{"id":1063,"date":"2005-03-08T23:58:08","date_gmt":"2005-03-09T04:58:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.oafe.net\/blog\/?p=1063"},"modified":"2012-03-16T14:32:46","modified_gmt":"2012-03-16T18:32:46","slug":"whos-seen-robot-chicken","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.oafe.net\/blog\/2005\/03\/whos-seen-robot-chicken\/","title":{"rendered":"Who's seen Robot Chicken?"},"content":{"rendered":"

I finally caught a couple of episodes of Robot Chicken<\/i><\/a>, the new Adult Swim show starring action figures. The show is a joint effort between Seth Green (of Buffy the Vampire Slayer<\/a><\/i> and Austin Powers<\/i> fame) and Tom Root, one of the editors of ToyFare<\/i> magazine.<\/p>\n

The show is essentially the same as the pair's short-lived internet effort \"Sweet J Presents\" from a few years back, but no one ever saw that or knows what it is. The show features a series of skits, with action figures as actors. Sometimes they use real action figures, other times they dress up the figures as other characters (I noticed a Mr. Horse from Palisades' Ren & Stimpy<\/i> line being used for unicorns - one voiced by Mila Kunis, no less).<\/p>\n

The skits, much like ToyFare<\/i>'s \"Twisted ToyFare Theater\" segments (and Adult Swim itself) are hit-or-miss. I liked the racing skit, which featured everyone from M.A.S.K.<\/i> to Mario to Ponch from CHiPS<\/i> (and featured a satisfying Mario Kart<\/i>-inspired ending that, oddly enough, mirrored the ending of a very similar short story I wrote as a teenager). The entire skit has a kind of manic energy reminiscent of the excellent Sweet J Presents<\/i> days, and I think those are the sort of the thing the show should focus on.<\/p>\n

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Some of the other skits - such as a parody of You Got Served<\/i> starring Voltron - suffer from SNLitis and go on too long. Others just aren't that funny, but that's Adult Swim for you - scattershot guerilla comedy.<\/p>\n

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The skits are interspersed with short \"channel flips\" which are often amusing, but probably need to be a bit edgier.<\/p>\n

I realize this mini-review sounds pretty lukewarm, but that's because I see plenty of potential here. Once Seth and Tom streamline the production process and settle into a groove, I think RC will make a fine addition to the Adult Swim line-up.<\/p>\n

<i>And now, some more OAFEry:<\/i><\/H5>