Adult Swim Year in Review: 2017

2017 was certainly a very interesting year for Adult Swim and arguably one of there biggest, consisting of Rick and Morty season 3, Tim and Eric: Awesome Show, Great Job! 10 yr Anniversary, and even the return of Samurai Jack. 

The station certainly has made quite a name for itself with Rick and Morty becoming "Americas top comedy" and represented a bizarre combination of the station's older and more modern identity. The premiere of The Jellies was certainly significant as it represented rapper/comedian Tyler the Creator's return to the channel in a show more similar to Rick and Morty then any other prior Adult Swim original. Tim and Eric, a station staple, had a very large presence on the channel this year, appearing in the 10 yr anniversary special, Tim and Eric Bedtime Stories season 2, two new seasons of Decker and, the return of their bizarre web series, On Cinema at the Cinema.

Arguably the most significant moment of the channels year was the return of cult classic tv show, Samurai Jack, returning after over a 10 yr hiatus for it's 5th and final season, giving the show the terrific, proper ending it always deserved, targeted towards a more mature audience.

Looking back at all that happened on Adult Swim this year, it clearly was very significant for the channel. I just hope the channel can continue its momentum moving forward into 2018. Not having a new Rick and Morty season to attract large amounts of viewers will certainly affect the channel's ratings, however; I'm excited to see what new shows will fill the programming hole and make me laugh during all of my late nights in 2018.

Nathan For You: Comedy Central's Adult Swim Show

It's hard for me to express in words the amount of respect and love I have for Nathan for You... but fuck it I'm gonna try anyway. 

Nathan For You follows comedian Nathan Fielder as he attempts to help struggling small businesses by offering outrageous, usually stupid, advice. The show has had premises as mild as helping a frozen yogurt store by offering a poop flavored yogurt, to branding a moving company as Americas next big workout craze. Although the premises are ridiculous and hilarious, the real genius of the show is the character Nathan Fielder flawlessly performs and the ridiculous individuals he encounters. In the show, Nathan plays a total asshole. Although his plans are ridiculously stupid, he insists they are perfect and frequently gets into arguments. He is very stuck up and pretentious, but also very awkward, completely confusing everyone he interacts with. Best of all, he never breaks character, even when interacting with some of the most bizarre people on the planet. For example, in season 1, one man offered to give Nathan some of his grandson's pee, proving to be one of televisions most bizarre moments.

So why am I calling it an Adult Swim show if it's on Comedy Central? The show is actually produced by Absolutely Productions, the same production company responsible for Adult Swim classics such as The Eric Andre Show, Check it Out with Dr. Steve Brule, and Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!. The production company was actually founded by Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim, giving Nathan for You a unique feel that is normally confined to Adult Swim with the majority of Tim and Eric's other work. 

I cannot recommend this show enough, to any person. If any of these other Adult Swim shows have sounded too strange and bizarre for you, I promise this show is for you. If I haven't been able to convince you enough, watch this video and then see what you think. 

The Squidbillies: The Show That Just Wont Die

The Squidbillies kicked off its 11th season this October, cementing its identity as the fourth longest-running program in the channel's existence behind Aqua Teen Hunger Force, The Venture Bro's and, Robot Chicken. I personally have no real problem with the show. Its absurd humor can occasionally be surprisingly smart/inventive if you can get past the dreadful animation and character design. Additionally, the celebrity theme song covers are cool to watch with appearances from bands such as The B-52's, Todd Rundgren and even Weird Al.

So the show has its moments and the celebrities can be cool, but why has this sub-par show lasted so long?

Adult Swim has a history of killing shows quickly if they don't perform to their standards, sometimes infuriating its fanbase such as the killing of cult classic Metalocalypse, denying the show to properly finish. So why is The SquidBillies, a show that sits at a 6.5 on IMDB still exist 12 years after originally airing in 2005? When comparing it to the other three longest running shows on the network it comes nowhere near the popularity, inventiveness and overall qualities that a show such as The Venture Bro's possesses.

I don't t have these answers but I would assume it would be the cheap production value of the show. The show is horribly ugly to look at and clearly does not take much time to animate with new seasons airing annually.

Personally, I think the show is decent but does it really deserve an 11th season? Adult Swim killed Aqua Teen Hungerforce before the creators wanted, stating "It's time to move on." So my question is why can't they move on from Squidbillies, a show that hasn't even come close to the cultural icon that AQTH/ Robot Chicken was?

In one of the most Divided era's in American History, Where is the Boondocks?

Ahh, 2017... the year of fidget spinners, growing racial tensions and last dying breath of the American free internet. Recently, when looking at the political firestorm present in our nation, I've found myself asking the same question over and over, "what would the boondocks be like this year?"

Originally an edgy comic strip turned into a full length animated show, The Boondocks premiered November 6th, 2005 on Adult Swim and would quickly become one of the channels most critically acclaimed properties. Set in an upper class, predominantly white suburb named Woodcrest, the fictional Freeman family consisting of former civil rights activist Robert Freeman, and his grandchildren from Chicago, Huey and Riley, move in to cause a stir. The show was a satirical comedy tackling many of societies controversial topics such as gun control, white privilege, and even Barack Obamas inauguration. One of the shows more notable characters, Uncle Ruckus, played the role of an obnoxious black white supremacist as a way to make white supremacists look even more ridiculous when a person of color is expressing their values, a skit most notably performed by Dave Chappelle on his own show in the 90's.

The Boondocks was highly controversial during its almost ten-year run due to its tackling of real issues in society. It's sad to know the show has been indefinitely canceled when 2017 and the Trump administrations current regime could provide the show with so many potential storylines, not to mention the emergence of the Black Lives Matter movement. However, when looking back at the shows prior episodes, many of the plots and topics explored are the same issues debated over in today's society.

Although its deeply saddening The Boondocks will most likely never return, if you're looking for their creative/genius response to some of this year's major issues, they likely already exist and were aired way back in 2005.... pretty weird to think about.

Tim Heidecker's "On Cinema at the Cinema" Returns in a big way this Wednesday

Adult Swim's popular movie review web series will return this Wednesday, November 15th, for its 10th season. The series is a collective effort between comedian's Tim Heidecker and Gregg Turkington to create possibly the worst movie review series possible. The premise of the show involves Tim and Gregg playing fictional personas of themselves, tasked with the job review newly released movies.

Tim is a moronic, drug addicted right wing nut job who brings his own personal life and problems into the show. Gregg is a self-proclaimed movie expert who claims to own the largest VHS collection in the world. Both personas collide to create chaos and a genuinely horrible, yet hilarious movie review show. The show has had nine prior seasons, four Oscar specials, and has inspired their own Adult Swim show, "Decker", where the same characters transfer over into their own television show. To clear up some confusion if your unfamiliar with the show, check out this helpful recap HERE.

The new season kicks off with a live stream of a fictional court trial in which Tim is prosecuted for killing 18 teens at a music festival with a poisonous vape juice.... not your average weekly movie review show.

You can stream the episode at adultswim.com this Wednesday, November 15th

Rick and Morty Season 3 has Finished

Rick and Morty's third season came to an end last Sunday leaving us viewers to wait "a really long time," for next season according to their official Facebook page. It's sad to realize that the next season of this critically acclaimed show won't be coming for a long time, However; personally, I could use a break. 

If you have read my prior post's, it's no secret that this season has been a disappointment to me. The season has felt clunky and almost out of order, with no real memorable episodes to look back to. I watched every night as soon as it viewed but never found any of season 3's episodes nearly as funny as any episode from season 1 or 2. My reasoning behind not feeling amused by this show might be a topic for a future blog post, but I think it must have to do with the dynamic of what made this show so funny being radically changed. 

Episode 10, "The Rickchurian Mortydate", was certainly an interesting one, where Rick and Morty meet with the president of America to solve some issues. I actually quite liked the creators exploring this idea in a full episode but the ending simply fell flat and felt completely disappointing. 

See you in a very long time, Rick and Morty      

What Happened to DOOM's "The Missing Notebook Rhymes"?

This past week, fans of both famous rapper DOOM and Adult Swim received the unfortunate news that the remaining eight tracks from The Missing Notebook Rhymes would remain.... missing. The Missing Notebook Rhymes was a collaborative project between DOOM and Adult Swim to release 15 previously unheard tracks on Adult Swims website.

The collection of music included 15 tracks with Adult Swim releasing one track each week. The compilation began August 7th but after seven solid tracks were released, the project has been mysteriously canceled.

News of the cancellation came as a shocker to fans of both DOOM and Adult Swim. The two have always seemingly had a good relationship with each other, as shown in their famous 2005 collaborative song titled The Mouse and the Mask. The song featured samples from famous Adult Swim characters, including Aqua Teen Hunger Force and Space Ghost Coast to Coast.

I personally was deeply saddened to hear the news of the project's cancellation. The abrupt end to the compilation makes me question exactly what went wrong here and where the two entities (DOOM and Adult Swim) relationship stands moving forward. One thing is for sure, I along with the many fans alike, can only hope that these last remaining tracks do not remain missing for much longer.

"Tim and Eric's Bedtime Stories" Episode 5 Review: Squat

Season two of "Tim and Eric's Bedtime Stories" is about halfway through and its most recent episode titled "Squat" may just be the best yet. The episode parodies cult classic "Forrest Gump" in which Forest Gumb (Tim Heidecker) is invited to join a fully automatic gym. The episode starts with a shot of Forrest eating a salad on a park bench. A seemingly friendly jogger engages in a light conversation with Forrest before handing him a piece of paper with the words "You are a fat piece of shit". Forrest visits the gym advertised on the back which seems to be a very complex scam. After forcing him to swipe his credit card and piss in a tube, Forrest is forced to hold a squat for four hours, with a large spike underneath his ass if he sits down, and a laser above his head if he stands up.

Squat happens to be the first episode of the season to successfully achieve the perfect Tim and Eric balance of unsettling, disturbing plots presented in a highly comical, and humorous way. Tim Heidecker provides an excellent performance as the incredibly awkward, gullible loser that is his character "Forest". Guest star Kris Lofton presents a well done, yet short performance including a bizarre yet hilarious hip-hop song about pierogis. Squat represents the best episode of the season yet and an all-time high for the show.

Score
4.5/5

Rick and Morty Season 3 Ep. 8 Review: Morty's Mind Blowers

The much-anticipated episode of the Adult Swim hit "Rick and Morty" has arrived, yet sadly disappoints. Titled "Morty's Mind Blowers", the episode exposes us to Ricks questionable behavior of deleting memories from Morty's mind that he wants Morty to forget. The episode gained quite a bit of anticipation in the Rick and Morty fan community after it was announced this would follow the improv comedy style formerly reserved for the highly acclaimed interdimensional cable collection of episodes.

Interdimensional cable used show creators "Dan Harmon" and "Justin Roiland's" whacky improv to its advantage by satirically making fun of American television shows/commercials. The whacky characters and premises introduced in those episodes worked well with their style of improv. Unfortunately, this did not transfer as well in "Morty's Mindblowers" and ended up feeling more like a lazy attempt to cram as many rejected potential plot premises into one episode. Their attempt to transfer their well known improvised humor into a new episode template is admired; However, this episode did not turn out funny and seemed like a rushed collection of sub-par episode premises.

Score
1/5

"Tim and Eric Bedtime Stories" Season 2 Premiere Gets us Hungry for Baklava

The much anticipated season 2 of "Tim and Eric's Bedtime Stories" premiered Sunday, September 10th with two new episodes back to back. Our favorite Adult Swim actors/comedians, Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim, made sure to kick the season off by keeping adult swim viewers up all night after witnessing two of the most disturbing episodes of the bizarre series yet. The first episode titled "Baklava" involved a struggling piano salesman named Barry, trying to make bonus while his boss Mr. Crown develops a physical addiction to Baklava. Barry, played by Eric Wareheim, spends the episode struggling to sell enough pianos due to his boss's (Tim Heidecker) frequent suicide attempts after he is told he can no longer eat the Turkish desert. It truly is one of the most bizarre and dark episodes of the series yet, with perfect creepy uniforms and an incredibly ominous soundtrack.

 The second episode titled "The Duke" took a much more light-hearted, funny approach, still with a creepy plot to ponder. Unlike Baklava where Tim and Eric stole the show as the main actors, this episode focuses on a different character named "The Duke" played by Ray Wise. The episode consists of a husband and wife in a marriage dispute at a scratch off ticket casino. Insert The Duke who seduces the wife, Maureen (Rhea Perlman), and ends up hypnotizing the husband, Bryan (Jorge Garcia), with his lucky scratch off coin convincing Bryan that he is now the son of Maureen and The Duke. It truly is a mind-boggling premise but incredible acting by Ray Wise pays off making this episode the better of the two.