Sons of Aqua Teens
The certified comedy geniuses who brought us "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" (also known as the greatest invention of Western Civilization since slavery), Matt Maiellaro and Dave Willis, have split up temporarily to produce two new shows for the justly worshiped Adult Swim lineup. Both of these shows premiered last week. This offers those of us who consider ATHF to be a piece of brilliance a chance to see which member of this animated comedy powerhouse duo is the Simon, and which is the Garfunkel. Below you shall find the definitive evaluations of these programs, and the human worthiness of their creators, based on the two episodes of each that I have seen.
Squidbillies
"I don't consort with those of the robot race."
This is Dave Willis' creation. 50% more plot driven and 50% less random than "Aqua Teens", but, so far, approximately 90% as funny. It's the tale of a father-son team of hillbilly squids. Lots of the expected humor at the expense of dumb crackers, mixed with plenty of casual violence and a goodly dose of absurdity. However, it also figures set ups, punch lines, and an extensively realized universe with a buttload of humorous ancillary characters, including a snake with a mullet whose only goal is swallowing and digesting the town sheriff. In short, this is exactly the show to rebut the criticism of people who claim that Adult Swim humor lazily gets by on random absurdity. Clearly, thought and imagination went into every joke in this show.
Funniest Lines so far:
"For the next ten years, Early was raised by wolves...horribly" (cue wolves eating Early's face)
"Man Flavored Baby Tacos!" (Cut to picture of smiling Mexican) "So delicious, I was glad to die for it!"
Twelve Ounce Mouse
Maiellaro's contribution. This show, on the other hand, is almost a parody of Adult Swim-style comedy, even more reliant on lazy absurdity than the harshest Swim critics would dare to suggest. In significant ways, its the same show as "Squidbillies" in that it follows a protagonist, the "12 oz. Mouse" in question, who, like father-squid Early Kyler, is prone to alcohol abuse and random gunfire. The difference is that it sucks with a white-hot intensity rarely found among earth-bound periodic elements. I wouldn't be surprised if there was some galactic suckiness involved in this thing. As you can see from the jpg, the show is insultingly poorly drawn, basically demanding that you concentrate on the cutting edge dadaist dialogue. Too bad the dialogue is as sloppy and uninspired as the animation; a string of non sequiters devoid of any characters, plot points, set ups, jokes, or pay offs. The essential truth that Maiellaro seems to have forgotten is that out-of-the-blue absurdity is only funny if it stands in contrast to some sort of ordered universe. Aqua Teens works because, although the idea of living foodstuff renting a house in New Jersey is ridiculous, it's nevertheless a coherent world, and the madness of the characters pops out only in relationship to that consistently presented premise. 12 oz. Mouse is an fifteen minute long, unrelated string of the most off-the-wall moments of Aqua Teens, devoid of context or characters. The shit of it is that there's bound to be a bunch of comedic avante gardists who are going to champion 12 oz. Mouse for it's "bold" anti-style. But fuck those guys.
The Verdict:
After two episodes, it is crystal clear that Dave Willis has been carrying Matt Maiellaro like a sack of wet manure for years. In much the same way that Paul Simon would write, arrange, and play the instruments on each song while Art Garfunkel dropped in to lay down some high, fruity vocals that Simon couldn't reproduce, Willis lovingly crafted each Aqua Teen episode's character, comedic set up, the jokes and punch lines, then brought Maiellaro in to sprinkle a few out-of-left-field lines to make it all come together perfectly. Now, this isn't to say that Maiellaro isn't a valuable part of the Aqua Teen process, just as it's hard to imagine those classic Simon and Garfunkel songs without Art warbingly along. However, it's now painfully clear which member of the duo is capable of a strong solo career, and which one doesn't have the complete comedy skill set necessary to sustain their own creative vision.
Squidbillies
"I don't consort with those of the robot race."
This is Dave Willis' creation. 50% more plot driven and 50% less random than "Aqua Teens", but, so far, approximately 90% as funny. It's the tale of a father-son team of hillbilly squids. Lots of the expected humor at the expense of dumb crackers, mixed with plenty of casual violence and a goodly dose of absurdity. However, it also figures set ups, punch lines, and an extensively realized universe with a buttload of humorous ancillary characters, including a snake with a mullet whose only goal is swallowing and digesting the town sheriff. In short, this is exactly the show to rebut the criticism of people who claim that Adult Swim humor lazily gets by on random absurdity. Clearly, thought and imagination went into every joke in this show.
Funniest Lines so far:
"For the next ten years, Early was raised by wolves...horribly" (cue wolves eating Early's face)
"Man Flavored Baby Tacos!" (Cut to picture of smiling Mexican) "So delicious, I was glad to die for it!"
Twelve Ounce Mouse
Maiellaro's contribution. This show, on the other hand, is almost a parody of Adult Swim-style comedy, even more reliant on lazy absurdity than the harshest Swim critics would dare to suggest. In significant ways, its the same show as "Squidbillies" in that it follows a protagonist, the "12 oz. Mouse" in question, who, like father-squid Early Kyler, is prone to alcohol abuse and random gunfire. The difference is that it sucks with a white-hot intensity rarely found among earth-bound periodic elements. I wouldn't be surprised if there was some galactic suckiness involved in this thing. As you can see from the jpg, the show is insultingly poorly drawn, basically demanding that you concentrate on the cutting edge dadaist dialogue. Too bad the dialogue is as sloppy and uninspired as the animation; a string of non sequiters devoid of any characters, plot points, set ups, jokes, or pay offs. The essential truth that Maiellaro seems to have forgotten is that out-of-the-blue absurdity is only funny if it stands in contrast to some sort of ordered universe. Aqua Teens works because, although the idea of living foodstuff renting a house in New Jersey is ridiculous, it's nevertheless a coherent world, and the madness of the characters pops out only in relationship to that consistently presented premise. 12 oz. Mouse is an fifteen minute long, unrelated string of the most off-the-wall moments of Aqua Teens, devoid of context or characters. The shit of it is that there's bound to be a bunch of comedic avante gardists who are going to champion 12 oz. Mouse for it's "bold" anti-style. But fuck those guys.
The Verdict:
After two episodes, it is crystal clear that Dave Willis has been carrying Matt Maiellaro like a sack of wet manure for years. In much the same way that Paul Simon would write, arrange, and play the instruments on each song while Art Garfunkel dropped in to lay down some high, fruity vocals that Simon couldn't reproduce, Willis lovingly crafted each Aqua Teen episode's character, comedic set up, the jokes and punch lines, then brought Maiellaro in to sprinkle a few out-of-left-field lines to make it all come together perfectly. Now, this isn't to say that Maiellaro isn't a valuable part of the Aqua Teen process, just as it's hard to imagine those classic Simon and Garfunkel songs without Art warbingly along. However, it's now painfully clear which member of the duo is capable of a strong solo career, and which one doesn't have the complete comedy skill set necessary to sustain their own creative vision.
posted by matthew christman at 8:49 PM
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