TVSquad

With the holidays fast approaching, it's good to know that Adult Swim is thinking of you. According to their online schedule, Aqua Teen Hunger Force will return on December 13th at 11:45 p.m. ET with an episode elusively referred to as "ATHF Xmas."

In true Adult Swim fashion, there's been absolutely no indication as to what this episode might be about, however it's likely that it somehow ties into the recently released Aqua Teen Hunger Force Christmas CD, Have Yourself a Meaty Little Christmas. If you haven't bought it yet, do yourself a favor and get it now. Trust me when I say that you haven't lived until you've heard Meatwad croon his own version of "Silent Night" or Carl cackle his way through "I'll Be Home for Christmas."

Anyway, regarding the episode, it's the only one listed on the schedule, so it's probably not the new season premiere, but it'll hopefully have some sort of performance aspect with songs from the album. That and maybe The Cybernetic Ghost of Christmas Past from the Future will show up. Please let the robot turkey be there.

The new Adult Swim In A Box is an embarrassment of riches - six boxed sets for six different shows and a bonus disc featuring five unreleased pilots -- more than 20 hours on 12 DVDs. I was especially happy to get season two of Sealab 2021, which I have never been able to catch regularly, and season one of Metalocalypse, which I have always enjoyed.

Getting season two of Robot Chicken, volume one of Moral Orel, volume two of Aqua Teen Hunger Force, and volume three of Space Ghost Coast to Coast just seemed like a bonus. Well worth the suggested retail price of $69.98 for Adult Swim fans who haven't already purchased any of the included sets.

The pilots are a mixed bag, but mostly good. The Best of Totally for Teens is a live action parody of a moralistic teen variety show hosted by thirtysomethings trying to be hip. It's a promising premise, one that should maybe be revisited, but the pilot is a bit of a mess. It hits topics ripe for satire in the format like teen insecurity, drugs, and sex, and has the right look for Adult Swim.

A series of free music and comedy performances especially for fans of Cartoon Network's Adult Swim is coming to New York City.

The Adult Swim Presents Summer at Santos Series includes six live shows featuring a different musical and/or comedy performance each night.

It's a great opportunity for fans of various Adult Swim series to see their creators and stars live and on stage. The casts and minds behind Metalocalypse, Aqua Teen Hunger Force and Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! were each asked to prepare their own unique show for their respective night.

(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.

• At 8, CBS has the season premiere of Million Dollar Password.
• NBC has the Penguins/Red Wings game at 8.
• Food Network has a new Challenge at 8, then a new Iron Chef America.
• At 9, PBS has a new Masterpiece Mystery!
• USA has a new Law and Order: CI at 9, followed by a new In Plain Sight.
• History Channel has the season premiere of Ice Road Truckers, then the series premiere of Expedition Africa.
• MTV has the 2009 MTV Movie Awards at 9.
• Lifetime has the miniseries Maneater at 9.
• Also at 9: GSN has a new High Stakes Poker.
• At 10, AMC has the season finale of Breaking Bad.
• HGTV has HGTV's $250,000 Challenge at 10.
• At 11:45, Cartoon Network has the season finale of Aqua Teen Hunger Force, then a new Squidbillies.

Check your local TV listings for more.

• FOX has the Sprint Cup: Coca-Cola 600 race all night.
• At 7, CBS has a new 60 Minutes.
• NBC has a new, two-hour Dateline at 7.
• At 8, TNT has the Magic/Cavaliers game.
• At 9, ABC has the miniseries Diamonds.
• GSN has a new High Stakes Poker at 9.
• Sci-Fi has the movie Polar Storm at 9.
• HBO has two new episodes of In Treatment at 9.
  
• Also at 9: Showtime has the season finale of The Tudors at 9, followed by a new Tracey Ullman's State of the Union.
• At 10, AMC has a new Breaking Bad.
• At 11:45, Cartoon Network has a new Aqua Teen Hunger Force.

Check your local TV listings for more.

Blame the influence of friends; I do. Because we couldn't get the Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie to play right, we ended up jumping into Volume 2 of Squidbillies. Now I'd seen part of one episode of this (where Rusty makes his deal with the devil), but I changed the channel. I'm not sure why I resisted the Cuylers. I love ATHF, so you'd think it would be right up my alley, considering it's by one of ATHF's creators. Hell, it even features the voice of Master Shake as Granny.

Even when we first started watching it last night, with Season 3, Episode 1 I was reluctant to say I was enjoying it. Eleven episodes later and I was laughing out loud when Granny was transformed with road kill skin grafts and an udderly disgusting boob job. It's a tradition in our house to look at one another at the end of each episode of ATHF and say "what the f**k did we just watch?!" Squidbillies gives me that same feeling of ridiculous. Not to mention the characters remind me of some of the people who live in the small Midwest town I find myself now.

• At 7, ABC has a new America's Funniest Home Videos, followed by new episodes of Extreme Makeover, Desperate Housewives, and Brothers & Sisters.
  
• CBS has a new 60 Minutes at 7, then a new episode of The Amazing Race, the season (series?) finale of Cold Case, and The Unit.
  
• NBC has a new, two-hour Dateline at 7, followed by a new, two-hour Celebrity Apprentice.
• FOX has a new Sit Down, Shut Up at 7.
• At 8, FOX has a new Simpsons, then new episodes of King of the Hill, Family Guy, and American Dad.
• HBO has a new No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency at 8, followed by two new episodes of In Treatment.
• At 9, PBS has a new Masterpiece Classic.
• USA has a new Law and Order: CI at 9, then a new In Plain Sight.
• Sci-Fi has the movie Fireball at 9.
• Also at 9: Showtime has a new episode of The Tudors, then a new Tracey Ullman's State of the Union.
• At 10, AMC has a new Breaking Bad.
• At 11:45, Cartoon Network has a new Aqua Teen Hunger Force.
• At 1AM, Cartoon Network has a new Mighty Boosh.

Check your local TV listings for more.

The season finale of Aqua Teen Hunger Force will involve a live-action episode in which real people will play the roles of Frylock, Master Shake and Carl. The role of Meatwad will be played by an exercise ball.

As with every other episode of Aqua Teen Hunger Force, you'll probably have to be high to truly understand their sense of humor (which makes sense, since they're probably high whenever they write an episode).

Frylock will be played by rapper T-Pain. Master Shake will be played by Jon Benjamin. Carl will be played by first time actor Dave Long, Jr., the winner of Adult Swim's Carl look-alike contest. I'm so used to hearing Dana Snyder, Carey Means and Dave Willis as the voices of our intrepid heroes that if these actors try to do the same voices, it may feel "wrong" to me somehow. Here's hoping they can nail each character perfectly, or that the animated voices are dubbed over.

Photos are after the jump. Enjoy.

• At 7, ABC has a new America's Funniest Home Videos, followed by new episodes of Extreme Makeover, Desperate Housewives, and Brothers & Sisters.
  
• CBS has a new 60 Minutes at 7, then new episodes of The Amazing Race, Cold Case, and The Unit.
  
• NBC has a new, two-hour Dateline at 7, then a new Celebrity Apprentice.
• At 8, FOX has a new Simpsons, followed by new episodes of Sit Down, Shut Up, Family Guy, and American Dad.
• TV Land has The TV Land Awards at 8.
• ESPN has the Red Sox/Yankees game at 8.
• TNT has the Trail Blazers/Rockets game at 8.
• HBO has a new No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency at 8, then two new episodes of In Treatment.
• There's a new Challenge on Food Network at 8, followed by a new Iron Chef America.
• At 9, PBS has a new Masterpiece Theater.
• USA has a new Law and Order: CI at 9, then a new In Plain Sight.
• Showtime has a new episode of The Tudors at 9, followed by a new Tracey Ullman's State of the Union.
• GSN has a new High Stakes Poker at 9.
• G4 has a new G4 Underground at 9.
• Also at 9: MTV has a new Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory, followed by new episodes of Bully Beatdown and Nitro Circus.
• At 10, AMC has a new Breaking Bad.
• At 11:45, Cartoon Network has a new Aqua Teen Hunger Force.
• At 1AM, Cartoon Network has a new Mighty Boosh.

Check your local TV listings for more.

• At 7, ABC has a new America's Funniest Home Videos.
• CBS has a new 60 Minutes at 7, then a new Amazing Race and the movie The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler.
  
• NBC has the Miss USA 2009 Pageant at 7, followed by a new Celebrity Apprentice.
• At 8, FOX has a new Simpsons, then the series premiere of Sit Down, Shut Up and new episodes of Family Guy and American Dad.
• There's a new Challenge on Food Network at 8.
• ABC Family has the movie My Fake Fiance at 8.
• Also at 8: HBO has a new No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, followed by two new episodes of In Treatment.
• At 8:30, Disney has a new Wizards of Waverly Place.
• At 9, ABC has a new Desperate Housewives, then a new Brothers & Sisters.
• PBS has a new Masterpiece Classic at 9.
• USA has the season premiere of Law and Order: CI at 9, then the season premiere of In Plain Sight.
• GSN has a new High Stakes Poker at 9.
• Nickelodeon has a new Nick News at 9.
• G4 has a new G4 Underground at 9.
• Showtime has a new episode of The Tudors at 9, then a new Tracey Ullman's State of the Union.
• At 10, AMC has a new Breaking Bad.
• At 11:45, Cartoon Network has a new Aqua Teen Hunger Force.
• At 1am, Cartoon Network has a new Mighty Boosh.

Check your local TV listings for more.

• At 7, CBS has a new 60 Minutes, followed by new episodes of The Amazing Race, Cold Case, and The Unit.
  
• NBC has a new, two-hour Dateline at 7, then a new Celebrity Apprentice.
• At 8, ABC has a new, two-hour Extreme Makeover.
• TBS has The World's Funniest Office Commercials at 8.
• Food Network has a new Challenge at 8.
• HBO has a new No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency at 8, then two new episodes of In Treatment.
• Also at 8: Disney has a new Sonny with a Chance, followed by a new Wizards of Waverly Place.
• At 9, MTV has a new Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory, then new episodes of Bully Beatdown, Nitro Circus, and College Life.
• There's a new episode of The Tudors on Showtime at 9, followed by a new Tracey Ullman's State of the Union.
• GSN has a new High Stakes Poker at 9.
• At 10, AMC has a new Breaking Bad.
• At 11:45, Cartoon Network has a new Aqua Teen Hunger Force.
• At 12:30AM, Cartoon Network has a new Tim and Eric's Awesome Show, Great Job.
• At 1AM, Cartoon Network has a new Mighty Boosh.

Check your local TV listings for more.

• Travel Channel has a new Man vs. Food marathon all night.
• Discovery has a Who Was Jesus? marathon all night.
• At 7, CBS has a new 60 Minutes, followed by the Academy of Country Music Awards.
• NBC has a new Dateline at 7, then new episodes of Kings and Celebrity Apprentice.
• At 8, FOX has a new episode of The Simpsons.
• Food Network has a new Challenge at 8.
• Also at 8: HBO has a new No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, then the season premiere of In Treatment (two episodes).
• At 9, PBS has a new Masterpiece Classic.
• Showtime has the season premiere of The Tudors at 9, then a new United States of Tara.
• MTV has a new Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory at 9, followed by new episodes of Bully Beatdown and Nitro Circus.
• At 10, AMC has a new Breaking Bad.
• At 11:45, Cartoon Network has a new Aqua Teen Hunger Force.
• At 1AM, Cartoon Network has a new episode of The Mighty Boosh.

Check your local TV listings for more.

(S06E01) "I studied elevator repair!" - Carl

Yes, before someone says something - I know this episode isn't new. However, episodes being released via DVD prior to their broadcast premiere isn't entirely new. I for one didn't even know that the first four episodes of this season have been available on the volume six DVD since it came out back in December. That being said, it was new to me (and I hope for many of you too).

So... dumpster diving, anyone?

• At 7, ABC has a new America's Funniest Home Videos, followed by a new, two-hour Extreme Makeover.
  
• CBS has a new 60 Minutes at 7, then new episodes of The Amazing Race, Cold Case, and The Unit.
  
• NBC has a new Dateline at 7, followed by new episodes of Kings and Celebrity Apprentice.
  
• At 8, FOX has a new Simpsons.
• HBO has the series premiere of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency at 8.
• Disney has a new Sonny with a Chance at 8.
• At 9, FOX has a new Family Guy, then a new American Dad.
• PBS has a new Masterpiece Classic at 9.
• MTV has a new Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory at 9, followed by new episodes of Bully Beatdown and Nitro Circus.
• Also at 9: Comedy Central has the standup special Jim Gaffigan: King Baby.
• At 10, AMC has a new Breaking Bad.
• Showtime has a new United States of Tara at 10.
• At 11:45, Cartoon Network has a new Aqua Teen Hunger Force.
• At 12:15am, Cartoon Network has a new Delocated, then a new Tim and Eric's Awesome Show, Great Job.

Check your local TV listings for more.