Sealab crew interviewed...

[RTFirefly]

70-30's own Mack Williams, Neal Holman, and Ed Mundy submitted to an interview for my site. You may know them as Sealab artists, writers, animators, and occasional performers... but they are also secretly making sketch comedy TV behind all your backs.

http://pod-six.net/article04.html

Features indispensible advice from these three insiders on how to make "Sealab," how not to cut down a tree, and how to kick your way into the animation business.

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[Beat]

Ed: This year, we're really turning up the "Andy Kaufman factor." It's funny because it's NOT funny, you know? So if you don't think something's funny, you should be laughing anyway, because it's ART and we're brilliant for making it.

Neal: Inuyasha is the best thing to happen to television since like, Lupin the 3rd. God I love me some Lupin, it's just SO wacky! - Granted, I've never actually seen an episode of either, but their fans are crazy rabid, so they must be good, right?
I have yet another reason to hate Sealab.

[Nin-Nin69]

"Andy Kaufman factor."? You mean somebody that is making a complete ass of themselves to upset other people, but the humor comes from the reactions of the people?

Unfortunally for Ed, he failed to realize that nobody gave a crap what Andy did after a while. Which is why that "back from the dead party" got no media attention. That and Andy was doing it for the sake of art and comedy, unlike 70-30.

[Sir T. Ghostal]

we're brilliant for making it.

No. You're uncreative and fresh out of ideas.

[James]

I enjoyed the light hearted interview and I seem to be one of the few here who still really enjoys the show. I don't blame their reaction to Inuyasha. I imagine they have to deal with a lot of the fans. If I was them I'd probably say something similar in the same situation... nice, if slightly irrelevant, interview.

[Artimus Gigan]

I never did like Andy Kaufman...

I mean really carrying a jar of pus.....the only funny overextended thing was hesh getting cut by all those sharp things and then had to crawl over lemon juice and saying"it burns with the power of lemons"...

un;less ofcourse just like Kaufman they are only fooling with the media in which case the interview does not state totaly true information...it's light hearted way makes me thinkthat the crew was just saying whatever and the episodes will not feature kaufman-esque humor...

it crosses itself out...BRILLIANT!

[The Landstander]

Andy Kaufman was great you losers. =(

I think Sealab should STOP trying Andy Kaufman-esque humor...I mean it worked with episodes like "Vacation" or even "7211", but it seems more and more every episode is becoming like that.

[Pimmelmann]

Andy Kaufman was great you losers. =(

The Andy Kaufman line was probably yet another attempt at a jokey answer, which fell so flat some seem to have decided that it must have been meant seriously. While I appreciate the educational value of the interview, it's hard to be remotely impressed with the interviewees. The "funny" answers were middle-school fare, and the animation and artwork under discussion were of course nothing of which anyone ever ought to be proud. Sealab will never be known for its animation, but writing could be a different story; they might want to make the dramatic break from hiring only C-student college kids and their friends, and consider hiring people who are, you know, professional funnymen. Sometimes, to keep your show creatively energized, you might have to pay someone who isn't already working for free across the hall; if you don't, expect plenty of variations on the headline sketch idea of a guy who came up with the character "Guy Who Farts in Class."

Goofing on lines from an old commercial-"it cleans with the power of lemons!" (what was that ad for, anyway? I forget)-probably only wows the audience because most of them are young teens and don't remember the origins. I hope that those who often use the words "brilliant" and "Sealab" in disturbing proximity to one another take a gander at this interview...at least at that level of production, I don't think Shakespeare has anything to worry about.

[RTFirefly]

un;less ofcourse just like Kaufman they are only fooling with the media in which case the interview does not state totaly true information...it's light hearted way makes me thinkthat the crew was just saying whatever and the episodes will not feature kaufman-esque humor...

it crosses itself out...BRILLIANT! Speaking as the media with which they were fooling, I must say it felt wonderful.

Thanks for the feedback, everyone!

[RedTail]

Goofing on lines from an old commercial-"it cleans with the power of lemons!" (what was that ad for, anyway? I forget)-probably only wows the audience because most of them are young teens and don't remember the origins.
I thought knowing the origin was part of what made it so funny... Oh, and I think it was Mr. Clean or Pinesole or something... I can't quite remember either, but I remember the phrase.

[Master Moron]

I actually still think Sealab is funny. But I found this interview pretty interesting. Here's some quotes I found particularly interesting:

"After I tanked an interview with Dave and Matt from ATHF, Sealab got picked up for another season, and they hired me to help produce episodes faster. Unfortunately, that didn't turn out so hot, so they hired Mack, too."

So, he got rejected from Aqua Teen Hunger Force and got picked up for Sealab...hmmm...that doesn't say anything good about Sealab if they pick up rejects from other shows, but...whatever...not like I've never tanked an interview...

"Ed: I voice Marco."

I guess this is a joke because everyone knows Eric Estrada voices Marco.

Oh, wait, everyone of Ed's answers is a joke...okay...

[Tienshin]

The whole article seems as though they were goofing and having fun with the process. Not bad, overall.


The cartoons were the best. Transformers, G.I. Joe, He-Man, M.A.S.K., etc. Then there were the lame ones, like Silver Hawks and Bravestarr. I have no idea why, but all I remember is hating Silver Hawks with an unbridled passion.

WTF? I liked Silverhawks!

PARTLY METAL, PARTLY REAL....SILLLLVERHHHHAAAAWKS...

*crappy guitar riff*

:mad:

Actually Silverhawks was pretty bad. Still...actually I have no point. :(

[Bigdaddy83]

No. You're uncreative and fresh out of ideas.
I think that says it all. Sealab sux.

[Karl Olson]

I figured they were going for more Kaufman-esque humor. Which is completely unsurprising, because I don't care even then.

[Master Moron]

You know, I have to wonder, have any of you actually heard of any casual fans dissing Sealab? I've really only heard of this Sealab sucks talk from the internet, just like the Simpsons sucks talk. Have any of you actually talked to people in real life who think Sealab sucks?

[Beat]

My roomate, who liked Aqua Teen, always hated Sealab.

Does that count?

[GMB]

You know, I have to wonder, have any of you actually heard of any casual fans dissing Sealab? I've really only heard of this Sealab sucks talk from the internet, just like the Simpsons sucks talk. Have any of you actually talked to people in real life who think Sealab sucks?


My friend and studio mate is a casual [as] viewer and when I sent him the interview said the following:

"Oh here's the usual "It's not crap it's art and you're stupid for not being able to understand it." Well I'm stupid, and your show still sucks."

This interview explains a lot about how bad Sealab has been ever since they switched from character interaction based humour to ersatz ATHF stuff.

I mean, since they have ATHF's C team and all. . .

[Delthayre]

You know, I have to wonder, have any of you actually heard of any casual fans dissing Sealab? I've really only heard of this Sealab sucks talk from the internet, just like the Simpsons sucks talk. Have any of you actually talked to people in real life who think Sealab sucks?

Almost everyone I know who watches the black has become rather disconted, to say the least, with Sealab 2021.

[Samurai Karasu]

You know, I have to wonder, have any of you actually heard of any casual fans dissing Sealab? I've really only heard of this Sealab sucks talk from the internet, just like the Simpsons sucks talk. Have any of you actually talked to people in real life who think Sealab sucks?Here's where your mind gets blown.

People on the internet are actually casual fans. They just have internet access.

[Pimmelmann]

You know, I have to wonder, have any of you actually heard of any casual fans dissing Sealab? I've really only heard of this Sealab sucks talk from the internet, just like the Simpsons sucks talk. Have any of you actually talked to people in real life who think Sealab sucks? Yes; as far as my personal experience goes, "buzz" around Sealab in the real world seems more negative than positive right now. This may have less to do with Sealab "sucking" than other factors, such as frequency of repeats and loss of novelty. In that real world, I guess that instead of calling their friends and saying "I give the new Sealab 2021 a D+ for the following reasons...!" they just stop considering Sealab appointment television, if indeed they ever did. If ratings stay steady enough, though, there can't be too many people who feel this way; they'd be making a kind of TV history to completely rotate out their audience somehow and have the numbers be a wash.

I really think anyone can see that "I, Robot" and "Dearly Beloved Seed" just aren't the same kinds of jokes targeted at the same kinds of people; some are responding negatively to the changes, and some just don't care. What we really need to ask is not if real-world fans think the show sucks or not, but whether anyone, anywhere, really thinks the show is improving.