man Stroke Woman. My true wish though is that they would come up with some better stuff of their own. Of course, the channel is for adult humor, and there are tons of shows out there that have a spot waiting for them here, but maybe show a little effort. Who am I to judge, though? I just personally believe that they should maybe try and step up their game a little more.
What are your opinions on Adult Swim programs? Are you a fan of a lot of them? What are your favorites/least favorites? Any shows you think should be on Adult Swim?
DISCUSS!
EDIT: Special mention to the Boondocks (thanks @HypoZenophobia) A hilarious show that satirizes many things others would be afraid of, and manages to be ridiculously good at it. Sprinkle amazing writing that pulls no punches and is close to genius, and some deep themes, and you've got the Boondocks... also this strange anime-esque style animation... it's weird :P
[ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFzTm6fy_zs]