There seems to be a common thread that unites all episodes of Adult Swim’s Aqua Teen Hunger Force. It is always absolutely hilarious until my girlfriend walks into the room.
That’s easy to take the wrong way, so let me explain. I can easily spend 30 minutes one night chuckling at the show’s sophomoric humor. But on other nights, when she agrees to watch with me as I vainly try to prove to her that ATHF is indeed funny, show programmers seem to always choose to air the duds.
In short, the episodes are often hit or miss.
That seems to be an accurate diagnosis of season five of Aqua Teen, due out on DVD Tuesday.
For those who don’t know what the show’s about … well let’s face it, even long-time fans don’t even know what Aqua Teen is exactly about. The show mostly follows a box of french fries, a shake and a ball of meat, which for some reason unknown to us are all alive and residing in New Jersey next door to their hairy, balding, sweatpants-clad neighbor Carl. They live in a world where everyday items — televisions, chairs, etc. — are prone to exploding and misguided aliens and monsters are frequent visitors.
The season adds some of the best episodes to the fast-food trio’s lineup, and as always, most all of them involve the group, namely Master Shake, making some mischief, of which Carl inadvertently falls victim.
Take “Hand Banana,” for example, where Meatwad’s new dog, genetically created from the DNA in Master Shake’s hand, runs next door to force inappropriate relations on the unsuspecting Carl whenever the dogowners’ backs are turned. I know how it sounds, but trust me. It’s funny.
But there are plenty of duds. Aqua Teen proves in “Party All The Time” that cancer is still not funny, and that although it may have looked great on the drawing board, the concept of a gay cyclops monster withone giant foot wasn’t the most inspiring.
The special features are also likely to bring you as close to an annoyance-triggered brain aneurism as any episode of Adult Swim’s Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!.
All in all, the newest season of ATHF is worth buying if you’re willing to withstand a few low points. And like all seasons of Aqua Teen, the DVDs are a good thing to have around when you and your friends have had a few too many.
