“When things are not as they seem, life is real.”
I’ve come to admire many of the shows on [adultswim.com] lately. The particular quote above is from a show called Assy McGee, where the main character is the lower half of a beer guzzler guy’s bod who happens to be a detective. Like many other shows on the latter half of Cartoon Network’s schedule, many characters other than the main seem to be OK with the fact that this character is, in fact, just an ass, and in more ways than one. Here’s a clip:
There’s a certain level of humor that you really have to have to watch these shows that appear after dark on a channel dedicated to kids. Growing up with Cartoon Network it’s pretty weird to see how the channel has evolved. I’ve come to attain that level of humor (or have always had it) as it really involves making you think when you watch these shows. Robot Chicken is another awesome example. Almost every show on the late night block is one that gives you a premise, takes you in every direction possible, but always bringing you back to the conclusion of the original premise in the end. A lot of Robot Chicken‘s skits involve doing this with mainstream stuff, like pop singers, popular shows on prime time, etc. This is purely genius because most of the watchers don’t care for this type of crap, but still know what the parody is… parody’ing.
The episode the quote is from was dedicated to a Glen Smith, who must have passed away this year. It has been a tremendous help in coming up with ideas for stuff like this. My perception of the world, my surroundings, and most of all my art, has been greatly influenced over the past couple months. I’ve come to collect many ideas for this type of stuff myself, and hopefully sites like this one will give me the visibility I’d need to be in their shoes.
The great thing about these shows is that most of them fifteen minutes in length; basically just long enough to squeeze in what little ideas that come from thinking so hard about this stuff. Cartoon Network has done something great with this lineup, and given many talented people their chance at stardom. Hats off to Matt Harrigan of Assy, Mike Lazzo, Matt Maiellaro, and Dave Willis of Aqua Teen and Coast to Coast, the huge success of Seth Green and his crew allowing them create a masterpiece of Robot Chicken, and of course Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim of Tim and Eric; the best shows on television. Great Job!
