(S04E12) The thing with Aqua Teen Hunger Force is that it used to be probably the funniest show that Adult Swim aired. That was a few years ago though and now it's really just part of a line-up of shows that are equally funny. The problem with this is that the great episodes of ATHF don't stand out as much as they used to and the really bad ones? Well, they stick out like a grandpa who took too much Viagra.
This was one of those episodes.
The premise? Shake gets a son (Meatwad lovingly names him Jesus Ezekial Jesus) and rather than follow his initial reaction to toss his miniature out onto the street, Shake decides to cultivate Ezekial into a professional athlete so that he can live off of his son's wealth. Amusing premise but the episode dragged and was full of used jokes that have peppered previous ATHF episodes. It wasn't fresh material.
Shake's non-existent sex life was a hot topic and that's been addressed in numerous episodes before. "Dusty Gonzagas" comes to mind. As Frylock quickly points out, Shake has no penis despite Shake's adamant response that he "wraps his rascal twice" and has banged hundreds of international women.
Also old news was Carl's penchant for picking up hookers. Almost an entire minute was spent on Carl explaining why his car reeks of cocoa butter. We knew he was a crazed sex-addict. Why spend that much of an eleven minute episode on something that's been toyed with a dozen times before? It just wasn't funny.
I think the one part that I genuinely laughed at was when they were playing basketball and Meatwad was boxing out his imaginary friend Dewey, the paper towel roll. Why not have a whole episode dedicated to Meatwad's imaginary friends? The closest thing to that was "Carl," but a whole episode centered around Boxy Brown, Dewey, Vanessa (the apple), and Jeffy (the garden hose) could be really funny.
It seems like near the end, Maiellaro and Willis realized the episode was just ho-hum and so they introduced the Chess Dragon. He was funny, but his only purpose seemed to be getting rid of Ezekial who was a bad idea to begin with. This show has such a great history of absolutely amazing episodes. So it's always a letdown when you get one like this.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
12-19-2006 @ 3:48PM
LRS62 said...
Sorry, Mr. Toomey. You are about as off-base here as can be possible. If Carl saying one line or so about Cocoa butter is "a minute", then I'd like to have your watch, as it seems to be able to manipulate time. The show constantly tosses in stuff like "The Chess Dragon", so claiming that is an episode saving attempt is just grasping at straws for missing jokes that obviously went over your head.
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12-19-2006 @ 4:50PM
Jack said...
I honestly disagree. That was one of the funniest episodes of all time. It ranks up to The Cloning, that ironically aired right after this.
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12-22-2006 @ 7:52AM
jeff stiefer said...
same here...i was laughing my ass off. Shake heavy episodes are always the best.
Plus, Patton Oswalt as Shake's son scores extra points
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12-28-2006 @ 2:51PM
Nyder said...
This episode was hilarious,
This reviewer is just another "Worst Episode ever" idiot
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1-05-2007 @ 1:11PM
Jason said...
I agree Bram. All the haters on this blog need to chiggity check themselves because they are facing the possibilities of wrecking themselves. Waaah, it's not as funny as it used to be whiners don't realize that episodes need time to sink in to your tiny brains. And if you think you can write something better, start your own show and I'll become a fan and NEVER tell you that your newer episodes are dumber than your first ones.
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1-05-2007 @ 4:29PM
Bram said...
Wow...the audience for ATHF is apparently made up of posers. All season I've read articles and reviews of "fans" who diss the show because it has become tiresome and redundant. I've laughed as hard if not harder this season than last. The "Dickesode" is my favorite and requires multiple viewings to grasp the hilarity of it all. "Ezekial" was classic ATHF. The show in and of itself is inane and doesn't ever seem to have a point, period. But it's the characters themselves that make the show head and shoulders above the rest. There is nothing wrong with relying on Carl to make a joke about prostitutes or strippers. Same goes for Shake's over the top confidence and bragging. He's pushy and a jerk and he's everything you wish you could be, but can't because society frowns upon it. Your request for a show about Wad's dolls would fail miserably when stacked against an average ATHF episode. I've been watching since the beginning and wish people who wrote on them would try to understand that this is a different type of show and accept it for what it is: a laugh factory.
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1-22-2007 @ 11:49PM
The Wopfather said...
This is the freshest episode of the season so far. You want to talk about old material? take a look at grim reaper gutters!
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