Aqua Teen Hunger Force

If you are expecting a great cartoon with exciting plotlines and lots of drama, this is not the show for you. If you are expecting a hilarious cartoon filled with lots of random, witty humor, this IS the show for you. There is not one way that one can fully describe AQUA TEEN HUNGER FORCE. Just take a look at the title; it is random and makes no sense. That is what is so amazing about this show. AQUA TEEN HUNGER FORCE follows the adventures of Meatwad, a meatball, Frylock, a floating order of fries, and Master Shake, a milkshake. They live in a house next-door to Carl. That is basically the premise of the show. Anyway, AQUA TEEN HUNGERFORCE is an incredible show that I recommend to anyone who is looking for a funny cartoon to watch, besides THE SIMPSONS and FAMILY GUY. AQUA TEEN HUNGER FORCE currently airs on Cartoon Network's adult programming block, Adult Swim, at 12 and 12:15 AM.

This is the reason I watch "Adult Swim" every week, on the chance that ATHF are in the line-up. An incompetent but egotistical shake, a super intelligent box of fries and a happy-go-lucky meatball spend the day outwitting the most incompetent gang of villains this side of the Amoeba Boys and tormenting their loser neighbor to the point where you can actually feel sorry for the poor, no class, unemployable, grouchy slob.

Shake is similar to at least one person who works with all of us. He's a bully, he's lazy, he's selfish, he's pathetic at what he does, but he feels he's the leader just because he says he is. Frylock is the guy at the office or the plant who actually DOES know what he's doing and saves the day without any desire for the responsibility or glory of leadership. Meatwad is the guy who tries his best, usually doesn't hit the mark perfectly and is just fun to have around.

Full-length movie anyone? Or at least a marathon?

ATHF has become the favorite late night entertainment snack for my family. The DVD set does introduce each segment with the now infectious rap song that describes each of the Superheroes. The humor is all over the map and comes in the form of dialog and visual pratfalls. The art is done in a quirky style on the cheap but the humor is still rich. All heroes HAVE to have a great bad guy. My favorites are the Mooninites along with Oglethorpe and Emory. MC P Pants and Sir Loin are also very good.

Each of the opening bits with Steve and Dr. Weird stand alone as comic tidbits that get each segment going. Master Shake as the leader of the group garners most of the laughs in his desire to boss everyone around and ALWAYS remain the center of attention. Problem is that Master Shake has a very lame "power".

I don't even think I can rationalize my enjoyment of this show. It was so crazy, so wacky, so off-the-wall that I loved it. Shake was just a loose cannon, scheming, lying, motor mouth I couldn't get enough of him. Meatwad was just a simple being. And Frylock was the voice of reason in it all and had eye lasers for sticky situations. But, I can't forget about their hairy loser neighbor Carl. He was just as ridiculous as the meal he lived next door to.

If you just want to laugh and laugh at some of the most joke-packed dialogue on TV today--and you don't care whether any of it makes sense--then you'll love ATHF.

The writers don't waste time explaining why the characters are food or what "Aqua Teen" even means. They don't try to tie up plot threads, illuminate the backstory, or even have the characters leave their neighborhood to fight crimes as depicted in the opening and closing credits. None of that is necessary. Instead, they just bring us a stripped-down, personality-driven yukfest that shows encumbered with the usual baggage simply can't match.

ATHF meets---nay, far exceeds!---my personal gold standard for comedy: that the jokes should not only be funny, but be ones I couldn't possibly have thought up for myself, and that there not be a moment's lag time between them.

Watching it is like eating potato chips (um, guess I mean fries) of pure, mindless laughter. ENJOY!