Is [adult swim] starting to drown?
March 2nd, 2007 by 2xKnight
I’ve been a huge fan of Cartoon Network’s late night [adult swim] programming block since it started. It was perfect for nocturnal folks like me. On late at night and filled with great animated shows. Strange things like Space Ghost Coast to Coast and The Brak Show along with some great anime like Cowboy Bebop. It was a dream come true. Toss Toonami in a blender with Cartoon Planet, some ice, and a splash of rum and you’d get [adult swim]. When it started, it was only on a couple nights a week. I couldn’t wait for the day it was on. Then it expanded. It’s now on almost every night. Mon-Thurs and Sat-Sun. No [as] on Friday, that night is dedicated to Fridays (formerly Cartoon Cartoon Friday, also formerly good)
The lineup has changed over time. Some shows follow in the footsteps of Space Ghost Coast to Coast, and play with cartoons of the past. Sealab 2021 is similar to the old show, if the old show had contained large amounts of LSD. Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law set Birdman on a different career path. Instead of blasting goons as a super hero, he fights for justice as a Lawyer.
[adult swim] even picked up a couple of more recent animated shows from Fox and saved ‘em. Family Guy was cancelled on Fox, but the ratings it got on [as] made them reconsider. They put it back on, gave Seth McFarland another show and built their “Animation Domination” block around ‘em and The Simpsons. The other show Fox fumbled was Futurama. It became a staple on [as] very quickly. It’s on almost every night, 2 full episodes of Futurama was on for a while. Futurama’s return to new programming won’t be as speedy as Family Guy though. We’ll have to wait a while for Futurama: The Next Generation. It’s not coming back til 2008 on Comedy Central.
The area where [as] is starting to falter is in there original programming. That’s pretty hit and miss.
Venture Brothers:……..Hit.
12 oz Mouse:……………..Miss.
I’m not complaining. (yet) The reason it’s hit and miss is because it’s so varied. The shows are wildly different. Not just from each other, but from darn near anything else on tv. There’s a lot of creativity there. That’s a good thing. Aqua Teen Hunger Force is a good show, but it took a while to grow on me.
Tom goes to the Mayor on the other hand…
If that show started to grow on me, I think I would have to amputate the affected area. It had an interesting animation style. It had recognizable faces, and in some cases stars. What it didn’t have was humor. It just didn’t work. That’s not a problem though.
If at first you don’t succeed…
Make another show. Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! That’s the new show. Just as bad as Tom goes to the Mayor, but without the interesting style of animation. It’s not animated at all. Why is it on Cartoon Network at all? That same question could apply to Saul of the Molemen. It’s not animated either. It’s also not good either.
Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! and Saul of the Molemen make me fear for the future of not just [adult swim], but Cartoon Network as a whole. I’m afraid Cartoon Network is going down the same road that turned Mtv to crap.
Mtv then….Music Television….Played music videos.
Mtv now….Moron Television…Plays crappy reality tv while sponsor company music plays in the background.
They’re moving away from what makes the network worth watching.
That could make the network not worth watching… [at all].
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