Joe Gagne watches Adult Swim
Posted: 01/13/02

Someone once did a study revealing that a startling 33% of Cartoon Network viewers were over the age of 18. An executive must have thought, "Hey, we should make some shows geared towards this crowd." So, on September 2nd, 2001, Cartoon Network unveiled a three-hour block of adult-oriented cartoons dubbed Adult Swim, running on Sundays from 10:00 PM to 1:00 AM (all times Eastern Standard Time) and repeating on Thursdays. What follows are descriptions and reviews of the shows that comprise AS.

Home Movies (airs at 10:00)
What's It About: Fourth grader Brendon Small has a lot to deal with: divorced parents, a baby sister (literally), and a meathead soccer coach (the transcendent Coach McGuirk). He compensates by making movies with his two friends, levelheaded Melissa and the, uh, interesting Jason. This aired on UPN for three episodes, before getting canned and resuscitated by Cartoon Network. It's from the folks that brought you Dr. Katz (and Science Court, if you ever got up early enough on Saturday), and features the same rapid fire, improv-heavy dialogue. It used to be done in "squiggle-vision, but just switched to Flash-based animation (yeah, like you see on the web).

Joe sez: I love this show. It's funny, has well developed characters, quality voice work, and a heart. The episode where McGuirk looks for a new apartment is priceless. I do miss the squiggle-vision; it gave the show a scruffy charm. Grade: A-

Baby Blues (10:30)
What's It About: Another show that premiered on another network, Baby Blues ran on the WB for a while before getting yanked. It's based on the comic strip of the same name and centers around two parents, Daryl and Wanda McPherson, raising their infant daughter. The mom is played by Julia Sweeney, answering the question, "What the hell ever happened to Julia Sweeney?"

Joe Sez: I confess to reading Baby Blues in the paper everyday. Actually, I read every comic in the newspaper, every though the vast majority of them are bland and humorless. I guess I read them because reading a comic strip is only a five-second investment of my time. Anyway, this show isn't very good. Maybe if you have a kid you can relate and find all this funny. I don't so I can't. They also felt the need to introduce something like 5 new characters, which is a good sign your premise is faulty. On the plus side, the animation looks like the strip. Grade: D

The Brak Show (rotates with ATHF at 11:00) 
What's It About: Brak, the feline alien guy from Space Ghost: Coast To Coast, graduates to his own sitcom parody. Joining him are his Rico Ricardo-esque Dad, June Cleaver-ish mom, wacky neighbor Thundercleese, and Eddie-Haskell-meets-Charles-Manson best friend Zorak (also from SG: CTC).

Joe Sez: I always get a kick out of Brak's goofy voice, so that's worth a few points. This one's off the wall but manages to be pretty consistently funny. Also introduced the phrase "lovely man-voice" into my everyday vocabulary. Grade: B+

Aqua Teen Hunger Force (11:00)
What's It About: Three fast food products (Master Shake, Frylock, and Meatwad) are detectives, although we never actually see them at work. Episodes revolve around the fast food trio's archnemesis Dr. Weird (whom they've never met) unleashing some bizarre creation to torment our heroes (and their hapless neighbor Carl). Features a theme and narration from Schooly D. The "aqua" in the title refers to the fact that we often see Shake, Frylock, and Meatwad sitting in Carl's pool. If you couldn't tell, this one's a little odd.

Joe Sez: Has its moments, but I get the feeling you have to be an insomniac college student who just smoked a pound of weed to really get the most out of this show. Shake gets real annoying after a while. But be sure to watch the episode with the Mooninites, it's ATHF's golden moment and maybe the best thing Adult Swim has produced. Grade: B-

Harvey Birdman: Attorney At Law (not airing until July)
What's It About: You remember Birdman, right? 60's cartoon superhero, had a purple hawk, got his power from the sun? Well, he's back, and now he's working as a lawyer on behalf of various Hanna-Barbera characters (so far he's represented Dr. Quest in a custody trial and Apache Chief in a suit against a coffee house).

Joe Sez: They've only aired two episodes this far, so if you want to see them you should probably download them off of Morpheus. This is a funny show with countless possibilities, although it helps if you spent most of your childhood watching crappy H-B cartoons like me. One complaint: how come Harvey never yells out "BIIIIIIIIIIIIIIRDMAAAAAAAN?" Grade: A-

Sealab 2021 (11:15)
What's It About: An update on the crappy 70's cartoon Sealab 2020 about…wait for it…an undersea lab in the future. This revamp takes place one year later and puts the crew of Sealab in some, uh, unique situations (like episodes centered around crooked Feng Shui consultants and soda machines falling on people). Erik Estrada voices Marco Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

Joe Sez: So absurd it can't help but be funny, but episodes have a tendency to drag. Captain Murphy is just behind Coach McGuirk on the transcendent characters list. Grade: B

Space Ghost: Coast to Coast (2 episodes, 11:30-midnight)
What's It About: What the name implies, this is a talk show hosted by 60's hero SPAAAAAACE GHOOOOOOOST. SG gets a little help from old archenemies Zorak, Brak, and Moltar as he gabs it up with celebrities ranging from Steve Allen to Busta Rhymes. This show is the veteran of the Adult Swim lineup, having been on the air since 1994!

Joe Sez: Very hit or miss. For every great moment (Zorak to Dennis Leary: "I've seen your movies. They weren't very good. What'd you think?"), there's a really lame bit (Space Ghost marrying Bjork comes to mind). Gets points for originality, though. Grade: B-

Cowboy Bebop (2 episodes, Midnight-1:00 AM)
What's It About: An import from Japan, this show follows the adventures of an intergalactic bounty hunter named Spike and his band of (mostly unwanted) cohorts, including a data dog named Ein and this really annoying kid named Edward

Joe Sez: I haven't watched much anime, but what I have seen has been confusing and indecipherable (Ghost in the Shell, I'm looking at you). But even if you're not a fan of anime, you'll like this show. The stories are uniformly excellent and, while complex, you're still able to follow the plot. The animation is stylish and the dubbing (usually a big problem with anime) is very well done. Not only the best thing on Adult Swim, but one of the best shows on TV, period. Grade: A

Coming Up: 

Adult Swim will be adding Mission Hill (a WB castoff from two ex-Simpsons writers, Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstien. I watched one episode, and it was disappointing considering who was involved. Plus the animation was hideous) and The Oblongs (yet another WB dumpee; I watched it a few time but can't remember anything about it).

Joe Wraps it Up: I don't watch a lot of TV (besides blessed wrestling, of course), but I always set a weekly tape for AS. It's a lot different from anything else on TV, and the program is so varied you're almost guaranteed to find something you'll enjoy.

For more info consult:
www.adultswim.com: The official Adult Swim homepage
adultswim.toonzone.net: Great fan page with schedules, downloads, and a message board. 

Joe Gagne
bwo@infi.net

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