• Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!

Why is Adult Swim so popular?

Status
Not open for further replies.
T

The Shadow

Member
I can't be the only one wondering this. Lots of shows on that particular segment of the Cartoon Network are really quite crappy. It's not just the writing that seems aimed at a middle to high school crowd though, it's the quality of the animation. Lots of shows literally look like they were done in Shockwave software and then broadcast on air.

Really, aside from Venture Bros. the only decent shows on AS are licensed like Family Guy and Futurama.

Any thoughts?
 
It's the best thing on tv after 1:30 AM.

AS has had a handful of good shows.

Futurama
Venture Bros.
Lupin
Space Ghost
Harvey Birdman
*cough*Tom Goes to the Mayor*cough*
Home Movies
 
Trurl said:
It's the best thing on tv after 1:30 AM.
Click to expand...

Ok. That's actually a plausible answer.

Still no excuse though for the popularity. I can't imagine people purposely staying up that late to watch unfunny shockwave animations.
 
al-sharpton-criticizes-boondocks.jpg
says hello.
 
I would argue with the premise. It has notoriety among a certain group, but if anything it's probably losing popularity. It does have lots of good stuff. But recently it has lots lame to horrible stuff.
 
Drensch said:
I would argue with the premise. It has notoriety among a certain group, but if anything it's probably losing popularity. It does have lots of good stuff. But recently it has lots lame to horrible stuff.
Click to expand...
QFT. But the good far outways the bad, imo.

ATHF, Home Movies, Venture Bros., etc. VS. Tom Goes to the Mayor, 12 oz. Mouse

Come the **** on, gentlemen!!!
 
Master Shake said:
QFT. But the good far outways the bad, imo.

ATHF, Home Movies, Venture Bros., etc. VS. Tom Goes to the Mayor, 12 oz. Mouse

Come the **** on, gentlemen!!!
Click to expand...

I'm with you, Major Shake.
 
Kusagari said:
al-sharpton-criticizes-boondocks.jpg
says hello.
Click to expand...

I have to admit that I completely forgot about the Boondocks.

Still, why such a huge gap in quality of shows. You have stuff like Venture Bros. Boondocks, and Korgoth of Barbaria(pilot anyway), and then you have absolute tripe like ATHF and all the other "shockwave" crap.

I assume they're written and produced fairly quickly unlike the higher quality stuff but that's no excuse for bad writing. South Park is produced fairly fast and it's a much better show. Is it just who they're writing the shows for?

Drensch said:
I would argue with the premise. It has notoriety among a certain group, but if anything it's probably losing popularity. It does have lots of good stuff. But recently it has lots lame to horrible stuff.
Click to expand...

Still popular though, relatively speaking. I mean, Minoriteam. WTF? If the popularity is dropping, they deserve it.
 
I think most people on GAF like at most 50% of their non-anime stuff. It's just that those people happen to REALLY like what they consider the good stuff. It's not like there are wild fanboys praising the hell out of anything and everything Adult Swim airs. Minoriteam, Squidbillies, Tom Goes to the Mayor, Stroker and Hoop, etc say hello.

As for me, I dig the following:

Aqua Teen Hunger Force
The Boondocks
Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law
Home Movies
Korgoth of Barbaria (tentatively)
Space Ghost: Coast to Coast
The Venture Bros.

Sealab 2021 and Robot Chicken are okay as well, but even counting those, that's still like a third or a quarter of Adult Swim's total output that I like. [Plus Futurama] Considering how crappy most television is, let alone animation, I think Adult Swim gets a fair shake. There's a good amount of crap in there, but the good stuff is very, very welcome.
 
Master Shake said:
QFT. But the good far outways the bad, imo.

ATHF, Home Movies, Venture Bros., Tom Goes to the Mayor etc. VS. 12 oz. Mouse Suid, Squidbillies.
Click to expand...
Fixed. :D

Maybe some people aren't familier with towns like Jefforton. My hometown has been turning into one over the past 10 years.:(
 
Unfortunately, Adult Swim as a whole seemed to hit its creative peak a few years ago and has been on a steady downward spiral since.

edit:

Peak Time 2002-2004: ATHF seasons 1 & 2, Sealab seasons 1 & 2, The Brak Show seasons 1 & 2, Harvey Birdman season 1, Home Movies, the few new Space Ghost Coast to Coast episodes were great

Downward spiral 2004-present: Hit or miss Sealab, Brak Show season 3 sucked, Robot Chicken, Minoriteam, Squidbillies... :P
 
Master Shake said:
You're just doing this for a tag, aren't you? o_O

It's called FLASH ANIMATION you dense sonnovabitch, not "shockwave" animation. This isn't Static Shock we're talking about....
Click to expand...

dense son of a bitch? There's really no need for name calling.

Macromedia Flash is largely used for web animations exclusively. Macromedia Shockwave is a much broader animation package. I would be very surprised if they didn't use Macromedia Shockwave Studio to animate the shows.

Dense....hehehe...
 
The Shadow
A shockwave of hatred
(Today, 12:27 AM)
Reply | Quote
Click to expand...

Make it happen, GAF. There must be some compensation!!!

The Shadow said:
dense son of a bitch? There's really no need for name calling.

Macromedia Flash is largely used for web animations exclusively. Macromedia Shockwave is a much broader animation package. I would be very surprised if they didn't use Macromedia Shockwave Studio to animate the shows.

Dense....hehehe...
Click to expand...
No, they use Flash. Please don't argue with me here, I actually know what the **** I'm talking about ;)
 
Master Shake said:
You're just doing this for a tag, aren't you? o_O

It's called FLASH ANIMATION you dense sonnovabitch, not "shockwave" animation. This isn't Static Shock we're talking about....
Click to expand...
Actually... Flash spawned from the Shockwave product suite, hence "Shockwave Flash."

EDIT: dumb stuff about Shockwave removed.
 
I can't wait until an exodus appears of people who hate Adult Swim. The segment is so popular I'm surprised that it hasn't yet become cool to hate.


Adult Swim is popular because of its humor. I agree that there are some shows that are hororible and that are just quirky for the sake of being quirky. But for the most part, I actually enjoy its shows. With the exception of comedy central, Adult Swim is one of the only other places to get adult themed cartoons.
 
Master Shake said:
Make it happen, GAF. There must be some compensation!!!


No, they use Flash. Please don't argue with me here, I actually know what the **** I'm talking about ;)
Click to expand...
Uhhh no. It obviously needs to be
The Shadow
I <3 Adult Swim
(Today, 07:44 PM)
Reply | Quote
Click to expand...
 
Lhadatt said:
Actually... Flash spawned from the Shockwave product suite, hence "Shockwave Flash." Shockwave seems to have been retired, so there's no need to include the name with mentions of the "Flash" product anymore.
Click to expand...
Yes, I know. It's still not "shockwave animation", so the point is mute.
 
tom goes to the mayor and spaceghost are the only good shows now... aqua teen used to be funny but now it's just lame. It's funny how tom goes to the mayor gets so much hate because it's the funniest show on AS by far.
 
Lhadatt said:
Actually... Flash spawned from the Shockwave product suite, hence "Shockwave Flash." Shockwave seems to have been retired, so there's no need to include the name with mentions of the "Flash" product anymore.
Click to expand...

Yup. Flash was a web derivative of Shockave.

But retired? Retired? Where'd you get that idea? They just separated them into two different directions.



And really, if they are animating with Flash, that just shows how cheezy they are.
 
The Shadow said:
Yup. Flash was a web derivative of Shockave.

But retired? Retired? Where'd you get that idea? They just separated them into two different directions.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I slipped on that one. I was looking for a "Macromedia Shockwave" editor product, but forgot they shuffled that over to Director. A little research tells me Shockwave is still much in use for web games and things.
 
This thread went from dumb to dumber to dumberer in no time flat.
 
who gives a shit what they animate it with? There's really no relation to how well it's animated and how funny it is. It's the content and originality that matter.
 
Lhadatt said:
Yeah, I slipped on that one. I was looking for a "Macromedia Shockwave" editor product, but forgot they shuffled that over to Director. A little research tells me Shockwave is still much in use for web games and things.
Click to expand...

Yeah. It's actually far more popular than Java in doing stuff like web games.

The full name of Director used to be, "Macromedia Director Shockwave Studio" but they dropped the last bit. Kind of redundant.

For animation Shockwave supports a lot more tricks. Flash is exclusively web stuff. AS is really cheap. :(

iced lightning said:
who gives a shit what they animate it with? There's really no relation to how well it's animated and how funny it is. It's the content and originality that matter.
Click to expand...

True, there is no relation to how it looks and how funny a show is. South Park isn't exactly a good looking show but the writing more than makes up for it.

My point is that the awful animation on Adult Swim almost directly correlates with the writing quality. The more money spent on the show (Boondocks, Venture Bros.) the better the writing.
 
Two generations of adults who choose not to grow up? Hanging on to the 80s and early 90s with a nostalgia fueled death grip?

I like Adult Swim though. Aqua Teen Hunger Force and the Venture Bros. are awesome. The anime...well I'm a snob when it comes to that. I watch all my stuff during the original Japanese release.

*sticks nose into the air*
 
MetatronM said:
Adult Swim has a lot of good stuff, and they have a lot of crappy stuff.

These things happen.
Click to expand...
Yeah. It may have been better per-minute when they started out and only had 3 hours of unique content a week played twice, but I think overall it is a Better Thing the way things are now.
 
The Shadow said:
My point is that the awful animation on Adult Swim almost directly correlates with the writing quality. The more money spent on the show (Boondocks, Venture Bros.) the better the writing.
Click to expand...

Home Movies? Sealab? ATHF?

This entire thread is just full of opinions that can't be logically argued. I don't find the boondocks that entertaining and while venture bros. is good, there are shows with worse animatiton that I still prefer to it. Adult Swim, like other popular segments, is popular because a large amount of people find it funny. You don't fit in this population, hence the bewilderment about the segment's success.

I could rephrase your question with "Seinfeld" or "Lost" and i don't think I'd be any farther along in getting a good answer.
 
and then you have absolute tripe like ATHF and all the other "shockwave" crap.
Click to expand...

If you hate shows like Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Sealab 2021, Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law and Space Ghost: Coast to Coast then that means you are a COMMUNIST and therefore hate freedom AND America. There, I said it.
 
Great Rumbler said:
If you hate shows like Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Sealab 2021, Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law and Space Ghost: Coast to Coast then that means you are a COMMUNIST and therefore hate freedom AND America. There, I said it.
Click to expand...

You sound like a fundie. :(


By expressing my opinion, I'm celebrating freedom of speech which is the heart and soul of America. If anything, I'm the American ideal personified.
 
The Shadow said:
You sound like a fundie. :(


By expressing my opinion, I'm celebrating freedom of speech which is the heart and soul of America. If anything, I'm the American ideal personified.
Click to expand...
NO, YOU'RE POLLUTING MY GAF PLEASE STOP ;)
 
The Shadow said:
I have to admit that I completely forgot about the Boondocks.

Still, why such a huge gap in quality of shows. You have stuff like Venture Bros. Boondocks, and Korgoth of Barbaria(pilot anyway), and then you have absolute tripe like ATHF and all the other "shockwave" crap.

I assume they're written and produced fairly quickly unlike the higher quality stuff but that's no excuse for bad writing. South Park is produced fairly fast and it's a much better show. Is it just who they're writing the shows for?



Still popular though, relatively speaking. I mean, Minoriteam. WTF? If the popularity is dropping, they deserve it.
Click to expand...

BUDGET BUDGET BUDGET BUDGET BUDGET
 
I first started watch AS for AQUA TEEN! and have bought aqua teen merchandise like 6 or 7 tshirts and action figures but they seemed to have ****ed that show up as the new episodes have kind of sucked.

BUuuuuuut I like Venture Brothers now which really kicks all kinds of ass and boondocks is good and that show about the barbarian seems pretty promising in a venture brothers sortof way.

But I think all the ****ing cheap ass looking shows suck hugely, like 12oz mouse, squidbillies and to a lesser extent tom goes to mayor (WHAT IS WITH ALL THE HOMOEROTICA IN THIS ****ING SHOW ANYWAY?)
 
icarus-daedelus said:
People find it funny, I would think. :) Tastes vary from person to person. For example, I love Venture Brothers, Aqua Teen, Home Movies, some of the anime block, and Futurama, and everything else ranges from not particularly funny but well animated (The Boondocks) to occasionally hilarious but not rewatchable (Robot Chicken, Family Guy) to jesus I want to gouge my eyes and ears out with a spoon (Tom, Squidbillies, 12 Oz. Mouse). For me, it's a very hit or miss network.

Seems like the OP is very skewed towards nice-looking stuff on AS. I find it hard to comprehend anyone finding Family Guy or The Boondocks better or funnier than ATHF, but to each there own.
Click to expand...

we have a winner. best answer ive seen

i personally hate Venture Brothers but i think it has enough good shows: Aqua Teen, Robot Chicken, Family Guy, Boondocks
 
iced lightning said:
tom goes to the mayor and spaceghost are the only good shows now... aqua teen used to be funny but now it's just lame. It's funny how tom goes to the mayor gets so much hate because it's the funniest show on AS by far.
Click to expand...

Ahem

venturelogo.gif
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

What has been the worst year of your adult life?
47
868
Baemono replied
Why the f is Reddit so rigid?
2 3
113
4K
Toots replied
Childhood fears you thought would be much bigger deals in adult life
2
70
1K
Dr.Morris79 replied
Why is the history of the Korean War shrouded?
23
647
Wildebeest replied
  • Locked
Why Is Suicide So Stigmatized?
2
68
5K
ThisIsMyDog replied
Top Bottom