What do you look for when you watch an adult-targeted animated sitcom.
This question comes after watching BrickleBerry… it proved that more offensive does not equal funny.... and there is a lot of complains over the rest of the sitcoms. Family Guy/ American Dad/ The Simpsons.
So what is it exactly that makes an animated sitcom good... in your eyes.
1990's Simpsons pretty much was perfect, if you need reference for the direct golden standard.
Brickleberry is pure shit. A million times worse than Family Guy ever was.
Honestly, some memorable characters, give some good laughs, and put some real emotion from time to time with your characters. Don't just make me laugh. Make me like your characters.
Never watched Brickleberry I'm not a fan of Daniel Tosh so it didn't interest me.
Family Guy, American Dad, and the Cleveland Show on the other hand are funny to me. I've never really seen anything offensive in any of them but then again I don't take religion or politics seriously so I can't say I'd know everything that is offensive or not.
I don't look for much if I like it I'll watch it.
Family sitcoms, at their core, are just stories like anything else. So, as with all stories, they have to have a good plot, good characters, and an emotional connection with the audience. Of course, they have to have "adult" humor to appeal to their target demographic, but I think the most prevalent factor of the adult sitcom is satire, particularly social and political satire.
Let's compare a few:
Simpsons- As Zeph stated, 90's Simpsons is pretty much gold. Doesn't get any better. Awesome satire, humor and some genuine dramatic moments that don't feel forced. Modern Simpsons is just meh. Everything about modern Simpsons feels so artificial and forced. The plotlines are often convoluted and the characters don't act the way they should. Occasionally they may have a relatively good one (I liked last year's Christmas special), but the show has really worn out its welcome.
Family Guy- You know, even early Family Guy wasn't that great. Yes, it had the "outrageous" humor that is pretty funny the first few times around, but it was also really facetious in how it handled its plotlines and morality. But still, it wasn't bad. Modern Family Guy has now, of course, devolved into an unfunny, unpleasant, mean-spirited, sexist, racist mess.
American Dad- For a while it looked like this was the only passable Seth MacFarlane show left, but even this one seems to be going to the dark side now. American Dad had some really interesting stories and characters and (shockingly) managed to be relatively reserved in its political commentary. The humor was also pretty darn good and they took the show in some interesting directions (namely, Haley getting married). But now, as I said before, it seems to be taking a turn for the worth, mainly with Roger degenerating from a spoiled narcissist to an amoral psychopath.
Home Movies- On the flipside, this is a very character-driven show. There's not a lot of satire here, or if it is it's very understated. Rather than caricatures, the characters in this show feel like real people and although they don't usually get into any wacky situations, the humor in fact comes from how human they are. They're self-centered, cynical, but they also care for each other. And they fail. Oh, they fail.
South Park- South Park had a big impact on television, but I fear that a lot of writers and producers took the wrong lessons from it. Somehow people got it in their heads that raunchiness=quality, but in South Park the raunchiness served a purpose. It was never just about profanity or gross-outs, it was a tool to emphasize and illustrate their message. Matt and Trey are all about political and social commentary and they do it mercilessly, spelling out exactly why this topic of the week is dumb as hell. They continue to do this today, although I don't think it's quite as good as it was in its early years. The show used to have a certain charm and timelessness that I think the show is lacking now.
King of the Hill- How this show lasted so long I'll never know, but I gotta give it props for staying fairly consistent in quality throughout its whole run. This show is all about satire, and its got a really understated humor that may not appeal to everyone (it actually took me a long time to get into it). No, it was never as good as Simpsons, but I'd say it was a respectable sitcom.
now a days, the best adult shows feature a lot of dry, absurdist, and deadpan style of humor, whearas kid's shows tend to focus more on sight gags, crude humor, and on the older/teenage side of the spectrum, pop culture jokes. shows that have a lot of 'adult' pop culture jokes tend to focus on celebrities, politicians, and people
character driven humor is always going to be king and can be enjoyed by all ages. it's also the hardest to write because you first need interesting, unique characters
Brickleberry was one of the worst adult shows I'd seen. Up there with Drawn Together. Just gross or offensive just to be so. I mean…Hell brickleberry ended on a rape joke...
Ugly American's I think is alright. I watch it, I get some laughs out of it, but I mostly am not sure why I watch it. Maybe it just has that right level of weird with a plot per episode that at least makes a bit of sense in their world. I have a hard time watching Family Guy and Cleveland Show now because it's just far too negative lately. I like when characters learn a moral but I don't really want to be presented with overly dark themes in a animated "comedy" sitcom. Or listen to someone being mean and preachy at the same time, not matter the stance. Maybe that was why I liked King of the Hill. The character's view points were very different from mine, but they never really felt like they were actively trying to be offensive towards people with different opinions on whatever topic. If a character was over the top in being a jerk, there was at least a karma factor that seemed to come into play.
I guess a good adult animated sitcom is a show that can bring up something touchy, but still make you laugh, in my opinion.
Does Archer and Venture Bros count under the category of a sitcom? Cause I like those as well.
Drawn Together is a real sad case, I think it started out well but so suddenly it just….sizzled out and became a big hunk of shit. It became shock value, with little payoff or warmth. It's a dud. There was little effort or talent put intio the writing and the only funny parts were
90's Simpsons is the height of animated sitcom's
I really like old Family Guy, it was essentially a very charming, politically incorrect version of the honeymooners however I really don't care about modern Family guy or American Dad, or Modern Simpsons. Venture Bros. is where it's at. I only really pay attention to South Park and Venture Bros.
Noone mentions Futurama? For Shame.
I still like The Simpsons(the first 5 or 6 episodes from last season were exceptional until… yeah), even though there's quite alot of bad "topic episodes". I'm not going to make a long dwindled review of the show, since I feel what won't help you or answer your question.. and you probably won't read it(I won't). Speaking on that, here's what I NOT look for in an adult animated sitcom. It's "topic episodes".
I personally hate when a episode puts a whole lot of emphasis into its topic or moral, whether they are making something good of it, or outright mocking the idea of having a plot or moral. For example, Lois of FG suddenly gets tired her family being looked down on, and then announces to them that they are going to make efforts to be a better and more respected family. And there! Lois just summarized the episode's entire plot within 5 minutes of the show. I then proceed to pick up my remote and watch something else. Aside from that, that's about all I dislike about animated sitcoms.
Another thing that you should note on. Especially for ongoing series that has been going on for years. It's impossible for something to remain fresh for a long time. It's also impossible to satisfy an audience or fans for so long. That said, I would still consider studying what exactly makes animated sitcoms bad "to you" personally. Whether your own idea floats or sinks, an animated sitcom is really all about the minds behind it. If you love Simpsons, look at what makes the show good, and what you can do to make their bad ideas better out of your own love for it. That's what I would do :)
I personally hate when a episode puts a whole lot of emphasis into its topic or moral, whether they are making something good of it, or outright mocking the idea of having a plot or moral. For example, Lois of FG suddenly gets tired her family being looked down on, and then announces to them that they are going to make efforts to be a better and more respected family. And there! Lois just summarized the episode's entire plot within 5 minutes of the show. I then proceed to pick up my remote and watch something else. Aside from that, that's about all I dislike about animated sitcoms.
Them eating a kid didn't help either. Which was also a plotline that was already used in American Dad and for better effect. For fuck's sake.
Ahh sitcom cartoons…I do miss the 90s when the Simpsons were actually good (the best being Season 4 when Conan was co-writing the episodes). Like what most of you have already stated, the Simpsons really overstayed its welcome about a decade ago. Everything feels so artificial (which is apparent in Matt Groening's statement about milking the franchise for everything that is worth). I used to enjoy the Halloween and Kelsey Grammar episodes which seemed to be its only redeeming quality for a while, but now even those feel awkwardly painful to watch. Though, I still do love the Simpsons (err..90s Simpsons) and I often pretend that it went off air a while ago.
On the other hand, Futurama at least has a setting (with some interesting character dynamics) that actually forces the writers to think a tad harder about their story rather than regurgitating something hackneyed like the Simpsons. I appreciate that Futurama decided to try a "different" type of sitcom rather than playing it safe with another nuclear family oriented sitcom. Instead of planting another "simpsons" family into space, the writers created a "workplace" sitcom in space which definitely made a more different show. Aside from Fry and Homer's similarities in archetype (bumbling protagonist), the Simpsons and Futurama feels like a completely different show for obvious reasons. (Heck, hardly any of the Simpsons staff makes an appearance in Futurama at all. Fortunately the Robot Devil sounds nothing like Homer Simpsons.) It is very clear that the writers made an attempt to differentiate Futurama from the Simpsons (thank god). This is the major beef I have with Seth McFarlane's works:
All three of his shows all revolve around the nuclear family (all with a remarkably similar structure: Stubborn father, wife, 2-3 kids, and a pet more or less). The plots for each one's are remarkably similar with similar quirks from each of the parents, siblings, AND pets. I wish Seth differentiated each of these shows beyond the superficial level (appearance, characters, locale, etc...). There are SOME difference I noted from Family Guy and American Dad structure, but now it seems to have diminished. And the Cleveland show...what a waste of airing space.
If only Seth went with a Quagmire show, that might have provided some interesting possibilities. Unfortunately Seth McFarlane is anything but intuitive in his work. (Though I do appreciate his voice acting, but it is nowhere near as good as Dan Castellaneta).
Outside of the obvious like Futurama and South Park and a few goodies on Adult Swim (Sealab and Harvey Birdman OMG), "adult animation" to me is really stale. Like someone already pointed out, the "family" sitcom is so overdone to the point of ridiculousness. The Simpsons are forgiven cause they did it first, but everyone of MacFarlane's is the prime offender.
What I like about Futurama, which is probably my favorite "adult" cartoon, is how much heart it has (or at least had). Episodes like Jurassic Bark and The Devil's Hands Are Idle Playthings are fantastic examples of the show at its absolute best, when the audience can feel for and invest in the characters beyond simple cartoons. Futurama wasn't about stock characters, the characters developed in a way that nothing of MacFarlane's could ever manage.
Though American Dad comes closest. It's the only MacFarlane comedy I can tolerate anymore.
In the meantime, I find adult animation rather bleh in general. Despite the exceptions, it's just such an annoying genre to me because an adult animation typically goes out of its way to be obscene or profane because it can, not because it should. Explicit content becomes a crutch, and feels forced and shoehorned in for the sake of being "adult". In cases like Futurama, they rise above that a bit, but still get weighed down a bit. On the other end of the spectrum, Family Guy gets utterly absorbed in its obscenities.
In fact, that's what I loved about King of the Hill. It very rarely played the obscene card and still managed to be an adult sitcom.
Mabye not 1st season Simpsons but yeah, still have to agree.
Though I heard a theory recently that the Simpsons was as funny to as many people as it was back then due to most of the population being subjected to the same media or at least being aware of it and thus today with as many forms and platforms of media there are that's no longer possible.
Still doesn't excuse Season 17.
I feel that the main advantage to animation overall is the absurdity potential. Pure absurdity, though, is just boring. You need walls to bounce off of.
Golden age Simpsons is such a shining example, because it grounded itself in reality. Not only did its absurdity have a place to stem from and reference, but even felt the effects of reality.
On the other end of the spectrum is my second favorite, Frisky Dingo, which took the incredibly absurd and tried chaining it to reality. The result was a constant conflict between the two elements.
The worst animated shows forget that all too quickly. To use the obvious example, Family Guy just really forgot about things like consistent world or characterization, even with its cast of recycled characters and locations. It's just whatever comes to mind. As a result, it gets pretty directionless and either goes nowhere or digs its nails too far in an attempt not to drift away. That's what I see in all of the worst animated shows.
Of course good writing and sense are important, too, but that's something consistent among all media.
^
Oh that brings up another excellent point about the Simpsons that I have forgotten (but triggered by the post above this). I have grown VERY VERY sick of guest stars that appear on the show. It was a great novelty back in the 90s when certain "notable" celebrities sparsely appeared on the show for a brief hello and disappeared. However, the more recent Simpsons is like a whore that lets any celebrity name parade into it, spread their disease, and leave a nasty taste in the audience's mouth. Since it occurs in every new episode, it is kinda sickening when they force the plot to include the named celebrity into the show.
At least when South Park adds a guest voice, it's something to look forward to (George Clooney as Sparky…lol).
Really, I try not to focus on who the show was aimed for. Some of the best story driven animated material was intended for children. The entire DC Animated Universe, particularly Batman: The Animated Series is just a complete bunch of absolute gems. Batman, Superman, Justice League, Unlimited, Static Shock, and Batman Beyond. All absolute golden grade A material and all completely intended for children. But overflowing with the utmost levels of quality writing and storytelling.
That's what I want. A show that just puts a lot of effort into quality.
Plenty of people have referenced The Simpsons at its peak, so yeah, that's really the golden standard which all other "Adult" animated comedies should aspire. Family Guy was pretty ok before the cancellation, afterwards it really feels like they're… trying too hard to be what they used to be... and now it comes off as very extremely mean spirited. I hated the Quagmires Dad episode, It's the first time one of these "Offensive for the sake of being offensive" shows actually offended me, and It was just horrible.
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I hated the Quagmires Dad episode, It's the first time one of these "Offensive for the sake of being offensive" shows actually offended me, and It was just horrible.
This is a golden opportunity since I don't know anyone personally that can relate to this particular episode. I am curious on what part (or aspect) of the episode you were offended by. A lot of it was clearly mean spirited like Peter's comments, the Griffin's reaction to the transition, the ending. However, I thought it wasn't nearly as mean-spirited as it could be (especially in regards to Glenn and his father's relationship by the end).
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I hated every episode of Family Guy I've ever seen, even the early ones. I think there may have been two standalone jokes that made me even amused in like fifteen episodes.
And then there's the Brian and Stewie episode….....
This is a golden opportunity since I don't know anyone personally that can relate to this particular episode. I am curious on what part (or aspect) of the episode you were offended by. A lot of it was clearly mean spirited like Peter's comments, the Griffin's reaction to the transition, the ending. However, I thought it wasn't nearly as mean-spirited as it could be (especially in regards to Glenn and his father's relationship by the end).
Bottom line, Family Guy usually is more well rounded when they tackle their topics. The characters are all different and have their normal Paradigms, or at least they used to. Peter is the moron who is rude and crass, Lois is WAY more level headed and respectful of others and is usually embarrassed by Peter, Meg is just a punching bag and is sad and just wants to be loved, Chris is an idiot who says inappropriate things, Brian used to be the tolerant level-headed one, but lately that's gone a step further to being preachy, but still, everyone is a different rounded character.
In the Quagmire's dad episode, Ida (that's his father's name) is universally treated like a leper. EVERYONE, even Lois and Brian treat her like garbage (Brian only after he finds out she's trans, but still). When She made food for their dinner party, everyone refused to eat it and threw it away. Like she had a disease. Like they could "catch" it from her if they, god forbid, ate some food she actually may have touched.
When everybody, even Lois who is the character they USUALLY use as the levelheaded voice of reason, treats her like an inhuman monster behind their back it just turned my stomach. That's even worse, that nobody treated her like that to her face, it's like they're saying "It's ok to think Trans people are less than human as long as you do it behind their backs".
Just ugh.
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Family Guy and goddamn Daniel Tosh are everything that's wrong with mainstream TV "humor" (RANDOMNESS PLUS UNPLEASANTNESS = $$$). Randomness and unpleasantness aren't necessarily bad in and of themselves, God knows I use them, but I think the distinction is that they need to be wielded properly, with more focus. A carnival or an exhibit tour or even just a sketch, not a choking miasma.
I agree with the 'Family Guy has been awful' thing. It pains me that tons of normal people (AKA people who just watch whatever's on TV and don't go out of their way for entertainment, and when they're not doing that updating facebook) still ask me if I've watched the latest episode or whatever about Peter using horse semen or squirrel genes or whatever the hell that was. Even when I was a dumbass kid around 2006 or 2007, with absolutely no taste in anything whatsoever (I don't think I had ever finished a single show at that point, some video games but that's it), I recognized that it was going down the crapper. Peter's eyes were becoming more squinty and obnoxious, and from that point that obnoxious superiority complex had already poisoned the show's less-than-pristine water supply. The show thought itself better than you, didn't care what you thought, and would just go on its way trying to one-up itself and high-five itself.
For current sitcoms I like Workaholics (it's Stoner City: The Show but seriously that show is chill as hell to watch), South Park, and… I imagine that's it? I'm supposed to be catching up on HIMYM soon but never feel like it.
Oh also, Big Bang Theory! I've written up a huge post on it before but do not try to be like that show please. It's a much more innocent existence than Family Guy but still abuses the hell out of humor like "I use an old operating system! It is difficult and not user-friendly!" audience is filled with inexhaustible tears and laughter, roses are thrown at Sheldon as well as new operating systems
Main reason I don't like BBT is they abuse the hell out of their bowtie-funny-man character, Sheldon, and he might even be what drives the show.
I think I hate the idea of the comedy machine. If you don't periodically inject a fresh perspective or voice or twist into your work, it becomes a hollow, spluttering shell.
How could you say that when you have a meticulously scripted humor podcast with regular segments, Gliblord!?
I think it all has to do with a) amount of sweat and tears going into your work and b) amount of heart, how much you care.
Family Guy has neither a) effort or b) heart. It's a machine, it doesn't care, it deliberately doesn't care. It doesn't come from a real place. It thinks its machine brain is better than you, looking down on you with cold machine eyes. The "wacky randomness!!" is a mask to disguise its heartlessness.
I think that in part memes are a related phenomenon. There are lots of memes that come from the heart, and those are funny, but the majority of them just seem like assembly line monotony. I feel like it's making it too easy for people to pass off their barely amusing anecdotes and robotically churn them out into these "meme" spam packets.
I guess, if amid the silly humor and jokes they can actually make you stop and think about something, it's alright. Futurama and the Simpsons have both managed to be poignant at some point. I don't think I can say that about Family Guy. South Park tackles some relevant ethical/social topics pretty well in some very clever ways sometimes. Not always.
I kind of feel like the MacFarlane animation is really just meant to appeal to the lowest common denominator. It does make me laugh sometimes so I'm not knocking it entirely, it's just not really great.
I love Venture Bros. but I'd put that show in a different category. It's an action/adventure/comedy, not a sitcom.
No one mention of Moral Orel. Which in my opinion is one of the most underrated Adult Swim show besides Frisky Dingo. Yeah, Frist season of Moral Orel isn't that great. But the show begins to get its groove during Season 2. Its Season 3 is one best full season of a show on Adult Swim, and the only reason it was canceled is because one of the episodes was so dark and depressing that had they rewrite the episode and Adult Swim cut-down episode count for the season a bit and force the Moral Orel staff to cut down a lot of the major storylines of Season 3 down a bit and make a rush ending for the series. It was still good ending for the show, but it was rushed.
Oh god, reading this just makes me miss old simpsons terribly. Watching episodes from season 5 and 6 are a tremendous joy. I think to this date usually my funnest moments involve hanging out with friends and randomly quoting the simpsons.
As for McFarlane, I think he should move into voice-acting and leave comedy writing in more capable hands. Why he keeps getting shows is beyond me.
Homer's Barber Shop Quartet has a very very special place in my heart.
But really, any episode of The Simpsons leading up to… I'd actually say Season 12 is where they started missing more than they were hitting. And that's being rather generous considering the Principal and the Pauper was season 10.
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To me, The Simpsons started going downhill was more or so was in Season 11 with Saddlesore Galactica. Yeah there are episodes post season 11 I like I Am Furious Yellow and the last two years Christmas episodes. In my opinion, the show is slowly is getting its groove back, since there were a lot of episodes the last couple years that I like. Heck, I own two seasons of The Simpsons on dvd (Season 6 and Season 7, which was my two favorite seasons of the show when I was kid.).
As for McFarlane, I think he should move into voice-acting and leave comedy writing in more capable hands. Why he keeps getting shows is beyond me.
Seth gets props for doing three things:
1.Being a decent voice actor with various roles (at least his characters sound different which can be more than said for his sister. I have nothing against her, but I am just never happy with Rachel's performances…err except in American Dad. Still, he can't hold a candle to Dan Castallanetta's performances.)
2.Surviving 2 (or was it 3?) cancellations.
3.Having Patrick Stewart say funny things.
Other than that, I don't think much about him. Besides, I don't think he is writing American Dad/Cleveland Show. I think he just performs in those. Obviously, he is still credited as the creator, but I don't think he actually writes the comedy for those. (Then again, comedy often manifests from improv so maybe Seth is making up all the idiocy while he performs).
Simpsons stopped being enjoyable for me when it seemed like every episode had to be Lisa-centric because she was always into the new alternatives that kept popping up in society. The vegetarian thing wasn't as bad because at least the reasoning for why she wanted to change made sense. Kids do refuse meat if they associate it with the cute animal that very tasty meat comes from. It happens. But I felt like the other characters in the family stayed static. I also got tired of seeing the weekly deal with repercussions of Homer's latest job gimmicks. But I guess that was bound to happen with a show being on as long as it has.
I pretty much nearly gave up on new Family Guy episodes after that weird ass episode where Brian and Stewie were trapped in a bank vault. That was just far to gross for me to deal with. Then of course you get the super preachy Lois or Brian episodes. I miss Brian just being a lush and a less abrasive moral rein for Peter. I miss Lois being a house wife with a bit of a wild side. I can't stand Lois now. She actively seduced Meg's boyfriend in one episode! She's one of the most terrible people in the show. She doesn't even seem to care for her family.
Futurama, Archer, Venture Bros. Hilarious without giving me that bad feeling Family Guy and Drawn Together give me.
Why do they always have to be comedy? Where are the serious animated shows? A non anime space opera or a non anime detective action mystery thriller?
I can't stand Lois now. She actively seduced Meg's boyfriend in one episode! She's one of the most terrible people in the show. She doesn't even seem to care for her family.
augh, I agree 100%….....I would say Lois, Brian, and Peter are now the three worst characters on FG. Lois and Peter for being uncaring, amoral parents (Peter says he hates being around the kids and makes up for it by buying an XBOX!) And Brian for being super-liberal and untolerable in large doses (I especially hate episodes where he falls in love with a girl and the whole thing falls apart over and over)
A younger me once praised the McFarlane trio and thought they were super funny......what a fool I was. FG is really bad, Cleveland Show will always be at most "okay" since it's a carbon copy of Seth's other two shows, and while American Dad is the best of the three, it's not that different from the other two.
I mean I like dark humor and anything related, but there's a fine line of pulling it off well and executing it horribly. Family Guy falls in the latter.....that one episode where Quagmire deals with his sister's batterer was EXTREMELY uncomfortable to watch......
And the Simpsons I still watch, but even I go "meh" and "eh" at the majority of episodes nowadays. Still.....it has plenty of golden episodes from the '90s and its overall run. It's not easy to keep a show going for over 20 years.
tl;dr: mostly I'm saying what everyone else in the thread has been saying.
Why do they always have to be comedy? Where are the serious animated shows? A non anime space opera or a non anime detective action mystery thriller?
Not sure. Does Gargoyles count? That was mostly serious. Although that wasn't for adults I guess.
Wasn't Gargoyles a disney cartoon? If we were to count Gargoyles, how about simply throwing in Batman the animated series and calling it a day: one of the finest works of animation that was fun for children and adults. It definitely deserves credit for not watering down the content for its intended demographics.
Perhaps the reason why there is no "adult" space opera/detective animations is because there isn't a need for one. If they wanted to create a serious animated show, then it will still be aired on a children's network to attempt to appeal to a broad audience (aka…shows like Avatar or something). Making a strictly adult animated series is not a marketable idea. For example, I believe none of Spike TV's adult animated shows fared well at all since they were (1) Adult oriented (2) Had terrible content in result of being strictly adult oriented, and other facts that I care very little to discuss (the development behind Stripperella was pretty hilarious though). Animated shows that sell to a general audience makes more sense. Therefore non anime space/detective shows do exist, but not as strictly "adult" shows.
On the other hand, comedy animated shows exist because they allow the creators to push boundaries that cannot be done if it portrayed live actors (as well as other reasons). Space/Detective shows can still be efficacious either through live action or animation, but comedy is done differently when it is either animated or portrayed through live actors. For example, try to envision a live action South Park episode. I simply cannot fathom it being done at all. Animation fares better for pushing the envelope and creating scenarios that cannot be done through live action.
I agree with your points valiantt. It's mostly likely why we don't see straight up drama cartoons in the states.
Yes, Gargoyles is Disney. But it was action and drama. Goliath got hit in the face with a pie once. But overall the show wasn't comical…A lot of people died in that show some even on screen but it was kinda glossed over lol. Batman coulda fit too, but those shows weren't aimed at adults so I suppose they technically don't count for the topic at hand.
No one mention of Moral Orel. Which in my opinion is one of the most underrated Adult Swim show besides Frisky Dingo. Yeah, Frist season of Moral Orel isn't that great. But the show begins to get its groove during Season 2. Its Season 3 is one best full season of a show on Adult Swim, and the only reason it was canceled is because one of the episodes was so dark and depressing that had they rewrite the episode and Adult Swim cut-down episode count for the season a bit and force the Moral Orel staff to cut down a lot of the major storylines of Season 3 down a bit and make a rush ending for the series. It was still good ending for the show, but it was rushed.
You sir are a cool guy. Now don your cool guy sunglasses with pride, my son.
Oh I just remembered the 90s. Wouldn't Aeon Flux count? I don't think it was an import. Or The Head, or The Maxx? Pretty much all those shows that were on Liquid Television on MTV back in the day.
 
