Ben
10-20-2005, 11:42 AM
After a few false starts The Squidbillies is finally coming to Cartoon Network. For real. And this really is a show about a paroled ex-con squid named Early, his unattractive mother or wife (it's not really clear) and his illegitimate son who all live together in northern Georgia. That may sound stupid, and it is. But you can't watch Adult Swim and expect Oscar Wilde.
<a href="http://news.toonzone.net/images/2005-10/squid3.jpg"><img src="http://news.toonzone.net/images/2005-10/t-squid3.jpg" border="0" align="right"></a>This initial offering sees Early fired from his job at Mattress Christ ("Thou Shalt Not Overpay") when his born-again boss finally gets fed up. Early's parole officer then accompanies him on a job search that eventually ends at Dan Halen Corporation, where Early becomes the new CEO to fulfill a minority hiring quota (and to be a fall guy for the lawsuits pending against the company).
Most of the gags have been pulled before, though a few manage to provoke a chuckle or two. At one point, asked where he sees himself in five years, Early answers, "Jail." The episode's only actually funny sequence is one involving a dead Mexican and "man-flavored baby tacos." These are a bit too rare to make this particular episode work-- if the runtime had been five minutes instead of 15, then perhaps things might have turned out better.
But the show does have potential, stemming from a unique art style and well-defined characters. The design has a decayed, sloppy appearance, but it's a detailed, well-executed sloppiness. The animation is by far the best of any recent Williams Street creation, which is helped along by the fact that the main cast are easy to animate. After all, they're squids, blobs with tentacles. The backgrounds have a splattered look something like runny paint, but the varied color palette gives the show pop.
Early's complete confidence and utter stupidity are appealing, and the voice performance could be a riot with the right lines. Early seems more fully formed than many of his cousins on Williams Street's other originals did at the beginning of their TV runs. Most of the rest of the voice cast is equally solid.
Was Squidbillies worth the long wait? If the lukewarm gags in this episode are any indication, the retooled script still didn't come out quite right. But the show does have the twin advantages of a definite look and a hook just weird enough to work. Here's hoping brighter days are ahead in the Williams Street writing room.
Williams Street's new original Squidbillies premieres-- no really-- this Sunday at midnight E/P on Adult Swim. See also <a href="http://news.toonzone.net/article.php?ID=6324">Duke's review of the show</a>.
<a href="http://news.toonzone.net/images/2005-10/squid3.jpg"><img src="http://news.toonzone.net/images/2005-10/t-squid3.jpg" border="0" align="right"></a>This initial offering sees Early fired from his job at Mattress Christ ("Thou Shalt Not Overpay") when his born-again boss finally gets fed up. Early's parole officer then accompanies him on a job search that eventually ends at Dan Halen Corporation, where Early becomes the new CEO to fulfill a minority hiring quota (and to be a fall guy for the lawsuits pending against the company).
Most of the gags have been pulled before, though a few manage to provoke a chuckle or two. At one point, asked where he sees himself in five years, Early answers, "Jail." The episode's only actually funny sequence is one involving a dead Mexican and "man-flavored baby tacos." These are a bit too rare to make this particular episode work-- if the runtime had been five minutes instead of 15, then perhaps things might have turned out better.
But the show does have potential, stemming from a unique art style and well-defined characters. The design has a decayed, sloppy appearance, but it's a detailed, well-executed sloppiness. The animation is by far the best of any recent Williams Street creation, which is helped along by the fact that the main cast are easy to animate. After all, they're squids, blobs with tentacles. The backgrounds have a splattered look something like runny paint, but the varied color palette gives the show pop.
Early's complete confidence and utter stupidity are appealing, and the voice performance could be a riot with the right lines. Early seems more fully formed than many of his cousins on Williams Street's other originals did at the beginning of their TV runs. Most of the rest of the voice cast is equally solid.
Was Squidbillies worth the long wait? If the lukewarm gags in this episode are any indication, the retooled script still didn't come out quite right. But the show does have the twin advantages of a definite look and a hook just weird enough to work. Here's hoping brighter days are ahead in the Williams Street writing room.
Williams Street's new original Squidbillies premieres-- no really-- this Sunday at midnight E/P on Adult Swim. See also <a href="http://news.toonzone.net/article.php?ID=6324">Duke's review of the show</a>.