Aqua Teen Hunger Force

ATHF has become the favorite late night entertainment snack for my family. The DVD set does introduce each segment with the now infectious rap song that describes each of the Superheroes. The humor is all over the map and comes in the form of dialog and visual pratfalls. The art is done in a quirky style on the cheap but the humor is still rich. All heroes HAVE to have a great bad guy. My favorites are the Mooninites along with Oglethorpe and Emory. MC P Pants and Sir Loin are also very good.

Each of the opening bits with Steve and Dr. Weird stand alone as comic tidbits that get each segment going. Master Shake as the leader of the group garners most of the laughs in his desire to boss everyone around and ALWAYS remain the center of attention. Problem is that Master Shake has a very lame "power".

Firstly I'd like to say that "Aqua Teen" is one of the funniest animated shows, mixing absurd situations with absurd characters who do absurd things. But great comedies (which this is) are more than simply absurd, they're smart. They bring us into the world of the cartoon and have us relate to each character. So I'm going to look into why this is a "great" animated comedy, merely because of its characterization.

Carl is a poor, single, overweight man on welfare whose main cares in life consist of the cardboard cutout of a girl advertising beer, his car, lawn, swimming pool, and reminiscing of the old days, when he would get hammered and go to rock concerts. The interesting part about Carl is that he never admits to any kind of friendship with the Hunger Force, yet they are in his swimming pool almost every episode, and all of them, through all the bickering, get along. Even though Carl is always apparently miserable, his true joy comes from the friends he presently has, which he never addresses. How many people do you know who want to go back to the "good ol' days" when everything was simpler and sweeter, but fail to see the good things in their present life until they're reminiscing about it twenty years down the line?

Shake is funny. Very funny. Perhaps the funniest character in any cartoon show ever. This is achieved in an ingenious paradox. While he is cruel (esp. to Meatwad), self-indulgent, and egotistical with absolutely no sign of empathy, he is the most likable character in the show. Why? I think it's because of his simplicity, like a more intelligent form of a child (aren't children selfish and always unsatisfied?), and who can blame a child? All you can do is laugh at their behavior.

Meatwad is also like a child, but instead of being the kind that doesn't share (like Shake), he is the kid that gives his toy truck to the new kid in school to play with in the sandbox. While Shake is the most likable, Meatwad is the most lovable, and is even more-so because he is missing a brain (does Shake's intelligence give way to vice? If one looks at the episode where Meatwad becomes smarter than the other two, it would seem so). But we can never "like" Meatwad, because we can't associate with him in his stupidity, we can only love him like a small, cuddly dog. Meatwad's voice sounds like a mixture of Yoda and Terrence from SouthPark, which is, somehow, indescribably perfect.

Frylock's character acts many times as the mediator in arguments. He is highly intelligent, humane, but at the same time conceded in his intelligence and humanity (when Meatwad gets a brain and surpasses Frylock's intellect, Frylock becomes jealous and angry). He is individually the least funny of them all, but this is on purpose. He is the sanity in the absurdity, accentuating that absurdity.

Perhaps the best aspect of the cartoon is its lack of development. Nobody changes (at least in character) from one episode to the next. Carl is still poor and resentful, Meatwad is still lovably stupid, Shake still conniving and hilarious, and Frylock still intellectual and, well, normal.

It is impossible to keep a straight face during any episode of Aqua Teen Hunger Force (most especially when the Mooninites make an appearance). But if one allows himself to watch with an active mind, you will see a satire on human nature, which inclines the characters to do some absurd things. But are we really ones to laugh at these characters in their absurdity? Wouldn't we be actually laughing at ourselves? Of course! That's another part of the genius. It takes human faults and shows how stupid and fruitless they are. And by laughing at ourselves, we are in fact reflecting upon ourselves.

This show has been out for almost 12 years. While I love it, I do have to admit that it's later episodes aren't even close to being as good as the originals.

Seasons 1-2: Hysterical. Did not stop laughing.

Season 3: Still amazing. I miss Dr. Weird but Spacecataz is still funny.

Season 4: Where most people think it started going downhill. I like it, although I do admit it isn't as good as the first three. They now have more freedom in the maturity factor, and boy do they abuse it throughout the rest of the series.

Season 5: Bleh. Don't even bother watching the first three episodes of it. This season does get better as it goes on, and I have to admit that "Bible Fruit" is one of my favorite episodes. This is where they really start relying on sex jokes and shock humor, but it's still funnier than other shows that attempt to do this.

Season 6: Better than season 5, but still suffers from the same laziness as last time where many of the jokes are just mindless sex jokes rather than actual creative writing. Just not as bad as before.

Season 7: Better than season 6. Has a couple of my favorite episodes and is a step in the right direction, as "A PE Christmas" and "Rabbot Redux" are two of my favorite episodes.

Season 8 (also known as "Aqua Unit Patrol Squad 1"): A MASSIVE improvement. I thought at this point there was no hope for improvement, but I was completely wrong. Has a nice balance between mature humor and good writing.

Season 9 (also known as "Aqua Something You Know Whatever): Recoil. Their efforts are going entirely the wrong way. With all the other seasons I complained about, I at least still enjoyed all of them. Not the case here. VERY hit and miss. Literally half the episodes in this series have no redeeming qualities about them, but that does mean that the other half is pretty damn good. Just make sure to skip "Shirt Herpes", "Rocket Horse Jet Chicken", "The Granite Family", "Fightan Titan", and "Totem Pole". I was bored out of my mind through those.

Overall, a very good show. They just need to refocus their efforts a bit. I hope Season 10 will be better than the last one, though.

Whether it is the opening segments with Dr. Weird or the strange ending credit sequence with Abe Lincoln, Aqua Teen Hunger Force will make your mind boggle as you try to wrap your mind around about twenty minutes of some of the most brilliant animation EVER! I first found this while visiting a friend in Oregon. Let's say that we were not thinking clearly when we put it in, but as the opening rap sequence began, all I could do was laugh. The next morning, I thought perhaps it was just a fluke. Nothing could be as funny as characters like Master Shake, Meatwad, Frylock, and my personal favorite Carl! Boy, was I mistaken.

This series is hysterical. Every episode is full of random events that will make you laugh so hard that you will pee your pants. This show goes beyond the normal cartoon and takes humor to a whole new level. I loved the fact that after the first two episodes the structure changed completely. I don't think they ever solved any crimes, they just argued and dealt with random 'enemies' that just happened to appear. I even thought that just maybe they would loose their momentum after the first season, but yet again … I was wrong. The DVD was spectacular and gave a bit more information about the birth of these anti-heroes.

I come from a household without cable, even regular channels are snowed out, so when series like these are released on DVD it is the only opportunity I have to see them. I will say that discovering this series was a high-point in my television on DVD career. I love random chaos, and this is exactly what this show provided.

I would suggest this series to anyone that is a huge fan of social commentary coupled with fast food. While it may not make you hungry, it surely will quench your desire for humor. I still wonder where the writers found the idea for the 'cult' characters the Mooninites. Only on ATHF could this random thought become a reality.

I love this series and cannot wait for the third season!

Grade: ***** out of *****

If you are expecting a great cartoon with exciting plotlines and lots of drama, this is not the show for you. If you are expecting a hilarious cartoon filled with lots of random, witty humor, this IS the show for you. There is not one way that one can fully describe AQUA TEEN HUNGER FORCE. Just take a look at the title; it is random and makes no sense. That is what is so amazing about this show. AQUA TEEN HUNGER FORCE follows the adventures of Meatwad, a meatball, Frylock, a floating order of fries, and Master Shake, a milkshake. They live in a house next-door to Carl. That is basically the premise of the show. Anyway, AQUA TEEN HUNGERFORCE is an incredible show that I recommend to anyone who is looking for a funny cartoon to watch, besides THE SIMPSONS and FAMILY GUY. AQUA TEEN HUNGER FORCE currently airs on Cartoon Network's adult programming block, Adult Swim, at 12 and 12:15 AM.