 Superjail! How do I describe thee? Chaos. Pure, unbridled, gory chaos. But strangely hypnotic chaos, the kind that keeps you watching the screen to see what twisted thing will happen next. It should be unbelievably vile, but it's counteracted by a fast pace that doesn't let you think about what's just happened, and by a silly execution of what would normally be gruesome acts, such as ripping someone's skin clean off. In fact, I find myself laughing many times while watching it, just from the sheer craziness of the situations and comic timing. But make no mistake: It's definitely not for those squeamish about blood or who abhor dark comedy. Oh, not at all.
The story is pretty simple: A rubbery, energetic man simply named The Warden, who's like a combination of Willy Wonka, Charles Manson, and a whole lot of stretchy taffy, runs the Superjail! of the title, a revolutionary facility far from the reaches of civilization that houses untold numbers of the worst scum of the earth. He's aided by Jared, his big foreheaded, nervous wreck of an assistant/accountant; Alice, the stoic, butch lady guard who might as well be a man; and Jailbot, a floating piece of metal who routinely slaughters prisoners and whose arrest of Jacknife, a perverted thug, is a recurring bit in every episode. (It also means, naturally, that Jacknife always manages to somehow escape between episodes.) There are also two unnamed twin prisoners who are able to teleport anywhere in the jail, which makes you wonder why they even bother to stick around. I guess using that power to cause mischief is enough of an incentive.
Of course, the jail itself doesn't sit still either; nearly every episode sees it undergoing a transformation, thanks to The Warden's frequent boredom or to an outside force. My personal favorites involve the opening of a bar in Superjail! (marvelous idea); the creation of a competition where certain prisoners are shrunk down to ant size in a snow globe and must fight through the miniature forest to reach an antidote that will revert them to normal size; and bringing women to the jail and having a "ladies' night", with Jared in charge of reforming the grisly prisoners to be somewhat respectable (again, marvelous idea). One thing's for sure: You won't see the same thing every episode, even though each outing takes place in the jail.
And speaking of sights, Superjail! is a visual feast. The artwork and designs may be unrefined and at times almost scribbly, but that's its appeal: It has that charming, independent, MTV-animation style. It has more of a personal touch; you can tell someone actually drew it, whereas some productions today look like they could've been spit out by a computer.
 In terms of the animation quality, this is Adult Swim Comedy's best-animated show since ever. The Warden, in particular, is a joy to watch, especially the way his lanky body distorts as he moves around the screen. There's a scene in one episode that I particularly like, where he's talking to Alice on the phone via split screen and his face goes through a wide range of expressions and squashing/stretching as he nervously asks her on a date. Man, I had forgotten what that sort of thing looked like, especially on a block known for limited, clipart-like movement. The animation isn't always super smooth, but it does get fluid at times, which is similarly refreshing.
The storyboarding is also engaging, with the scene switching to focus on something else or dissolving to a new location in creative ways. In particular, the riots showcase lots of stuff going on at once, and the multitude of unrealistic ways that the prisoners meet their fates shows that the staff had a lot of fun making this product, which projects itself to the audience. If you've ever seen Christy Karacas's independent short films "Space War" and "Bar Fight", Superjail! is very similar to those works.
However, even though the show has creativity to spare, what isn't so fresh is how each episode unfolds. We always start out with Jacknife committing some sick crime, and Jailbot popping out of nowhere to snatch him and fly him to Superjail!. The prison changes into something new. Things eventually go awry for whatever reason and a full-out riot occurs, featuring multiple over-the-top deaths. The Warden, Jared, and Alice somehow survive the carnage; Jacknife escapes; rinse, repeat in the next episode. After viewing a few episodes in a row, this repetition becomes evident. I hope that if a second season of Superjail! ever gets made, the writers try to craft outcomes that aren't so predictable. I'd hate for the show to be a one-trick pony. I also felt the characterization was pretty basic, but one could argue that if you're looking for complex characters, you're watching the wrong show. Superjail! is all about flash, but the flash is its very reason to watch.
Ten of the eleven episodes on the disc are presented in their original widescreen aspect ratio; the exception is the pilot, which was made in 4x3 anyway. Special features on the disc include a three-minute music video of the intro song, "Comin' Home" (which is basically clips from the show with a live-action man superimposed over them), the aforementioned pilot, and animatics for a handful of episodes. Nothing here will really knock your socks off.
But let's talk the design, both the packaging itself and the disc menus. Wow, is it confusing. The goal, I suppose, is to cram as many drawings onto the cover as possible. As for the menus, they seem to take the form of a prisoner's tattoos, and that makes it difficult to read the episode titles and such. I know this sort of art style fits the show's nature, but aesthetically it's a mess. It's hard to tell whether this tactic will confuse customers or make them curious enough to pick it off the shelf, but for me, personally, it seemed a bit much.
 Superjail! succeeds thanks to its cartoony nature, its creative methods of dismembering the Red Shirt characters, and pure energy; its virtues are offset only by repetitive set-ups and wrap-ups, and some rather hollow characterization. But again, the show is only eleven episodes at 11 minutes apiece, so it's not like they had much of an opportunity to do much anyway. The DVD itself is also a mixed bag; while the episodes look acceptable enough, there isn't even two hours of content here (minus the animatics) and the box/menu presentation isn't easy on the eye. However, based on the show's inspiration alone, I give it a recommendation, but only if you aren't easily offended by frequent decapitations, blood spillage, vomit, and the like.
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