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Last year I
asked a good friend of mine to review the
2nd volume of “Aqua Teen Hunger Force.”
I did this because he loves the show and
I doubted I would. I’m a pretty big
fan of Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim
(which airs slightly more ‘adult’
animated shows late at night – and
by ‘adult’, I don’t mean
“ADULT”), and tune in from time
to time to catch “Sealab: 2021”,
“Home Movies”, “Family
Guy” and the like. I had only seen
a little bit of “Aqua Teen Hunger
Force”, and for some reason it didn’t
really appeal to me. He gave it a great
review, so much so that it made me wonder
if I was missing something.
I did finally write a review once Season
3 came out as I opted to give it more of
a chance. And though I skipped Season 4
(but am planning on buying it eventually),
I am back with some new thoughts as the
series releases its 5th season on DVD.
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Before I get to my review, I should perhaps fill
you in a little bit on what exactly “Aqua
Teen Hunger Force” is. After all, despite
its huge fan base I’m sure there are a lot
of you who haven’t a clue what it is. Admittedly,
after I explain I doubt it will be any clearer.
Here goes. The members of “Aqua Teen Hunger
Force” (so named because they used to fight
crime) include Frylock (a goateed bag of French
fries), Master Shake (a large milkshake cup),
and Meatwad (the name pretty much sums it up).
They all walk (well… float or roll) and
talk, and are for the most part the worst neighbors
anyone could have. Just ask Carl, their next-door
neighbor. At any given time, Master Shake is getting
them into trouble, whether by taking bites out
of a possessed sandwich or attempting to deep
fry and entire cow. Frylock, on the other hand,
offers the cool voice of reason, which is somehow
always lost on Shake. Then there’s poor
Meatwad, who is usually the one to suffer the
most from Shake’s ill-conceived actions.
That is the most simplistic description I think
can be written about the show. It covers the basics,
but doesn’t even scratch the surface of
(dare I say it?) the complexity of the humor.
The only way I can explain THAT is to say there
are two kinds of stupid humor… stupid stupid
humor and smart stupid humor. “Aqua Teen
Hunger Force” falls into that latter category.
My opinion after watching the episodes on the
Volume 3 DVD release? It’s a freakin’
hilarious show. I couldn’t believe I was
actually laughing out loud. I’ve since seen
the movie and now the new 5th season release and
there wasn’t a single episode that I didn’t
find funny.
You probably couldn’t tell, but I have started
and re-started this paragraph at least 6 times.
I thought I might try and further my descriptive
efforts by telling you about one of the episodes,
but like the series itself, I don’t think
any description would do it justice. Take for
example, the episode “Dickesode” in
which Carl wins a prize at the Wong Burger…
the prize being having his… ummm…
‘Little Carl’ ripped off. This is
also apparently somehow a much better prize than
just getting free wasabi fries. The episode goes
even further to show us how Mr. Wong is building
a spaceship out of ripped-off extremities. (See,
I knew that any description I came up with would
not do the show justice.)
The new 2-disc set for “Aqua Teen Hunger
Force” also gives fans their moneys worth
when it comes to extra features. Along with the
normal array of deleted scenes, there are more
unusual extra features like the video for the
song “I Like Your Booty But I’m Not
Gay”, the Aqua Teens responding to critics
comments… and video of porn star Tera Patrick
eating a hot dog. Yes, you read that last part
right. In one of the episodes, and animated Tera
eats a corn dog, and here we see her in the studio
eating a real hot dog. It’s not quite as
arousing as it sounds, but it sure is funny.
I never in a million years thought I‘d be
recommending DVD sets for “Aqua Teen Hunger
Force”, but it’s honestly a much funnier
show than it seemed to be. I will admit that the
humor won’t appeal to everybody as it comes
at you so fast you might miss some of it, and
it is often gratuitously disgusting. A style of
humor I love, but a lot of people abhor. You might
try watching an episode or two on Cartoon Network
first. If you don’t get the jokes, I’m
so sorry… you’re not as smart as you
thought you were. If you end up laughing like
I did, grab the DVD sets, they’re well worth
the money.
Episodes:
Dirtfoot
Boost Mobile
Dickesode (plus Uncensored Version)
Hand Banana
Party all the Time
Bart Oates
Global Grilling
Grim Reaper Gutters
Moonajuana
Ezekiel
Antenna
Carl Wash
Star Studded Xmas Spectacular, Part 1
Star Studded Xmas Spectacular, Part 2
Extras: Favorite Episode Promos, Aqua Teen Hunger
Force Responds to the Critics, I Like Your Booty
But I‘m Not Gay Music Video, ATHF Movie
Premiere with Space Ghost, Deleted Scenes, Learn
to Shred Like the Master, Tera Patrick Eats a
Hot Dog, Granny Takes Her Top Off, Space Ghost
Coast to Coast “Chambraigne”, ATHF
Zombie Ninja Pro-Am Trailer, The Worst Game Ever
Specifications: Full Screen
Studio: Warner Brothers
Release Date: 1/29/2008
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website
We'll give Aqua Teen Hunger Force: Season 5
a B.
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