Night of a Million Pilots!

Tonight, Adult Swim showed five pilots for potential new series. It was like a smorgasbord of partially formed shows. I watched and effectively over-analysed each one. What follows are my thoughts on all the pilots with the occasionally witticism thrown in for good measure. The most important factor I took into account was the simple question "Would I watch this with any frequency if it were turned into a full series?" Read on for the shocking answers:

Superjail: This was very possibly the most surreal thing I have ever seen on television. That in itself is neither a good or bad thing, it is merely a feature. The art was amateurish and the characters were one-dimensional. There was no plot. It was simply an excuse for random chaos. There was nothing intellectually or aesthetically pleasing about the pilot in any way. Needless to say, I would not watch on regular basis.

The Drinky Crow Show: There is a built-in audience for this pilot as it was based on the underground comic strip Maakies by Tony Millionaire. One may wish to compare this show to a series of flash animations, also based on the strip, that appeared several years ago on SNL. This is a mistake, as the two projects are different in both visual and writing style.

The pilot was interesting, but I felt somewhat disappointed with what I saw. The characters felt a little to flat and predictable. The story was too chaotic and pessimistic for me. It left me feeling strangely depressed. Still the style was excellent. The computer-generated visuals were exquisite and captured the presence of the original strip's art very well. The music was turbulent, but fit nicely with the general tone of the show. There is a potential gem here; they just need to bang out a more concise plot and dynamic characters. I'd like to see a second episode before I form any lasting opinions on the show.

Fat Guy Stuck in Internet: Love that title. The story is pretty intriguing: a fat guy get transported into a physical realm which represents the Internet, complete with anthropomorphic representations of computer programs. Think Freakazoid meets Tron. I felt stunned by the visuals. The landscapes of the Internet were very impressive and great fun to gaze at. This show blends live action and computer generated images very nicely. I thought the script was decent, but lacks a certain amount of necessary wit to give it the right amount of class. The acting could also use some work; the star lacks subtlety and gets annoying quickly. Still, I want to see more of this.

The Crook'd Sipp: Hate that title. There was nothing memorable about this show. The plot is difficult to follow or care about. Something about a rich girl trying to find her real father. I'm a little confused about who the main character is supposed to be. It is narrated by the proprietor of a southern-style restaurant, but the focus of the story is on a rich family of imbeciles. At no point did I feel the urge to root for any of the characters, largely because most of them were totally unlikeable.
The art was way too busy. There were times when it was hard to figure out what was going on and the purposely crackly, old-timely look felt inappropriate in that it added nothing to the show's tone at all. I wouldn't watch again, but at least it wasn't as bad as Superjail.

Let's Fish: This was my personal favorite. The writing was actually very well done, which was unique to the marathon's programs. It speaks volumes that this was the only pilot which made me laugh out loud. The show blends live-action and traditional animation with great results. Nice character and environmental designs throughout. The different situations that the two protagonists get into were actually interesting and funny (An ominous and strangely catchy musical number by a Cuban refugee sticking in my mind the clearest). I would truly love to see this one get picked up. Plus, Brendan Small is involved. Bonus points!

All in all, I wasn't fully pleased with the sample, but there were a few winners in the marathon. I have my fingers crossed that Let's Fish gets the respect it deserves. I have a sinking feeling Superjail will get picked up based on the legions of viewers who love to gawk at meaningless violence. Still, it was worth my time.

Lastly, The Venture Bros. Christmas special was played right after the marathon. Nothing like capping of a night of new shows than with a tried and true classic.

http://www.adultswim.com/video/index.html?episodeID=8a25c392127659d1011276a08d150045