Aqua Something You Know Whatever goes back to the Stone Age

Fans might have missed the return of Cartoon Network's Aqua Teen Hunger Force on Adult Swim a few weeks ago. This is because it has, yet again, changed the title. The series, now known as Aqua Something You Know Whatever, has not lost a bit of its comedic charm, and after a couple of years of mediocre tales, has returned to its former glory. This is definitely apparent in this week's installment, "The Granite Family."

"The Granite Family" plot is simple enough. Master Shake (Dana Snyder) has trouble relating a a Flintstones-esque cartoon on television, so he decides he needs to live through the Stone Age in order to get the jokes. Never mind that TV won't be around in that era. Frylock (Carey Means) offers his time traveling thong to Shake, but Shake decides a better option is to start a nuclear war, which he handily accomplishes, and the planet's cities are reduced to rubble. Riding out the event in Carl's (Dave Willis) bomb shelter, Frylock plans on using his thong to stop Shake, but fails.

Continuity has never been as important as laughs to Aqua Teen, no matter what the title of the series is. There have been many episodes where things are destroyed and characters die. Luckily, none of that sticks, as the show works because of the people and settings that make it up. Yes, Shake manages to level society in "The Granite Family," but that's just a great demonstration of how self-centered Shake is. Things will return to normal next week.

Nor should one worry about believability. The fact that Shake can easily sneak into the White House and launch missiles at Russia via a big, red, unguarded button is humorous and drives the plot forward. It's not important that there is no way this situation could take place in real life. Shake needed to reach his goal, and fast, so the writers devised a visually humorous way for him to do so.

Besides how funny the episode is, and believe me, there are a ton of great jokes, there are also a lot of terrific references shoved in. Anyone who enjoyed The Flintstones back in the day will grin when Aqua Teen pokes fun at the tropes and repeating elements of the classic series. Animals not enjoying their jobs? Yes, please! Longtime fans of this series will delight in a brief cut scene of Ignignokt (also Willis) and Err (Matt Maiellaro) on the moon, somehow understanding what Shake is doing. Plus, who can resist the obvious digs on Time Warner and Fox?

Now, my only problem with Aqua Teen has always been that it sometimes gets a little gross. For instance, in "The Granite Family," is it necessary to see Meatwad (Willis again) holding a steaming bag of liquid poo in the bomb shelter? This isn't funny to me, and actually interrupts enjoyment of the show. But perhaps to some fans, this kind of humor is what they are looking for, and if so, Aqua Teen has you covered,

Overall, the new season has been pretty solid, including this episode. Watch Aqua Something You Know Whatever Sundays at midnight on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim.

Check out my new website, JeromeWetzel.com.  If you like my reviews, please follow me on Twitter! Article first published on TheTVKing

Aqua Teen has new title, pretty much the same

     If anyone out there misses Aqua Teen Hunger Force and is wondering when the new season starts, do not be fooled. It began about a month ago, and continued last night, but under a new title. Now appearing on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim, Aqua Unit Patrol Squad 1 has a new moniker and theme song, but otherwise, is pretty much the same. In interviews, it was said that the new series would get back to the characters' roots, taking them out on detective mysteries, as they did in the pilot. That lasted for a few minutes, and then they quickly slipped back to the formula that has worked for them for the past ten years. In fact, there is a ten year time jump in the new first episode, but now that that story is past, there's not noticeable differences. Except that Dr. Weird (C. Martin Croker) is not supposed to appear again.

     Last night's episode, "Freedom Cobra," finds Master Shake (Dana Snyder) doing all her can to pick up girls in the park, including getting a vicious attack dog. When none of the ladies passing by pay his any attention, he insists to Meatwad (Dave Willis) that they are all lesbians. Yep, every single one of them. Then he sees a guy with a tattoo getting action, so he heads to the parlor and wants the best ink $3-$5 can buy. The artist gives him a Freedom Cobra wrapped around a sword. Shake is not tipped off by the fact that the thing must be installed during a lightning storm, and so is surprised when the Cobra comes to live and demands to eat people. Putting Shake in a trance state, the Cobra consumes first the dog, then neighbor Carl (Willis). As it eats, it keeps getting bigger and bigger. Frylock's (Carey Means) solution, a laser tattoo removal doctor, can do nothing.

     Aqua has a history of treading into gross territory, but it surprisingly avoids that in this episode until the very end. Could definitely have done without the laser doctor shooting blood all over Shake as he gestures and explains the plastic surgery that has been done after feeding Freedom Cobra his hands. As the blood spurts into Shake's unnoticing mouth, I admit to squirming a little.

     Most of the episode is very funny. From Shake trying to pick up girls in the rain, to wanting a tattoo that blatantly states a message, spelled out, in English, to his killing of a not-getting-it Carl, the story dances around sex and murder without actually showing them, thank goodness. Who knows how intercourse even works for a giant milk shake? Is anyone really curious to find out? Instead, the episode hints at a lot, and plays on Shake's insecurities, which have provided fodder for many an episode.

     Surely next week the Cobra will be gone, despite the episode ending with Shake still on a killing spree. And Carl will be back alive. Aqua doesn't need to come up with fancy dream sequences or anything. It has ventured into such game-changing plots before, simply to back off and pretend they never happen in the following installment. Perhaps one day the series will deal with that and explain it, perhaps in a series finale, but given the show has been on the air since 2000, and it's still delivering stories often as good as earlier seasons, that doesn't appear to be in the cards anytime soon.

     Aqua Unit Patrol Squad 1, formerly known as Aqua Teen Hunger Force, airs Sunday nights at 11:45 p.m. on Cartoon Network.

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     To buy Aqua Teen Hunger Force DVDs, please click here.

Aqua Teens celebrate Christmas

     As part of Cartoon Network's Adult Swim, Aqua Teen Hunger Force has been around since 2000, airing six seasons in that time.  The sixth season ended in May, so I was a little surprised to see a Christmas special air this week.  The episode title was "A PE Christmas", although it wasn't readily obvious that PE stood for Public Enemy.  That's because as part of the plot, Master Shake (Dana Snyder) and Meatwad (Dave Willis), having stolen Flavor Flav's identity, decide to record a Christmas album.  Well, one twelve-second track that Master Shake plans to release and make millions off of for Christmas, even though it is already December 24th.  The sound technician humors them, barely, and readily agree that the new CD will be shipped out to stores immediately so he can get home.

     Fans of the show know that even though episodes are a mere eleven minutes or so, that main plot, taking up the middle chunk, will have little to do with the beginning or end of the episode.  Cartoon Network was initially scared to put on a show about good items (Carey Means's Frylock being the third member of the cast) doing random things, but the show has enjoyed a cult following and relative popularity, even earning a feature film.  Don't worry if you hadn't heard about the film, few did, but it existed, and was in actual movie theaters.

     This Christmas episode was every bit as good as Aqua Teen gets.  It began with the trio of 'heroes' in church, one plotting to rob the collection plate, another confused as to why Santa Claus was skinny and hanging on a cross with an appendectomy scar, and the third just shaking his head and getting them out of there as quickly as possible.  It ended with Shake breaking into a Better Buy store so that customers could get in to buy him album, and then randomly exploding in jail from eel diarrhea.  In short, it was wrong, gross, and hilarious.  If you stuck around past the end credits, pervy, sweatpants wearing neighbor Carl (also Willis) delivered a heartwarming rendition of "I'll Be Home For Christmas" concerning what exactly self-pleasure he would be doing.  Clearly, the show is not for everyone.  But for it's target audience, it succeeds.

     They also released a Christmas album this year, on sale now.