Superjail!

I was excited when I saw more Superjail episodes were being produced after the first season, but I was less excited when I saw how the show was starting to become yet another surreal pothead Adult Swim animated comedy.

The acid-trip hellscapes and grimy, underground feel of the first season disappears in subsequent seasons, so that the show is a shell of its former self. A major problem is that the animation gets cleaner and brighter; the rough-around-the-edges, scrawled-on-a-bathroom-stall look was vital to season one's in-your-face insanity. Season 2 in particular really feels like a second-order pastiche or detached parody of season 1, with awful writing and painfully unfunny new characters like the unnecessary supervillain "Lord Stingray".

But nothing tops that first season. When I first laid eyes on it, late at night on Adult Swim, I thought I'd borne witness to another plane of existence, some abominable, squirming, televised thing that could only have been the sum total of a drug-addicted, homeless 30-something's soul vomited onto animation cells and then blasphemously beamed into homes around the nation. The show disgusted me, captivated me, and left images seared into my brain that I'll never be able to scrub away.

From the sound design, to the voice acting, to the fight and torture scenes, to the angry and violent end credits, the first 10 episodes of this show are to be savored by animation fans and those looking for something to watch that pretty much amounts to religious defilement. Can't say the same for the other seasons, though.

Oh, and "Time Police" Parts 1 and 2, the final two episodes of season one, will forever be one of the best two-part finales of any television show, ever - live action or otherwise. Watch those two episodes, if nothing else.

Superjail! reminds me of the brilliant animation that one found 20 years ago in those animation festivals that toured college campuses. Sure, it is twisted and sick, but it is so unpretentious and loyal to its own universe that it is simply genius.

From the massive body counts to the animation that makes 'Yellow Submarine' look drug-free, Superjail! is a gift from above.

I cannot believe how lucky we are that this network, whose bread and butter is cartoons for children, turns around and embraces the cutting edge while little ones sleep. I wish that I could do more than just write this to show the network my support.

I am certainly not a television or movie critic but I believe I have good taste for what at least a portion of Adult Swim fans want. Like any AS show, Super Jail takes the viewing an episode or two to appreciate and understand what the show is really about. If a viewer tries to comprehend everything in an episode of Super Jail they will have a stroke. This show has such a fast-paced and unexplained plot that it can really give someone trying to analyze it a headache. Just watch it, sit back, relax, and think about how high the writers and artists for Super Jail must get. Don't judge it before you see more than one episode, maybe you will grow to like it more this way.

This is perhaps the most violent of all the Adult Swim shows, and it's filled with plenty of outrageous jokes, which combined with the bizarre-looking animation, it almost ends feeling like a fever dream.

But it works. It was entertaining to watch despite (or maybe because) of all the weirdness and extreme violence. At least nobody can deny it was a very imaginative series.

Shame it was cancelled in such an abrupt manner.

The Adult Swim lineup generally has its hit or misses but this is one of the few true animated gems in the bunch. The show follows The Warden of Superjail who brings his Wonka-esquire, Scarry inspired fantasies to life in every episode. He is flanked by Jared the neurotic accountant, Alice the "female" prison guard, and Jailbot a merciless robot enforcer. Throw in the ultra violent prisoners, two time traveling techno-twins, and an experimental doctor and you have a recipe for some crazy plot lines.

The show shines brightest in the animation department. Every episode is richly colored and detailed unlike most animation on television (are you listening Adult Swim lineup?). The pace is fast and exciting and one really doesn't know how the next inmate will be killed- knife impalement, chainsaw, being clobbered to a bloody pulp by his own arm. Did I mention the ultra-violence in this show? The blood and gore that flows in every episode brings another comedic element to the show since most of it is done for, well, comedic effect. So... NOT FOR CHILDREN! In conclusion, if you enjoy the often violent, non-sequitur tales of Don Hertzfeldt, Bill Plympton, or Ren & Stimpy- this show is for you. If not, at least give it a try.

Cheers!