A groovy time with the Aqua Teen gang

Sunday marked the hundredth episode of Aqua Teen Hunger Force, which was appropriately named... "100." In contrast to the gay ghost episode I wrote about two weeks ago, this was pretty sharp, self-referential humor, similar to the Larry Miller episode last week.

Keeping with the theme of the title, Frylock keeps noting the number 100 popping up in every aspect of his life, and like that crazy Jim Carey movie that nobody saw, he scribbles 100 all over the house. By the middle of the episode, every single thing anyone says, included a cop played by George "Space Ghost" Lowe and Tom Savini.

I particularly enjoyed the sequences with Dana Snyder playing himself in a Master Shake costume, trying to get a syndication deal out in L.A. When he hears 100, he thinks of something entirely different - the standard mark needed to be syndicated. But as the network guys point out, Aqua Teen Hunger Force needs to do another 100 episodes to get syndicated, since each episode is only about 11 minutes long. Then again, it's hard to imagine anyone but Comedy Central or FX paying for ATHF, excluding TBS, which is a Turner property like Cartoon Network anyway.

Anyway, Shake returns back to Jersey, at which point a monster 100 (as in a numeral that runs around) attacks them. The monster is voiced by Robert Smigel, a.k.a. Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, which seems pretty appropriate. To get away from the monster, Shake invents a new show for them to inhibit, which is a spoof of Scooby Doo. This turns out to just be another pitch to the network executives though, sadly, because it looked pretty god damn sweet. Sigh. I guess I'll have to wait for the Aqua Teens to actually solve crimes like Scooby and the gang...

Grade: A+

TV Review: Monsters, stickers and Shake on ATHF

This past week's episode of Aqua Teen Hunger Force, "Monster", was pretty good. Not so much for the episode itself, because it was good, but ho-hum. Master Shake did have some great lines, true, but more importantly, there were some great images from the show, such as the one above, featuring Shake trying to sell Meatwad on a monster prevention pack.

And, to the right, Meatwad apparently likes to get stickers when he behaves well. He keeps complaining of a monster in his closet, in the sand, and tries to sneak into Frylock's bed for a "booty call" at the beginning of the episode as a result. Hilarity ensues from there! Good times, good times.

Grade: A-

Around The Dial: Leno back with some kinda, sorta good guests; Archer gets second season!

Checking in with some television news around the dial...

- The guest list for Leno's return to The Tonight Show has been released, according to TV Guide. Click here to catch a glimpse.

To be honest, I think TV Guide is stretching a bit when they say it includes "a lot" of A-Listers. The first night back, yes, Leno has Jamie Foxx and Lindsey Vonn, followed by Sarah Palin and Shaun White that Tuesday. Those are four pretty solid guests, and I imagine Vonn and White will do well on the show, coming off the Olympics and because of their solid conversational skills anyway.

However, after that, it goes downhill fast. Wednesday has Chelsea Handler, which is probably the first night Leno might get shit on by a guest, and the "big names" for that night are the cast of Jersey Shore. Thursday is Matthew McConaughey - ugh. And Friday has Morgan Freeman, a definite A-lister, but not someone known for his dynamic interviews.

I think most of the better A-list interviews - Tom Hanks, Harrison Ford, Tom Cruise - are going to wait out Leno's "new" Tonight Show to see how the ratings are. If there is a big public backlash against Leno, then I think they'll avoid the show like the plague. At that point, it would be REALLY interesting to see what NBC does. Maybe they could lure Conan back, as nuts as that sounds, with a ridiculous contract offer. Otherwise, they'd have to quickly promote Jimmy Fallon (unlikely) or hire some outside gun with little late night experience.

- In great television news, Archer has been picked up for a second season by FX! Woohoo! Just the other night, I was worried it wouldn't get picked up, but it seems like the ratings have stayed strong for the show. It's great news for Adam Reed, who came from the Adult Swim / Cartoon Network way of doing things, which was to constantly stall and wait on renewing shows.

The Archer picture comes from the news item I linked to in the story. The Leno cartoon is from this site.

TV Review: More Aqua Teen Hunger Force MADNESS

"If the Family Guy can have a pinball game, so can I!"

Dear Master Shake, I love you so much. You are my favorite animated character by far, with your bombastic, egotistical sayings. And thankfully, you were on full display, in your element, with the latest Aqua Teen Hunger Force episode "Eggball" on Sunday night.

The premise: Shake somehow creates a pinball game based on himself, complete with sound drops from the Mooninites, Frylock and others. (To be honest, the game itself seemed like a great product for an actual arcade, and it wouldn't surprise me if it was based on an actual design for a table or video game proposal, excluding the fact that it had about 17 flippers.) The quote below the picture of Shake is something he said in the episode, which only adds to my love of him.

Anyway, the first five minutes or so of the episode were incredible, as Shake breaks the machine and then attempts to get it fixed. The repairman turns out to be George Lowe, his second appearance on the show in a row, although as another generic character. Lowe hasn't really done much since Space Ghost Coast to Coast ended, so if they can squeeze him in as a semi-regular character, my love for ATHF will only grow.

Predictably, Shake freaks out that he can't find a proper replacement pinball, and the episode drags a bit as they go to Death Island to find a replacement ball. However, it's still funny, and there is some Meatwad humor in the second part of the episode involving jetskis.


Touching on the previous week's episode, "Rubberman," I found it enjoyable, even though it was a return to the "gross out" humor of ATHF that I have criticized in the past. From the picture and the title and my short description, you can probably guess what the episode was about, but just in case you need some more elaboration - Frylock creates a duck made out of used condoms and syringes that he calls Rubberman, and Meatwad brings it to life by placing a magic hat on top of its head.

... You know, really wholesome, family stuff! As gross as the episode starts out, it does get better as it goes along. While it is not an instant classic like "Eggball," "Rubberman" was still entertaining enough for an 11-minute show.

Grade for Eggball: A
Grade for Rubberman: B-

Aqua Teen Hunger Force is back with a vengeance, and a rabbot, kind of.

One of my favorite shows is Aqua Teen Hunger Force, despite the fact that I don't smoke pot. (I've learned that this can be a rarity among viewers.) A few weeks ago, the seventh season started with "A PE Christmas," in which Master Shake stole the identity of Flavor Flav and Terminator X, so he could record a Public Enemy Christmas album. It was pretty funny, more in line with the humor of the first couple seasons, as opposed to the super sickening humor of the last couple seasons.

However, the frustrating part about ATHF lately has been the release schedule for episodes. Before the Christmas episode, season six ended on May 31 with the neat concept episode of "Last Last One Forever and Ever," the only live-action ATHF episode. (The actual quality was somewhat disappointing, though.) Between seasons five and six, there was more than a year lapse. Like South Park, ATHF also has a short season, only about eight to 10 episodes. And after the Christmas episode, this week's episode came out almost a month later.

But speaking of this week's episode, the point of this post... I thought that "Rabbot Redux" was another good step in the direction of the past early success of the show. As anyone familiar with the show will realize from the episode title, there are referencing the earlier episodes now. This seemingly doesn't make any sense, since all of the characters have died multiple times and been resurrected without any acknowledgment. But hey, if that's the case, then you might as well up the insanity by adding in references that don't really make sense.

Anyway. The start of the episode has a bit of a swerve, as Master Shake and Carl are saying goodbye, since the gang is moving away! Don't worry though - They're just moving to the house on the other side of Carl, much to his dismay. Standout scenes in the episode include the beginning portion with Carl, and Master Shake and Meatwad's discovery of what a bathroom is.

Again, the whole episode feels like a bit of a throwback, to the origins of the series. If you checked out for a bit while they were doing episodes on mucus men and nosebleeds, then the show's tone might be better for now, similar to my own experience.