TVSquad

I should preface this review with something basic - I am in no way whatsoever an animation buff. I didn't watch a lot of cartoons as a kid and now that I'm a big boy, my Adult Swim knowledge stretches about as far as Aqua Teen Hunger Force with the occasional episode of Sealab 2021 tossed in. So... I guess I know a little. Enough to say that Sealab's mastermind Adam Reed definitely has a hit on his hands with his first stab at a half-hour show in FX's Archer.

So if you're looking for a treatise one why Archer's flash animation or cell-shaded stop motion freeze-frame whatever-it's-called is superior vs. parochial and clunky, then this is not the review for you. I'm basing my review on content alone and seeing as how Archer won't be back for its official premiere until January, we were very fortunately given more than enough to whet our appetites.

When FX initially picked up six episodes of its first foray into animated comedy, the plan for Archer was to pair it with It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Since that greenlight, two things happened.

First, FX got trigger-happy and greenlit a whole bunch of other shows (from the likes of Louis CK and Don Cheadle). Second, and more importantly, according to FX it turns out that from start through post, it takes almost a whole month to complete one episode of Archer. With Always Sunny premiering this Thursday night at 10PM ET on FX, slotting in Archer's six eps suddenly became impossible. So the plan has changed. Instead of pairing Archer with Sunny mid-season, FX plans to launch its fantasy-football themed sitcom The League instead. However, if you were looking forward to seeing Archer, I've got some good news.

(S06E10) "What?!? I'm re-hydrating!" - Shake

I remember when I first heard about the live-action episode of Aqua Teen Hunger Force, I wasn't all that excited about it. Most of the ATHF DVD sets have had some sort of live-action Easter egg, usually of some fools dressed up in homemade Frylock and Master Shake costumes. They've never been funny and I just figured this episode would be like one of them. Then came news that it wouldn't be anything like that - T-Pain would be playing Frylock. That alone was worth the wait, but after all the hype... it just didn't do it for me.

If you don't know who H. Jon Benjamin is, let me inform you: he's a writer and comedian most of us probably first saw when he played "Ben" on Dr. Katz: Professional Therapist. He was also a writer on that show and would later show up on Home Movies (one of my top five favorite series of all time), and the recent short-lived animated series Freak Show for Comedy Central.

In an interview with Gothamist, Benjamin revealed he was working on a new Web series for Super Deluxe called "Thunderpoint." What the series is exactly remains to be seen, but if Benjamin is behind it, I'm going to go out on a limb and say it'll be damn funny.

Variations of this story may have wound up in your inbox at some point, but if you don't feel like reading the whole sappy piece, I'll give you the Cliff's Notes version: a man in an airport cheers along with a crowd of people as soldiers in camouflage walk through the airport. A little girl asks one of the soldiers to give something to her daddy, and kisses him on the cheek. The soldiers pretend to contact the girl's father via walkie talkie and then the soldier kisses the girl and tells her it's from her father.

It's a sweet story, though its veracity is questionable. What makes it ripe for satire isn't necessarily the story itself, but the way it's told, from the perspective of a person who wants everyone to know how he also stopped to clap for these brave men. Even if he's not essential to the story, he will make himself essential, god damn it.

Comedian H. Jon Benjamin, who has provided voices for many cartoons including Dr. Katz, Home Movies and Freak Show, gives his own take on the story in this editorial for Junkiness. It's full of dry Benjamin-y goodness. Enjoy.

[via CC Insider]

You know, if anyone other than H. Jon Benjamin were involved with this show, I'd say a cartoon about a crime-fighting ass was a really stupid idea. And when I say "crime fighting ass" I don't mean TJ Hooker, I mean an actually human butt who works as a sniper for the police department. A trailer for the new series Assy McGee, which kicks off on November 26 on Adult Swim at 11:30 pm, can be viewed after the jump. I completely lost it when Assy, right before launching a missile at a blimp, says, "Adios ... blimp." That's just what I would expect from a talking ass who takes the law into his own hands in order to rid the city of criminals and murderers. He's like Dirty Harry, if Dirty Harry were a butt.

The show was created by Benjamin, Matt Harrigan (voice actor for Aqua Teen Hunger Force and 12 Oz Mouse) and Carl W. Adams. John Glaser of Late Night with Conan O'Brien is a writer for the show, along with the three creators. The schedule currently has the series set for a six-episode run. It has a visual style somewhat similar to Minoriteam, but less static and more fluid.

I had the pleasure of checking out the first couple episodes of the new animated series for Comedy Central from comedians David Cross and Jon Benjamin called Freak Show. Don't worry, though, I'm not going to give away any specific details, but I'll try to give you an idea of what to expect.

The Freak Squad is comprised of a group of circus freaks, each with their own unique power. Tuck and Benny, the siamese twins (voiced by Benjamin and Cross) have the power of separation; the Bearded Clam (Janeane Garofalo) shoots blinding bitch juice; the World's Tallest Nebraskan (Brian Stack, a writer and performer on Late Night with Conan O'Brien) can shrink up to six inches; Primi, the Premature Baby, has the power of pinpoint vomiting; and Log Cabin Republican, the only gay member of the squad, can transform into Burly Bear, a large, hirsute man in S&M garb. Log Cabin Republican is voiced by Jon Glaser, also a writer and performer on Conan.

Happy news for fans of Dr. Katz: Professional Therapist: the second season of the Comedy Central animated series about a shrink whose clients all happen to be comedians will be out on DVD November 21. The show starred Jonathan Katz as a therapist who tried to help his patients by, essentially, setting them up so they could tell jokes. The series also introduced many people to the comedic genius that is Jon Benjamin, who played Katz's son Ben. Benjamin would go on to voice Coach McGuirk on Home Movies, and occasionally offer his dry delivery to other cartoons such as Aqua Teen Hunger Force and Venture Bros. Looks like I have yet another DVD set to ad to my "To Buy Later" list on Amazon. Look for Garry Shandling, Steven Wright, Rita Rudner, and Emo Philips to appear in this season.

[via Toon Zone]

Jon Benjamin was a force behind two of my favorite animated series, Home Movies and Dr. Katz. He returned briefly with Lucy, Daughter of the Devil on Adult Swim, but now he's teaming up with David Cross of Mr. Show and Arrested Development for a new animated series for Comedy Central called Freak Show. The show centers on a group of super heroes who work as sideshow performers in their day to day lives. Considering Cross' voice work on Adult Swim shows like Tom Goes to the Mayor and Aqua Teen Hungerforce my guess is that this new series is going to be hysterical. There's no solid airdate just yet, though it will most likely air later this year, or in early 2007.

You might think that fifteen years is too long to wait to make a sequel to Backdraft, but that's only if you're Ron Howard. If you're alternative comics Eugene Mirman, Jon Benjamin, and Sam Seder, you forge ahead and make a sequel anyway, despite not really knowing a whole lot about the original film. It's called Backdraft II: Backdraftier, and I haven't seen anything this funny in quite some time. Please, won't you share in my joy? Mirman explains he wanted to make sequels to movies that didn't need a sequel. That makes absolutely no sense, and that's why it's brilliant.

[via The Onion AV Club]