Events leading to the Cartoon Network’s programming block were the culmination of a few things.
- Multiple attempts by other networks over the last 10-plus years. Some successful: The Simpsons, King of the Hill and South Park; many weren’t but they were good: The Oblongs, Mission Hill and The Critic; and there some which fell in between: Futurama, Ren & Stimpy and Duckman. The crappy list is terribly long.
- Cheaper technology, namely Flash, to create material quickly with an emphasis on dialog, not animation. It’s what made Hanna Barbera successful when they started doing their eight-minute shorts for this new fangled medium called TV.
- An experiment CN started in 1995 with Space Ghost had proven popular on Friday nights. Plus they had done other jokes and experiments: the “Whassup!” parody using the Superfriends and an episode of Sealab 2021 in the wee hours, maybe to see who was paying attention or awake.
- Lastly, the line was blurry between cross-generational shows such as Spongebob Squarepants and The Powerpuff Girls, maybe it was time to gamble on a more adult crowd, give Comedy Central a run for the money.
And so, on a Sunday evening, [adult swim] made its debut. Somara and I sat down to watch it with anxious anticipation. We were also full of anxiety over my new house we’d be closing on in two days.
First out, Home Movies which made an initially bad impression. The show was the latest creation from the people behind Dr. Katz and Science Court, ergo it used the headache-inducing Squigglevision. Being a canceled UPN (the weakest of the broadcasting networks) show didn’t help neither. Since the programming block always lead with Home, it grew on us and unlike all the failures [as] took in, the program was resurrected and had three more seasons. Somehow Netflix streaming has it now. I got through the first season recently and it’s still funny.
Then I don’t remember the order of the remaining 11-to-13 minute shows yet they were funnier.
- Harvey Birdman Attorney at Law: This was the work of the people behind Ambiguously Gay Duo. Gary Cole and Stephen Colbert were what made this work yet it fizzled after a dozen shows. It had a strong start having Harvey represent Dr. Quest in his divorce from Race Bannon.
- The Brak Show: More of Andy Merrill doing the Brak voice. It amusingly passed the time. However, the Brak schtick is better in smaller doses, half an hour, not so much.
- Sealab 2021: A more consistent hit using old HB footage from a forgettable Seventies cartoon. The people behind it have gone on to the do the raunchier, yet equally hilarious Archer for FX.
- Aquateen Hunger Force: Somara has never liked it. I found it great. Much like Sealab, its strength comes from the dialog/interactions. The guest stars: Glenn Danzig, Seth McFarlane, Patton Oswalt, Scott Thompson and David Cross certainly helped.
I can’t remember how the remaining hour or so was filled out. Probably anime such as Cowboy Bebop and Big O. The cycle then repeated three hours later before returning to CN’s regular programming.
Today [as] is its own network. I discovered this while researching my piece. CN “goes off the air” at 8 PM (here) and [as] takes over until dawn. It’s like the old Nickeloedeon/Nick at Night strategy when I was in college during the Eighties. Much of the grumbling on the Internet tends to say this is too much of a good thing. Maybe but it seems to be successful despite [as] padding the time with Fox’s leftovers: King of the Hill and Seth McFarlane’s leavings. I am disappointed by all the live-action stuff. It’s hard to call oneself a cartoon network if there’s non-animated programs.
However, I want to highlight the positive accomplishments from [as].
From the banner/header, you can obviously see I’m very fond of The Venture Brothers, their only traditionally hand-drawn original. Futurama‘s resurgence owes a huge debt to [as]. It’s a shame this went to Comedy Central but they have deeper pockets to make new episodes. Robot Chicken, does it really need anything further to have said? Canceled shows got their opportunity to finish, namely Mission Hill (I have a few cels courtesy of Bill Oakley!) and The Oblongs which will be returning!
Whenever we’re housesitting for a friend with cable or watching TV in Vegas, [as] is one reason why I miss having cable. I’m quickly cured after sitting through (I counted) a 13-in-a-row commercial break stretching over six minutes during a recent Futurama.