TVSquad

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.

Remember when I told y'all that Perfect Hair Forever was coming back, but that it would be online only? Well, that time has come, so click here and enjoy parts one and two of "Return to Balding Victory."

The last time we left our hero, he was on a quest to Tuna Mountain. Also, there was a hamburger necklace, and some dude and a talking giraffe in a hole. If you were wondering what all of that stuff meant, you can rest assured that absolutely none of that is explained in these new episodes. Why? Because as one character explains: it's all just a big anime mindf**k. So inject LSD directly into your eyeballs, sit back in your computer chair, and enjoy the ride.

One of my favorite new Adult Swim offerings of the last year or so, Perfect Hair Forever, is coming back with sixteen new episodes in the second quarter of 2007. Don't bother setting your Tivos or even going near your television, though, because the new episodes will be aired only on AdultSwim.com. Despite being slightly miffed they're not airing the episodes on television, I'm glad to see they're making new episodes of this insanely off-kilter ode to the anime genre. Still, the idea of only doing six episodes a la FLCL seemed fitting for Perfect Hair Forever, but hell, if the Williams Street fellas have more weirdness to share, I'm all about it.

Do you know what I liked about TV in 2005, Beverly? Let me tell you:

Perfect Hair Forever: Okay, Stroker and Hoop has grown on me, I don't think Squidbillies is all that bad, and I still haven't quite made up my mind about 12 Oz. Mouse, but damn, Perfect Hair Forever, the Williams Street artisans ribald and aloof take on the anime genre was by far the best new offering on Adult Swim this year. In typical anime fashion, only six episodes were created. I hope for a DVD release.

Wonder Showzen: Despite my local cable provider moving MTV2 around so much that it makes my Tivo cry, I have hunted down every airing of this subversive "kids show" like a madman. There is nothing else like this on TV right now, and it rivals South Park in just how far it's willing to go to make its audience uncomfortable. A second season kicks off this year.

Everybody Hates Chris: It's a good show, plain and simple. It's not the Holy Grail, as a lot of pre-show hype made it out to be, but it is an unpretentious, hilarious look at what it's like to grow up with limited means in an environment that isn't always fair.