I picked up the Volume 1 Aqua Teen Hunger Force DVD set the other day, and watching all the older episodes made me realise just how much more “mature” the show has gotten in the latest episodes. The characters used to be off-the-wall yet largely innocent, and jokes were centered around zaniness, but in a way that it was geared towards adults (and adults with an idiosyncratic sense of humor, at that).
Lately though, lots of jokes have been revolving around the characters acting incongruously, and often downright sinister, just for the sheer shock value, e.g. Frylock pulling guns on people. The characters act out-of-character so often that it’s become the norm, if you catch what I’m saying. There’s also been a lot more swearing and the like.
Don’t get me wrong, I still find it hilarious, just am curious as to what could have prompted the changes. I especially loved a rerun I saw recently (no clue when it originally aired) where Shake keeps cloning televisions until they get an evil one that shows them all killing each other and being evil. There was even a (somewhat oblique and hopefully not just imagined) Lost Highway reference.
IANAATA (I am not an aqua teen animator), but I would guess that as the series, and Adult Swim in general, succeeded, Cartoon Network allowed the writers to get away with a bit more, not unlike what South Park did. Strong ratings = more power to the creators of the show.
In the beginning (ahem) they actually fought crime and sometimes used their (sad, pathetic) powers. Now, the show seems to be more about what they do in their spare, non-crime-fighting time. I attirubte the increasing oddness level to the changing focus of the show.
Ahh, I’d been wondering if they ever did that. I thought the show was pretty stupid, but I ended up watching a few episodes accidentally and I find I like it. I’ve only seen them actually fight crime once (ditto that being the only time Dr. Weird actually impacted the plot). By the way, is there some backstory with Dr. Weird? He’s in a picture in Frylock’s room, chumming it up with him…
Seems to be an Adult Swim sort of thing. The Brak Show became more and more oblique right up until the end. Sealab 2021 progressively added more and more awful-looking new animation and non-Sealab oriented stories almost in a jokey, disparaging sort of way, like the creators just stopped caring (or caring one week but then not the next). As long as ATHF is still on, anyway, they could spend an entire episode fighting about their wire-spool table and I bet it would still be very funny.