Some late-night animated shows go on to become juggernauts of the industry, lasting for years, seemingly without an end in sight. Some might not have lasted too long, but still managed to leave some impression on viewers. The general public might have forgotten about them, but fans and animation historians may feel it deserved better.
Some late-night shows might have actually had a decent run, but just seem to be overshadowed by other series. In fact, a few might have had more successful spin-offs or sister series. Others, on the other hand, were so short-lived it begs the question of why the network green-lit it in the first place. Some shows simply had unclear audiences. After all, some late-night animated fare isn’t necessarily aimed exclusively at adults. Some shows just didn’t get the venue or promotion they deserved.
The Oblongs
The Oblongsrevolves around the titular family of misfits who live in Hill Valley, where economic disparity couldn’t be more obvious. While the people of the “Hills” live rich, affluent, and somewhat corrupt lives, the people of the “Valley” have been horrifically deformed by local toxic waste, amidst great poverty and foodless meals. Despite this, most of the Valley residents are at least friendly enough.
The Oblongsonly lasted one season, with five episodes being unaired in its original run. Allegedly, its original run in Australia was even shorter, barely lasting an episode. Fans of the series at leastalso have the bookthat inspired the series, Angus Oblong’sCreepy Susie and 13 Other Tragic Tales for Troubled Children. That said, the book is darker than the show. For example, in the show, Milo Oblong’s friend Helga lives in a fantasy world where she thinks she’s one of the popular girls. In the book, Helga ends up killing the popular girls.
Sealab 2021
Sealab 2021started with the short-lived 1970s cartoonSealab 2020, revolving around an underwater research facility. Years later, Cartoon Network later parodied the series withSealab 2021, even using recycled animation from the old cartoon. While still set in an underwater colony, the characters have mostly been recast as far more unsympathetic and unprofessional as possible, with far more surreal adventures.
WhileSealab 2021is associated with Adult Swim, it actually came out before the platform officially started.
Cartoon Network initially aired the series with an early morning graveyard slot. In addition to lasting nearly four times as long as the original cartoon, it’s believed the series had much more luck with international broadcasts, airing in countries that never aired the original.
Clerks: The Animated Series
Clerks, also known asClerks: The Animated Series, was an animated series spun-off from the 1994 film of the same name, revolving around a pair of store clerks in New Jersey. While an adult-animated series, due to being meant for television, the cartoon is generally seen as having less sexual humor and profanity compared to the films. For example, Jay and Silent Bob sell fireworks instead of drugs and are, at worst, mistaken for drug dealers. Interestingly, the animation allowed the series to have more surreal humor, which actually reflected the original intended direction of the films.
The series was infamously short-lived, with only two episodes out of a total six getting aired in its original run. Complicating things further, the episodes were aired out of order. This became noticeable as one of the episodes aired was a clip-show parody, referencing only the first episode, which the original viewers weren’t able to see.
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Code Monkeys
Code Monkeysis an animated series revolving around the employees of GameaVision, a fictional video game company, set in the Silicon Valley of the 1980s. Serving as a love letter to video games of the era, the series is even animated in an 8-bit style. Episodes even open up with “PLAYER 1 START!” and end with a “Game Over” screen. Early on, Game-A-Vision’s games were even advertised on the network as if they were real games.
Code Monkeys, which aired on the video game-focused G4TV, was popular enough to garner a second season, but was canceled soon after. Airing on a network that wasn’t available with many major carriers also likely contributed to the cartoon’s obscurity.
Frisky Dingo
Frisky Dingois an animated series revolving around a supervillain and a superhero. The supervillain Killface is an alien who schemes to destroy the Earth by shipping it off into the Sun. To accomplish this goal, he’s created the Annihilatrix. However, he’s spent most of his funds in creating the doomsday device, which delays the media event he wants to make out of the Earth’s destruction. Meanwhile, the superhero is billionaire Xander Crews, who fights as the alter-ego, Awesome X, decides to take on Killface, if only to avoid an early retirement and keep his action figure toy line going. Because of these conflicting personalities, the two often switch between being enemies and allies.
The series only lasted two seasons, though a third had been planned. A short-lived spin-off, The Xtacles, was also produced, though it only two episodes were ultimately produced.Frisky Dingo’s crew-members of the series would later developthe longer-lastingArcher, whose main character bears a striking resemblance to Xander Crews.
Space Ghost: Coast To Coast
Space Ghost: Coast To Coastis an adult-animated series using stocking footage from the original 1960s Space Ghost cartoon. In this series, the superhero is now a talk-show host who interviews live-action guest stars on a monitor. Many of Space Ghost’s former enemies, such as Zorak and Moltar, are now his reluctant co-workers. While earlier seasons were likely intended for kids, the series would eventually become more adult in tone, eventually becoming part of the Adult Swim line-up.
Space Ghost: Coast To Coasthad a number of spin-offs, such asThe Brak ShowandAqua Teen Hunger Force. Unusually for a late-night series, one of the first spin-offs,Cartoon Planet, was a kid’s show. The series is also notable for being Cartoon Network’s first fully-produced cartoon.
Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law
Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Lawis an adult-animated series poking fun at characters from Hanna-Barbera cartoons. Harvey Birdman, originating fromBirdman and the Galaxy Trio, is re-envisioned working at a law firm, working alongside other Hanna-Barbera characters. Many episodes featured Harvey Birdman representing animation stars, fromShaggy and Scooby-Dooto theFlintstones. As the series went on, however, this was dropped in favor of making a more typical workplace comedy.
The series lasted four seasons, but was plagued by behind-the-scenes issues. Episodes aired sporadically. Notably, it took three years for all nine episodes of the first season, including the pilot, to premiere. Allegedly, timing was such an issue for the overseas studio working on the show that production eventually had to be switched to an in-house studio in Atlanta. This also necessitated a switch from digital ink and paint to Adobe Flash. The series would eventually gain a spin-off inBirdgirl.
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Celebrity Deathmatch
Celebrity Deathmatchwas a claymation series airing on MTV, originating as part ofCartoon Sushi. The premise was that celebrities would fight to the death in a wrestling match, with the animation allowing the fights to be a surreal as they needed to be. Digital cameras were used tocapture the stop-motion, allowing the series to function as a mix between digital and traditional effects.
The series' original run lasted four years, with a brief revival on MTV2, switching production from New York to Toronto. MTV Germany briefly aired a short-livedCelebrity Deathmatch Hits Germany, using German figures. Another reboot, and a film adaptation, had also been considered, though both projects ended up being canceled. A video game adaptation also allowed players to get inside the ring.
Mission Hill
Mission Hillwas an animated series revolving around the French brothers. Andy French is an adult slacker who works at a waterbed store while aspiring to be a professional cartoonist. His brother Kevin is a sheltered kid with ambitions for Yale University and is staying with Andy and his loft mates Jim and Posey after their parents move to another state.
Mission Hillwas notable for its art style, being one of the last shows to use traditional cel animation, as to highlight its bright, neon color palate. In fact, the French brothers' hair, originally meant as black, was allegedly rendered blue by neon backlighting. Ultimately, only 13 episodes were finished. Five more had been planned, existing as scripts, animatics, or with partial animation.
The Critic
The Criticwas an animated series revolving around New York film critic Jay Sherman and the various people in his life. The series originally lasted aired on ABC before switching to Fox for its second and final season, though a third season had been planned. The Critic was then briefly retooled into a web series, though cutting out most of the characters.
Despite this, reruns of the series helped it gain a cult following over the years. Ironically, on Comedy Central, the series got to air on Saturday mornings. The series notably shared crew members withThe SimpsonsandJay Sherman would later visit SpringfieldinThe Simpsonsepisode, “A Star Is Burns,” in addition to a few cameos over the years.
