Code Monkeys

As a hardcore gamer geek, this show really speaks to me. I've been gaming for twenty-some years and counting, and this wonderful show is riddled with game-related jokes from start to finish. I don't expect non-gamers to appreciate it too well, but anybody that's spend a decade or two with a game controller in hand should find the show entertaining enough.

It has the silly absurdity of South Park, not to mention the vulgarity, but the cast of characters are adults working at a fictitious game development studio. The art direction is interesting because it's obviously intended to appear like a classic 8-bit video game, on a system like the NES, complete with overly-pixilated character sprites. Each episode is intended to appear as if playing some sort of weird video game, with each show beginning with a start screen and ending with a "game over" screen, and typical in-game stuff like a score or health meter appears at the top of the screen, though sometimes swapped out with other gaming oddities like items collected. The show pauses for commercial breaks.

I wouldn't recommend this show to non-gamers, but to the hundreds of millions of gamers out there, this show comes highly recommended.

It's very entertaining and fun to watch. G4 was the king years ago when this show came out and made a difference in comedy forever.

Code Monkeys(2007)

Review: I have been an avid gamer for years since the old days of the Nintendo original. Now comes a show based on a made up video game. Code Monkeys.

What works right away is the concept. It's pure genius. Code Monkeys is about a group of people working for a company called Gamevision. We got your game developers, Dave, Jerry, Mary, Todd, we got the secretary Clare, The Accountant, Black Steve, the boss, Mr. Larrity, and his son Dean.

This show's greatest strength is the characters. All of em are very funny. We get the slacker Dave, creepy D&D fan Todd, the uptight Mary, the sensitive Jerry, angry Black Steve,(yep, that what he is really called here!)the slut Clare, the idiot Dean and the money grubbing Mr. Larrity. Code Monkeys does not have fear as they make fun of everything. And I mean everything. Let's not forget the ultra gay Clarence, the man who makes the games music. He's so gay that he sings instead of talks.

Do not forget the noticeable games tributes here like Mega Man, Super Mario Bros, The Legend of Zelda, Contra, and the show itself has the exact look of NES classic, River City Ransom! Included with points and pause for commercial breaks.

Code Monkeys is about as offensive and raunchy as South Park only better. This is not for kids. Not at all.

The Last Word: Are you an old school fan? Tune in. From tons of raunchy humor to the old school 80's look, this is truly a one of a kind show. I love it.

I found Code Monkeys a great time-waster. Along with The IT Crowd on G4TechTV, both these shows have an original flavour that feels new - at least until Adult Swim brings back the Venture brothers. Like the Venture brothers and honestly, Arrested Development, I find the humour layered and easy to watch repeatedly just to pick up on the embedded 80's pop culture references and visual gags you missed the first time you watched it. (with a WTF look on your face, no doubt) Hat's off to the writers and animators for really thinking out some of the visuals that only a few hard-core gamers over 40 might get. Pop culture references are great to hear (Steve Wozniak from Apple and "Bellecovision" for example) and watching the programming hacks proudly crank out these atrocious games is hilarious. Borderline racist, sexist, vulgar and generally no boundaries to contain the direction they want to take the episode, it's a poke at the terrible games we used to enjoy when we were young - with some updated Seth MacFarlane-esquire dialogue thrown in for good measure. It's not going to be for everyone's taste but for some late-night PVR viewing, it goes down good with a bottle of night-time cough syrup, hit from the bong or even straight-up.

As Adam De La Pena shows go, there a no go for me. But This Is a fresh, funny, original, and referenced nerds paradise. Its concept is really neat and the jokes are very funny and strangely compelling. Honestly, after surviving such bad programming on G4 its so surprising that this show is actually good. Give it a chance and also count how many references it makes and whats more amazing is how many i catch. My only slight grief is that the writing isn't so fresh at times and some may not like the weird pacing and pay off at the jokes. Aside from that the show is ingenious. This is a def for anyone watching G4 or looking for a new fresh and funny animated comedy.