Cartoon Network has grown up.
The cable channel is now introducing a unique block of programming called Adult Swim (airing every Sunday and Thursday night from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. starting Sunday, Sept. 2), which features brand-new and returning shows aimed at the 18 to 34 age demographic.
Now, the four new series–Harvey Birdman, The Brak Show, Aqua Teen Hunger Force and Sealab 2021–don’t show bare breasts or anything (unfortunately), but they are groundbreaking in their unique styles of humor. Everything from sex to drugs to homophobia is explored in the shows, and the overall effect produces as many gasps as laughs.
Having taken a sneak peek at the new series, here’s the PG-13 breakdown:
The Brak Show
The first of the new Adult Swim shows to air–in the 10:30 p.m. and 10:45 p.m. timeslots–is a sort of spin-off of Cartoon Network‘s wildly popular Space Ghost Coast to Coast. The cast features Brak (an alien space pirate) and Zorak (an oversized cricket) from Space Ghost, and some bizarre new characters as well.
If you can imagine Leave It to Beaver on crack cocaine, you’ll love this show. Although the setting looks a bit like Eisenhower-era Leavittown, NY–pristine rows of pristine homes–the show is supposed to be taking place deep in outer space.
Well, it is “out” there.
Brak and family live a surreal life. Brak’s father is a stiff caricature of a 1950s billboard ad: well-oiled hair, thin little moustache, sweater vest. Oh, and he’s human. Brak’s mother appears to simply be Brak–dolled up in a dress and blonde wig. Enter Zorak as an alien high school student and you’ve got the proper ingredients for catastrophe.
The debut episode finds Brak obsessed with county fairs–all the while nurturing his developing penchant for singing bizarre little tunes to annoy everyone in sight. He’s a misunderstood guy.
Before long, you learn what Zorak’s presence on the show is all about: he’s the Eddie Haskell of the neighborhood, quick to pull off an ill-advised scheme at every turn.
And then you get joke: the show’s chief concern is the meticulous mockery of early ’60s sitcoms and the cutesy social mores of that time. But Brak and Zorak bring a nice crude element into the mix, making for a decidedly mental viewing experience.
Aqua Teen Hunger Force
If Brak stirs up comparisons to crack cocaine, it’s only fair that Aqua Teen Hunger Force (airing in the 11:15 p.m. timeslot) inspire visions of smoke–um, cigarette smoke. Yeah, that’s it. Cigarette.
Make no mistake, this new show is geared toward, uh, smokers who stay up late and get real hungry. Luckily for these viewers, the food talks to you. Far out.
The show consists of three main characters: a giant, shape-shifting meatball named Meatwad, a giant, lazy milkshake named Master Shake and a giant, level-headed container of french fries named Frylock. All three hang out in a backyard pool attempting to figure out a way to rid New Jersey of crime, but their lack of energy keeps them from conquering evil.
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Cigarette. Sure.
Much like Brak, the show derives its momentum through the strength of the characters, not through massive plot twists or conventional storyline and structure. Pure talk. Master Shake evades physical labor at all costs, but shoots off his mouth regularly. Meatwad’s a bit of an oaf, yet possesses some truly impressive super-powers. And Frylock remains reserved–somewhat droll–but can use his magical french fries to foil the bad guys.
However, the three display very little in the backbone department.
Harvey Birdman
The true gem of the Adult Swim block of programming lands in the 11:30 p.m. spot: Harvey Birdman. Check out a video clip from the show here.
Harvey’s a mild-mannered lawyer–a tad homophobic–who represents well-known cartoon characters like Scooby-Doo. With his trusty sidekick Avenger (a mean-tempered hawk and expert typist) at his side, Harvey trades in the Justice League for the courtroom and haphazardly manages to solve some cases.
In the debut episode, Harvey represents Jonny Quest‘s Dr. Benton Quest, who’s trying to win custody of young Jonny and Hadji away from a decidedly homosexual Race Bannon. With the best of intentions, Harvey uncovers an evil plot–of course–and saves the day.
By applying some modern-day personality traits to these famous cartoon characters, Birdman reinvents the animated legends, showing them as barely competent and hopelessly flawed. The show gets pretty edgy at times, touching on the aforementioned homosexuality of certain characters and suggesting (quite strongly) that some of these beloved characters have severe drug problems. Nice.
Sealab 2021
When you’re basically trapped in an underwater city, you get a tad horny.
It’s to be expected.
For the characters on Sealab 2021 (airing in the 11:45 p.m. timeslot), sexual depravation–and flat-out lack of intelligence–is common. The Sealab itself exists as an underwater experiment funded by several nations to gauge the viability of undersea colonization. The experiment has apparently failed.
Under the leadership of the incompetent, immature Captain Hank Murphy, the crew of the Sealab hardly stands a chance at achieving scientific progress. Instead, they bicker like children and flirt like teenagers. One of the objects of such flirtation is scientist Debbie DuPree, who all of the men dismiss as a ditzy sex object. The other female on the crew–Jodene Sparks–is a bit of an alcoholic criminal banished to Sealab as punishment.
One crew member in particular, named Marco Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar Gabriel Garcia Marquez, is a womanizing Don Juan who must constantly clean up Murphy’s mistakes, but gets some tail in the process.
It’s to be expected.
The show is actually a raunchy sequel to the (much more serious) ’70s Hanna-Barbera cartoon Sealab 2020. The characters are just a bit more Porky’s than Porky Pig.
Make sure the kiddies are in bed.
