Ready for an Adult Swim?

[The Mad Hatter]

Just a reminder out there that Adult Swim begins this Sunday! The official website, www.adultswim.com , has also opened up with tons of info and video clips (I wanted to report that... darn you, Vince! :) ).

There's also a bit more info on the show I'm most looking forward to, the Brak Show. Looks like Zorak is in it! Brak's living with his Mom and Dad and a brother (?), Sisto. Also keep an eye out for the unstoppable engine of destruction/wacky neighbor, Thundercleese.

I know what I'm doing Sunday night!

[Sveven Dvorking]

I know what I'll be doing... being with the classic cartoons before ***** ****, and then going to bed half an hour later. I am upset that ***** **** doesn't have any rare classics.

[Joe Tully]

Thanks for always bringing us the need-to-know information, Sveven. Very interesting.
:rolleyes:

And in the category of posts that are actually useful...Thanks, Mad Hatter. I was going to check that on Fri. but forgot. I was thinking of trying to post here when it opened up too.:D I saw all of the shows other than Cowboy Bebop when they were on at about 5 AM in Dec., so the info wasn't too useful. But I'll check out the clips later, and hopefully they'll update it to include episode guides and so on.

I think my social life on Thurs. and Sun. is going to be dead now. Not that it wasn't seriously injured already. If I am to judge from the stuff that I saw in Dec, though, I am going to be laughing my butt off. I hope that everyone here who likes more adult animation such as The Simpsons, King of the Hill, Futurama, etc. gives this stuff a try. I see this as a potential big step forward, towards changing the idea that animation is not just for kids, and really hope that it succeeds.

[Leaping Larry Jojo]

Originally posted by Joe Tully

I think my social life on Thurs. and Sun. is going to be dead now. Not that it wasn't seriously injured already. If I am to judge from the stuff that I saw in Dec, though, I am going to be laughing my butt off. I hope that everyone here who likes more adult animation such as The Simpsons, King of the Hill, Futurama, etc. gives this stuff a try. I see this as a potential big step forward, towards changing the idea that animation is not just for kids, and really hope that it succeeds.

ARE The Simpsons, King of the Hill, and Futurama TRULY adult? I always considered them to be "family" shows, despite some of the more edgier jokes. "Adult" is like the first season of NYPD Blue, or Twin Peaks.

[Joe Tully]

Well, maybe not really, but between the stronger language and drinking and some sex and violence, it's getting closer. While kids watch that stuff, that stuff is really meant for teens and young adults. Most humor that works for adults works for kids too, unless it's political or something like that and just goes over the kids' heads. All ages like good ol' satire like the stuff on The Simpsons.

I think it's kind of difficult to do animated comedy that's as "Adult" as NYPD or Twin Peaks, because those are both dramas. I haven't seen either one of those shows, but I'd guess South Park is pretty close to them, between really dirty language and lots of sex and violence. And still, that has a decent sized kid audience. I guess we'll have to see how close CN's version of Cowboy Bebop is to your definition of adult.

I don't really expect any of the Adult Swim comedies to be material that kids just don't get, so I guess it will probably be popular amongst some kids too. I wouldn't expect anything genuinely, entirely "adult" from the comedies, but that's a definite possibility for Cowboy Bebop (which I haven't seen). If you've seen SGC2C, I think you can understand how kids would like it too, and I don't think that the other stuff is a far cry from that. Birdman might kind of push it, what with insinuating that Dr. Quest and Race Bannon are lovers, and saying Shaggy is a pothead, but I think it's nothing that older kids wouldn't like, just like they like The Simpsons.

[Jack]

I'll check Adult Swin out, I'm looking forward to the Brak show, Space Ghost, Cowboy Bebop, and Harvey Birdman. I might like Home Movies, though it looks very visually uninteresting (that is if there is no animation eccept mouths, eyes, and ocasional hand movements like Dr. Katz was).


Jack:D

[Leaping Larry Jojo]

I believe UPN aired Home Movies for a short while last year.

[Leaping Larry Jojo]

Originally posted by Joe Tully
Well, maybe not really, but between the stronger language and drinking and some sex and violence, it's getting closer. While kids watch that stuff, that stuff is really meant for teens and young adults. Most humor that works for adults works for kids too, unless it's political or something like that and just goes over the kids' heads. All ages like good ol' satire like the stuff on The Simpsons.

I think it's kind of difficult to do animated comedy that's as "Adult" as NYPD or Twin Peaks, because those are both dramas. I haven't seen either one of those shows, but I'd guess South Park is pretty close to them, between really dirty language and lots of sex and violence. And still, that has a decent sized kid audience. I guess we'll have to see how close CN's version of Cowboy Bebop is to your definition of adult.


I wouldn't say CB is truly "adult" either...It has flashy action, though in pacing, tone, and style, it's kind of like old 70s-80s shows such as Remington Steele or Miami Vice...which I loved as a kid.

Or how about animated humour like The Larry Sanders Show? Not much of that kind of thing. I would've fell asleep on this show when I was a kid. In fact, I didn't "get" The Larry Sanders Show when it first came on...only a few years later did I appreciate the depth of angst and characterization that went with the dark humour...

It difficult to say what I think is "adult." I personally don't find sex and violence very adult...sex is a primal thing that anyone above age 9 can understand (well, at least I "got" sex when I was 9...not to say that I HAD sex, but I "grasped" the concept...err...better stop now) and violence is human nature.

The Sopranos' shrink sessions, for instance, are what I consider "adult" in nature. Kids don't "get" Freudian theories, psychology and scholarly examinations of human relationships.

I dunno. I just think the distinction between "adult" and "kids" are overrated these days. Some people seem to think just because a show has more brutal violence, sex and drinking makes it more "mature" than kiddie shows when adult shows often are more JUVENILE than many kids shows.

[Joe Tully]

It difficult to say what I think is "adult." I personally don't find sex and
violence very adult...sex is a primal thing that anyone above age 9 can understand (well, at least I "got" sex when I was 9...not to say that I HAD sex, but I "grasped" the concept...err...better stop now) and violence is human nature.

The Sopranos' shrink sessions, for instance, are what I consider "adult" in nature. Kids don't "get" Freudian theories, psychology and scholarly
examinations of human relationships.

The sad thing is, that kind of programming seems to be lacking in general on television. I don't think that there is a whole lot of humor on TV that is really intellectual. I understand your concept of "adult" (it was what I was referring to when I mentioned politcal humor above) but I don't think that there's much of it on TV, maybe because execs don't think it's what people want (reality shows and talk shows, anyone?). Maybe it's because I can't remember what it was like being a kid, but I think that the vast, vast majority of TV programming is not adult.

I remember being confused as heck by Doonesbury when I was a kid, but I have been getting more fond of it during the last few years.

[Leaping Larry Jojo]

Originally posted by Joe Tully


The sad thing is, that kind of programming seems to be lacking in general on television. I don't think that there is a whole lot of humor on TV that is really intellectual. I understand your concept of "adult" (it was what I was referring to when I mentioned politcal humor above) but I don't think that there's much of it on TV, maybe because execs don't think it's what people want (reality shows and talk shows, anyone?). Maybe it's because I can't remember what it was like being a kid, but I think that the vast, vast majority of TV programming is not adult.



Very true. I applaud efforts like the West Wing and such, as they try to handle more challenging subjects, even if their efforts are flawed at times. But they are few and far between. However, I think that animation must make steps towards more challenging subjects to be taken seriously. Animation has more cards stacked against it, and thus must go BEYOND what is the norm even in live-action. There have been admiral efforts in TV animation, but I don't believe there has been much in variety. The Simpsons was and still is the most groundbreaking *prime time* animated show and most of the TV animation after that has been nothing but sitcoms.

There must be more to animation than sitcoms and Saturday Morning cocoa puff programs.

[BourgeoisBuffoon]

Ah....truer words have never been spoken by you guys.
Actually, I wonder how long it may be before another prime-time animated series comes up as groundbreaking or serious. Almost all the new new ones ARE too stupid or for kids as Jojo said... I hope the Simpsons will go a little less on the wacky this season and back to some emotion, since it's the only thing close to a animated series that can grasp something beyond comedy.

...And as for today's nadir with intelligent shows in general...well, it's doubtful we will see any with all these "reality" shows running amok...(grumbling) most which are not even with reality based subjects...

...and I've been fond of Doonesbury as I've gotten older too!:D