TVSquad

Back in January, I mentioned that actor/writer Adam De La Pena (I'm with Busey, Crank Yankers, Minoriteam) was creating an animated series for G4 called Code Monkeys. Well, the series will debut July 11, and based on the seconds-long promos I've been seeing, it looks pretty cool.

The series is animated in the 8-bit style of retro video games, with blocky backgrounds and characters who move as if being controlled by some unseen entity with a magical joystick. The main characters, Dave and Jerry, are game coders who occupy this bizarre pixel-y world.

I love the idea, but I also played a lot of video games in the '80s and '90s, so I'm excited to see how many of the show's inside jokes I'll comprehend. My only worry is that the series might be too much of a "niche show," much like Minoriteam was, and it won't attract a wide audience.

Note: the theme song is "Code Monkey" by Jonathan Coulton (used with permission). Thanks to our own Annie Wu for telling me 'bout that.

Adam De La Pena, creator of the Adult Swim series Minoriteam and creator and co-star of the Comedy Central series I'm with Busey has created a new animated series for G4 called Code Monkeys. The series, which was recently picked up for fourteen episodes, takes place in a world that resembles an actual video game from the '80s and will include several allusions to games from that era. De La Pena will direct all the episodes, and will also serve as a writer and the voice of the main character.

Meanwhile, he's also developing another animated series for FOX with the working title Think Tank. The series will spoof office politics and is based on the idea that everything in pop culture is controlled by a single "think tank."

Out of the two projects, I must say Code Monkeys looks the most interesting to me. The idea of a cartoon set in a world resembling the blocky look of old Atari games could be really cool. The series will hit G4 this spring.

[via Toon Zone]

Adam de la Pena is one of the minds behind Minoriteam, the Adult Swim series about a team of super heroes whose powers are based on their stereotypes. Before that, however, you may have seen Adam as Gary Busey's pal and occasional foil on the insane Comedy Central series I'm with Busey. He's also worked behind the scenes as a writer on such programs as The Man Show and Crank Yankers.

I spoke with Adam yesterday about Minoriteam, racism, writing for puppets, and knowing when it's okay to say no to Gary Busey:

Adam F: What was the driving force behind Minoriteam? Did you want it simply to be funny or to really make a point about race?

Adam D: My thing is, I come from a background where I love TV. I watch as much TV as I can. My favorite show is Magnum PI. So, I really want [to make it] the funniest show I can in general. The point we're making with the show doesn't matter unless it's funny. I don't like preaching to people. I don't like having some sort of crazy overriding political agenda.

One, personally, it just sticks you in a hole where you're like "I believe THIS." You're going to believe that your whole life? You're eighteen, and when you're fifty you're going to believe that, too? So I think that's the most important thing. If it's not funny then it's not interesting to me and I don't really care about it. I'm really more interested in nonsense. A huge influence [of mine] would be Monty Python and Kids in the Hall. British comedy in general.

The shows have to be funny and they have to be ridiculous. That's where the heroes' flaws come into play, and The White Shadow is definitely this ridiculous organization. The guy's a complete idiot and the guys he has working for him aren't much smarter, either.

I caught the premiere of Minoriteam last night, which, if you check Adult Swim's page for the show, is actually the fifth episode, "Tribe and Prejudice." If you're not up to speed, the show is about a group of super heroes who all happen to be minorities, and their powers are based on their specific stereotype. The show was co-created by Adam De La Pena of I'm with Busey, who also penned last night's episode.

Like most Adult Swim fare, the show clocks in at under fifteen minutes, which is all well and good since I don't think it could hold up much longer than that. While the episode did have some great moments, such as an Indian casino being closed down for being built on an ancient pilgrim burial ground, it feels as if it's mining a realm of comedy that's been drawn from time and time again. While I love the comic book aesthetic of the show, I feel like this kind of humor has been done before.

Nevertheless, I'm not passing judgment on it just yet, since I only saw one episode. Besides, it had enough yucks to make me want to check it out again next week. Whether I'll stick around beyond that remains to be seen. If you guys caught it, I'd like to know what you thought of it.

Back in the 'olden days' (we call them the late 1960s and early 1970s), Marvel Comics produced a cartoon series that featured some of their most popular characters; Captain America, Iron Man, and Incredible Hulk, among others. The animation amounted to comic book panels featuring the characters standing still while their mouths moved. It was crude, even for the animation of the late 1960s, but the kids ate it all up.

Fast-forward to the ultra-modern 21st century (by the way, where are the flying cars and the cities on the moon?), and creators Adam De La Pena, Peter Girardi and Todd James, who have taken the influences of that classic cartoon, and used it for their new Adult Swim show Minoriteam. It launches this Sunday, March 19th.

They say you should never meet your idols, that it will always, inevitably, be a disappointment. Or, in the case of comedy writer Adam De La Pena, a danger to your emotional, psychological, and physical well-being.