Media Flame-War!
August 9, 2005 1:08 AM Subscribe
First National Lampoon does a "parody" of the bumps on Cartoon Network's popular Adult Swim programming block. Then G4's Attack of the Show responded (and the editor of the Lampoon's site responds in the comments -- look for posts by JayPink), and then Adult Swim themselves did on Sunday (Flash re-creation of the aired bump). Main link NSFW/those with a sense of humor
I had no idea National Lampoon still existed... beyond making really low-brow comedies.
posted by Plinko at 3:02 AM on August 9, 2005
posted by Plinko at 3:02 AM on August 9, 2005
I think National Lampoon's complaint on Harvey Birdman was right on the money -- it's a one-joke show that got old fast. And Adult Swim, I'd have to say, doesn't seem a cool now as it did when it was new.
But there are certainly still good things about Adult Swim, most specifically Venture Bros. and Robot Chicken.
posted by JHarris at 3:06 AM on August 9, 2005
But there are certainly still good things about Adult Swim, most specifically Venture Bros. and Robot Chicken.
posted by JHarris at 3:06 AM on August 9, 2005
The bumps are the worst thing about Adult Swim, hands down.
posted by phylum sinter at 3:15 AM on August 9, 2005
posted by phylum sinter at 3:15 AM on August 9, 2005
It's never been the same since they got rid of the bumps with the old people swimming and eating pimento sandwiches in the pool.
posted by patgas at 4:22 AM on August 9, 2005
posted by patgas at 4:22 AM on August 9, 2005
Lampoon has a real conservative bent now-- every frustrated conservative whose mom says he's funny wants to be PJ O'Rourke. And PJ is very funny. But the folks who come after him are not.
posted by Mayor Curley at 4:24 AM on August 9, 2005
posted by Mayor Curley at 4:24 AM on August 9, 2005
I've never seen Adult Swim, Attack of the Show or read The National Lampoon, but I thought each was amusing in its own right. JayPink's comments on G4's web log were funnier than their bump (especially own internet Vaudeville standby retort) and Adult Swim's response got a nice chuckle out of me.
posted by Captaintripps at 4:39 AM on August 9, 2005
posted by Captaintripps at 4:39 AM on August 9, 2005
What's a bump? In this context?
posted by wilberforce at 4:42 AM on August 9, 2005
posted by wilberforce at 4:42 AM on August 9, 2005
I agree with the general sentiment here. Not particularly funny, and riding on a style of humor that has now been far outpaced.
posted by Dr_Johnson at 4:55 AM on August 9, 2005
posted by Dr_Johnson at 4:55 AM on August 9, 2005
I'm not sure, but it's probably what we used to call a "bumper" in television. The seconds-long mini-segments between the show and commercials. Odd that it's shortened to "bump" but I guess the internets has made us all lazy.
posted by melt away at 4:58 AM on August 9, 2005
posted by melt away at 4:58 AM on August 9, 2005
The Birdman jab was weak. The central plots are essentially the same thing over every time, but you don't watch it for the plot. All the funny's in there between the plot elements.
posted by rxrfrx at 5:16 AM on August 9, 2005
posted by rxrfrx at 5:16 AM on August 9, 2005
The plots are the same, but really how couldn't they be? And who watches any cartoon primarily for the plot?
posted by Dr_Johnson at 5:26 AM on August 9, 2005
posted by Dr_Johnson at 5:26 AM on August 9, 2005
That was not funny at all. I saw the response to it on Sunday and wondered--AS was right about Lampoon not mattering since the 70s.
posted by amberglow at 5:48 AM on August 9, 2005
posted by amberglow at 5:48 AM on August 9, 2005
Jay's in a weird position. He's a damn funny guy, and I've enjoyed his writings since I stumbled across him. So, on the one hand, I'm damn happy that he got picked up from obscurity and given a job, not just as a writer, but head editor, for a nationally well-known humor site (company?). On the other hand...it's National Lampoon. And while he's a great writer, for the most part, the rest of NL...isn't. I suppose it's telling that I read Jay's own site pretty much daily (or at least check daily for updates), but the only time I read the NL site is when Jay himself has done an article for it (and, recently, only when it isn't coauthored (unless the coauthor is John Cheese or David Wong)).
posted by Bugbread at 6:18 AM on August 9, 2005
posted by Bugbread at 6:18 AM on August 9, 2005
The only funny thing on that National Lampoon site was the ad at the top implying that someone, somewhere wants a Van Wilder t-shirt.
posted by emptybowl at 6:20 AM on August 9, 2005
posted by emptybowl at 6:20 AM on August 9, 2005
Tom goes to the Mayor is god-aweful. It just sucks.
NL's point on the Family Guy was spot on.
posted by oddman at 6:29 AM on August 9, 2005
NL's point on the Family Guy was spot on.
posted by oddman at 6:29 AM on August 9, 2005
Adult Swim's bumpers actually started as a parody of MTV Networks' ads from the late eighties. Same white text on black background, but no music; the blurbs were accompanied with narration, and were only moderately amusing.
"Your dog ran away. Your car won't start. MTV has the cure."
Et cetera. A decade later, the (generic) text motif returned in VH1's "Behind the Music" and "True Hollywood Story". NO doubt the Williams Street crew had seen and mocked those moments in their spare time before the prior Adult Swim bumpers were replaced. (Those were the "Okay, kids - out of the pool" segments - their accompanying music can be downloaded from Bluetube's archive.)
posted by Smart Dalek at 6:33 AM on August 9, 2005 [1 favorite]
"Your dog ran away. Your car won't start. MTV has the cure."
Et cetera. A decade later, the (generic) text motif returned in VH1's "Behind the Music" and "True Hollywood Story". NO doubt the Williams Street crew had seen and mocked those moments in their spare time before the prior Adult Swim bumpers were replaced. (Those were the "Okay, kids - out of the pool" segments - their accompanying music can be downloaded from Bluetube's archive.)
posted by Smart Dalek at 6:33 AM on August 9, 2005 [1 favorite]
I had no idea National Lampoon still existed... beyond making really low-brow comedies.
It doesn't even do that. The branding is just licensed out. I can't think of a more ignoble end than being reduced to a fratboy batsignal.
posted by Armitage Shanks at 6:38 AM on August 9, 2005
It doesn't even do that. The branding is just licensed out. I can't think of a more ignoble end than being reduced to a fratboy batsignal.
posted by Armitage Shanks at 6:38 AM on August 9, 2005
Pinkerton made these. Because of this, he can do no wrong in my eyes.
And what bugbread said
posted by blag at 6:48 AM on August 9, 2005
And what bugbread said
posted by blag at 6:48 AM on August 9, 2005
Derivative idiots mocking derivative idiots. Who can be the unfunniest?
posted by crunchland at 6:48 AM on August 9, 2005
posted by crunchland at 6:48 AM on August 9, 2005
Wow, what a harsh callout by G4! I mean, lookout, that will shake the media as a whole to it's foundation.
The National Lampoon thing was mostly just mean-spirited and lame...but I do like the phrase 'holy shitty cocks.' I think I'll use it sometime.
posted by tweak at 6:48 AM on August 9, 2005
The National Lampoon thing was mostly just mean-spirited and lame...but I do like the phrase 'holy shitty cocks.' I think I'll use it sometime.
posted by tweak at 6:48 AM on August 9, 2005
also: - Black music? wtf?
Who the hell is NL's audience, anyways??
posted by tweak at 6:50 AM on August 9, 2005
Who the hell is NL's audience, anyways??
posted by tweak at 6:50 AM on August 9, 2005
National Lampoon was the shit up until about 1990. Yes - even that late, they were hiring some top comic writing talent, guys who went on to write for the Simpsons (and yes, Futurama) and Beavis and Butthead (come on, you know it was funny) and the New Yorker and Harpers, etc. And it was my favorite magazine.
Then something happened. According to a semi-recent article in the NYTimes (which finally explained it to me 15 years later) the whole thing was bought by J4 communications, which turned it into a college humor rag. And an awful one - I remember, in their first issue, they ran an interview with Gallagher. An interview?? With Gallagher!?!
Well, that was the end of that for me. Now 15 years later, all they have to show for it is "Van Wilder" and other assorted shitty movies. Not only that, I can see by their website they have a distinctly dumbed-down homophobic worldview, and not just to be un-PC -- it's real.
On the other hand, Adult Swim gives young geeks with limited animating skills and wild imaginations their own air time to do whatever they want. Literally. Some nights, it feels like total anarchy on their channel. I may not watch it all the time, but I respect it.
posted by fungible at 7:24 AM on August 9, 2005
Then something happened. According to a semi-recent article in the NYTimes (which finally explained it to me 15 years later) the whole thing was bought by J4 communications, which turned it into a college humor rag. And an awful one - I remember, in their first issue, they ran an interview with Gallagher. An interview?? With Gallagher!?!
Well, that was the end of that for me. Now 15 years later, all they have to show for it is "Van Wilder" and other assorted shitty movies. Not only that, I can see by their website they have a distinctly dumbed-down homophobic worldview, and not just to be un-PC -- it's real.
On the other hand, Adult Swim gives young geeks with limited animating skills and wild imaginations their own air time to do whatever they want. Literally. Some nights, it feels like total anarchy on their channel. I may not watch it all the time, but I respect it.
posted by fungible at 7:24 AM on August 9, 2005
fungible : "According to a semi-recent article in the NYTimes"
Do you have a link to that? I'm quite curious.
posted by Bugbread at 7:43 AM on August 9, 2005
Do you have a link to that? I'm quite curious.
posted by Bugbread at 7:43 AM on August 9, 2005
Never mind, I found it. Turns out it's "J2 Communications", which was throwing off my search results.
posted by Bugbread at 7:51 AM on August 9, 2005
posted by Bugbread at 7:51 AM on August 9, 2005
"National Lampoon's Greek Games, held during spring break on South Padre Island, Tex., the comedy high jinks you missed went a little something like this: teams of college students with names like I Felta Thi and Tappa Kegga Day competed in events like the Salisbury Steak Toss, in which they tried to catch meat in plastic helmets"
I Felta Thi. Classic...
posted by Dr_Johnson at 8:05 AM on August 9, 2005
I Felta Thi. Classic...
posted by Dr_Johnson at 8:05 AM on August 9, 2005
Oh by the way, that is one depressing NYT story.
posted by Dr_Johnson at 8:13 AM on August 9, 2005
posted by Dr_Johnson at 8:13 AM on August 9, 2005
I am no defender of Adult Swim. In point of fact, I may be the one fat, shaggy-haired, Wayfarer-wearing, record-collecting geek who absolutely hates it. The bumps are annoyingly smug in their ironically minimalist "humor," and most of the shows are tedious. I watch 'cos they run Futurama, Home Movies is fun, and I have a soft spot for The Venture Bros.
All that said, nothing insults my aspiring comedy writer sensibilities more than toothless parody. What, may I ask, is the goddamn point? National Lampoon taking the time to "parody" Adult Swim, an institution that will (inevitably) be lost when their core audience put down the bongs and pick up the suitcases? In fact, I'm having a hard time seeing the big deal here: a washed-up once-wunderkind "publication" mocking a cheaply made late night cable block? I fail to feel incensed. And/or interested.
Now, I do agree with fungible that Adult Swim's allowing "young geeks with limited animating skills and wild imaginations their own air time" is a pretty OK thing. But then again...being a young geek with limited "animating" skills...I'm not entirely sure I'd want to subject the public to it. The sort of stuff on Adult Swim, or at least most it, belongs in someone's notebook, where the wheat can be separated from the chaff. And "anarchy" isn't necessarily a proper state for comedy. Sure, the Brits pulled it off...you know, a lot...but that don't make it the root of all funny. Particularly when many of those "young geeks" seem to confuse anarchistic comedy with utter, plotless nonsense.
I don't know. The whole thing is just silly.
posted by ford and the prefects at 8:18 AM on August 9, 2005
All that said, nothing insults my aspiring comedy writer sensibilities more than toothless parody. What, may I ask, is the goddamn point? National Lampoon taking the time to "parody" Adult Swim, an institution that will (inevitably) be lost when their core audience put down the bongs and pick up the suitcases? In fact, I'm having a hard time seeing the big deal here: a washed-up once-wunderkind "publication" mocking a cheaply made late night cable block? I fail to feel incensed. And/or interested.
Now, I do agree with fungible that Adult Swim's allowing "young geeks with limited animating skills and wild imaginations their own air time" is a pretty OK thing. But then again...being a young geek with limited "animating" skills...I'm not entirely sure I'd want to subject the public to it. The sort of stuff on Adult Swim, or at least most it, belongs in someone's notebook, where the wheat can be separated from the chaff. And "anarchy" isn't necessarily a proper state for comedy. Sure, the Brits pulled it off...you know, a lot...but that don't make it the root of all funny. Particularly when many of those "young geeks" seem to confuse anarchistic comedy with utter, plotless nonsense.
I don't know. The whole thing is just silly.
posted by ford and the prefects at 8:18 AM on August 9, 2005
Thanks for the link, jjg, the version I found was a far more stripped down, 1 page article. After reading the whole thing, I have to say: I feel so sorry for Jay. And what the hell were they thinking of when hiring him, anyway? His stuff is actually humorous and non-frat.
posted by Bugbread at 8:24 AM on August 9, 2005
posted by Bugbread at 8:24 AM on August 9, 2005
Did they just insult Adult Swim by saying they listen to 'black music'?
Did that just happen?
Shortly before literally calling them a bunch of fags?
My god. The only possible reason this thread could be so tame and forgiving is that nobody bothered actually watching the National Lampoon bit. I'm not offended. I'm just baffled.
posted by Simon! at 8:33 AM on August 9, 2005
Did that just happen?
Shortly before literally calling them a bunch of fags?
My god. The only possible reason this thread could be so tame and forgiving is that nobody bothered actually watching the National Lampoon bit. I'm not offended. I'm just baffled.
posted by Simon! at 8:33 AM on August 9, 2005
But then again...being a young geek with limited "animating" skills...I'm not entirely sure I'd want to subject the public to it.
Everyone's a critic... I mean, it's subjecting a very specific public, and the Cartoon Network is not really forcing anyone to watch. If one of the shows sucks, I can always go back to it later or another day, and the show will be gone. And while the bumps are stupid, no one watches it for the bumps. They watch it for Family Guy and Futurama (and maybe- just maybe- they will get some exposure to more deconstructed cartoons like Aqua Teen or Birdman in the process).
posted by Dr_Johnson at 8:34 AM on August 9, 2005
Everyone's a critic... I mean, it's subjecting a very specific public, and the Cartoon Network is not really forcing anyone to watch. If one of the shows sucks, I can always go back to it later or another day, and the show will be gone. And while the bumps are stupid, no one watches it for the bumps. They watch it for Family Guy and Futurama (and maybe- just maybe- they will get some exposure to more deconstructed cartoons like Aqua Teen or Birdman in the process).
posted by Dr_Johnson at 8:34 AM on August 9, 2005
The bumps are annoyingly smug in their ironically minimalist "humor," and most of the shows are tedious. I watch 'cos they run Futurama, Home Movies is fun, and I have a soft spot for The Venture Bros.
Agreed, ford and the prefects. If it weren't for Venture Bros. (I already have Futurama on DVD), I'd never watch the channel. Those "bumps" are infuriatingly self-referential and unfunny for me personally. The Lampoon thing was indeed lame though. The A.S. bumps are ripe for parody, it's just too bad N.L. couldn't summon the wit to pull it off.
posted by ktoad at 8:35 AM on August 9, 2005
Agreed, ford and the prefects. If it weren't for Venture Bros. (I already have Futurama on DVD), I'd never watch the channel. Those "bumps" are infuriatingly self-referential and unfunny for me personally. The Lampoon thing was indeed lame though. The A.S. bumps are ripe for parody, it's just too bad N.L. couldn't summon the wit to pull it off.
posted by ktoad at 8:35 AM on August 9, 2005
From the NYT article:
"The 70's were a very political time for our country, and the Lampoon was trying to make a statement. It's a very different time from what we live in today."
I think I would have stopped the interview right there. The new Lampoon people think "funny" is whatever you can buy cheap and sell on the premise that it'll make someone laugh. Adult Swim seems a little bloated these days, but at worst you can call them sellouts. The Lampoon isn't even that; they're the buyers of a sold-out product that dried up years ago.
posted by mikeh at 8:39 AM on August 9, 2005
"The 70's were a very political time for our country, and the Lampoon was trying to make a statement. It's a very different time from what we live in today."
I think I would have stopped the interview right there. The new Lampoon people think "funny" is whatever you can buy cheap and sell on the premise that it'll make someone laugh. Adult Swim seems a little bloated these days, but at worst you can call them sellouts. The Lampoon isn't even that; they're the buyers of a sold-out product that dried up years ago.
posted by mikeh at 8:39 AM on August 9, 2005
Oh man, that NL send-up was really awful. Someone got paid for that?!
posted by sonofsamiam at 8:41 AM on August 9, 2005
posted by sonofsamiam at 8:41 AM on August 9, 2005
Personally, I don't give a flying f*ck about National Lampoon
(never saw the movies -- they looked like they sucked) nor
about Adult Swim (which doesn't air here in the UK).
But what a peculiar bunch of people all those people posting
on that webforum were. They were getting *very* worked up
about something that was so trivial as to be completely
incomprehensible.
"You made an unfunny joke about my favourite TV show!
Die in hell, you racist, homophobes!"
It seems to me that US TV should start airing the UK version
of Big Brother -- that would give them something they
could *really* get obsessively partisan about.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 8:46 AM on August 9, 2005
(never saw the movies -- they looked like they sucked) nor
about Adult Swim (which doesn't air here in the UK).
But what a peculiar bunch of people all those people posting
on that webforum were. They were getting *very* worked up
about something that was so trivial as to be completely
incomprehensible.
"You made an unfunny joke about my favourite TV show!
Die in hell, you racist, homophobes!"
It seems to me that US TV should start airing the UK version
of Big Brother -- that would give them something they
could *really* get obsessively partisan about.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 8:46 AM on August 9, 2005
Ick. A misplaced comma! Apologies.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 8:47 AM on August 9, 2005
posted by PeterMcDermott at 8:47 AM on August 9, 2005
On the other hand, Adult Swim gives young geeks with limited animating skills and wild imaginations their own air time to do whatever they want. Literally. Some nights, it feels like total anarchy on their channel. I may not watch it all the time, but I respect it.
hmm, fair enough.
posted by clunkyrobot at 8:49 AM on August 9, 2005
hmm, fair enough.
posted by clunkyrobot at 8:49 AM on August 9, 2005
Interesting to note that the author of the NL parody, John Saleeby, appears to quite fond of hipster standards. Perhaps NL put the hammer on him too.
posted by Dr_Johnson at 8:58 AM on August 9, 2005
posted by Dr_Johnson at 8:58 AM on August 9, 2005
Did they just insult Adult Swim by saying they listen to 'black music'?
Did that just happen?
Shortly before literally calling them a bunch of fags?
My god. The only possible reason this thread could be so tame and forgiving is that nobody bothered actually watching the National Lampoon bit. I'm not offended. I'm just baffled.
yeah... seriously, seconded. i have no previous exposure to the national lampoon brand name, except through movies like "vacation" and "animal house". how, exactly, did it come to this? look, i don't even understand how this can be labeled as "parody", because the author is clearly laying out his true feelings about adult swim in the most blunt, mean-spirited fashion imaginable.
i don't really believe that calling adult swim viewers "dumb fucking monkeys" or adult swim's writers "fags" can be viewed as parody at all. jesus.
posted by jimmy at 9:04 AM on August 9, 2005
Did that just happen?
Shortly before literally calling them a bunch of fags?
My god. The only possible reason this thread could be so tame and forgiving is that nobody bothered actually watching the National Lampoon bit. I'm not offended. I'm just baffled.
yeah... seriously, seconded. i have no previous exposure to the national lampoon brand name, except through movies like "vacation" and "animal house". how, exactly, did it come to this? look, i don't even understand how this can be labeled as "parody", because the author is clearly laying out his true feelings about adult swim in the most blunt, mean-spirited fashion imaginable.
i don't really believe that calling adult swim viewers "dumb fucking monkeys" or adult swim's writers "fags" can be viewed as parody at all. jesus.
posted by jimmy at 9:04 AM on August 9, 2005
National Lampoon has nothing to do with the movies that bear it's name. They don't "produce" movies. The movie title "National Lampoon's" is licensed to whatever film producer cares to pay for the priviledge to tack on the name to his/her film. (At least that was my understanding when I worked on "National Lampoon's Senior Trip".)
posted by jca at 9:05 AM on August 9, 2005
posted by jca at 9:05 AM on August 9, 2005
well, okay then. so it's perfectly reasonable that they've always been this hateful and unfunny?
posted by jimmy at 9:08 AM on August 9, 2005
posted by jimmy at 9:08 AM on August 9, 2005
[...] I worked on "National Lampoon's Senior Trip".
I demand reparations.
posted by sonofsamiam at 9:11 AM on August 9, 2005
I demand reparations.
posted by sonofsamiam at 9:11 AM on August 9, 2005
I'll take the opportunity for some minor reminiscing/self-promotion. I wrote at the same paper Jay Pinkerton did at Queen's University. He got his start at this paper, a campus comedy rag called Golden Words. I always liked this recurring feature. Bit of a Jack Handy rip, but good stuff. BTW, I don't endose the GW site, I haven't looked through it in awhile, but there's some funny stuff in the archives. His pseudonym was Reddevil.
posted by Idiot Mittens at 9:14 AM on August 9, 2005
posted by Idiot Mittens at 9:14 AM on August 9, 2005
And I meant to say, I DO endorse his site, posted above. Much hilarity there.
posted by Idiot Mittens at 9:16 AM on August 9, 2005
posted by Idiot Mittens at 9:16 AM on August 9, 2005
I demand reparations.
Anyone who willing saw that movie got what they deserved.
The poster was damn funny though, eh? ;)
posted by jca at 9:56 AM on August 9, 2005
Anyone who willing saw that movie got what they deserved.
The poster was damn funny though, eh? ;)
posted by jca at 9:56 AM on August 9, 2005
Nothing to add really except that G4 TechTV is awful. The Attack of the Show is a bad show because the hosts are among the most annoying personalities on the idiot box. The same guy from The (revamped and younged down) Screensavers and I can't watch that show anymore either. They are too hip and irritating for me.
Adult Swim though, Adult Swim kicks ass all over town and doesn't care who knows it.
posted by fenriq at 10:02 AM on August 9, 2005
Adult Swim though, Adult Swim kicks ass all over town and doesn't care who knows it.
posted by fenriq at 10:02 AM on August 9, 2005
The mistakes in Adult Swim's rebuttal (it's just Vacation not Family Vacation and they misspelled "satirizing") gave me the impression that it was written quickly by someone seething with anger.
posted by jrossi4r at 10:06 AM on August 9, 2005
posted by jrossi4r at 10:06 AM on August 9, 2005
So would we just be here calling it, uhh, mildly unfunny if he said that Adult Swim was produced by niggers who liked gay music?
wtf?
posted by PissOnYourParade at 10:20 AM on August 9, 2005
wtf?
posted by PissOnYourParade at 10:20 AM on August 9, 2005
Was the last link actually produced by Adult Swim? The main page of that site says they're not affiliated -
posted by fixer at 10:23 AM on August 9, 2005
posted by fixer at 10:23 AM on August 9, 2005
Man, I'm fucking sick of the "anti-PC" backlash "humor" bullshit. You know, there are ways to be offensive and still make a funny point. I have a National Lampoon (The Southern Issue, with Elvis on the cover) from '79 that has an "ad" for The New Klan, which has a black guy, a white woman and a hippie pulling the leg braces off of a kid. That was nice. There's another bit that's essentially a photospread of a black man forcing a white belle to blow him at gunpoint, labeled "A Gift for our Colored Readers." (The actual execution is funny and offensive).
But this "Hey, yer a fag. I'm un-PC, man, and you're a fag. Fag. Don't tell me that fag's not funny, fag, because that's just more PC bullshit from, like, the man, fag," just fucking grates on me. Listen to black music? The reply from Adult Swim was class and should shut up NL.
posted by klangklangston at 10:43 AM on August 9, 2005
But this "Hey, yer a fag. I'm un-PC, man, and you're a fag. Fag. Don't tell me that fag's not funny, fag, because that's just more PC bullshit from, like, the man, fag," just fucking grates on me. Listen to black music? The reply from Adult Swim was class and should shut up NL.
posted by klangklangston at 10:43 AM on August 9, 2005
I think the "black music" and "fag" references are just the guy's way of, you know, showing how hip and with it he is. See: Vice Magazine. I guess the idea is, he's so fucking amazingly in touch with the modern zeitgeist and all that, that OBVIOUSLY it's all in jest, and if you take offense, you're just buying into the whole... whatever.
But yeah... stupid.
posted by dvdgee at 10:52 AM on August 9, 2005
But yeah... stupid.
posted by dvdgee at 10:52 AM on August 9, 2005
The last link isn't hosted by Adult Swim, but it's a recreation of the bump that aired last night (I know; I saw it on TV, which led me to seek out the Natlamp thing, and poking around, I came across the G4 thing.). I would have preferred to do an official link for that one, but... (And as such, while I'm pretty sure the real bump did call it "Family Vacation", I recall them spelling "satirizing" correctly, so that might have been an error on the part of the guy who made it.
But yeah -- I'm kind of baffled by a lot of the anti-Natlamp comments on the G4 board (I'd expect it from the (not-linked) AS Boards, since that's basically just fanboyland anyway), since, well, yeah -- it seemed that most of the complaints were of the "YOU MADE FUN OF MY FAVORITE SHOW! PREPARE TO DIE!" which... I don't really get.
I mean, I'm a fan of Adult Swim (obviously, otherwise, I wouldn't have known about this to post it), but there are real complaints to be made about Adult Swim and various shows; the Family Guy one came reasonably close to being spot on (except when you take into consideration that before AS picked it up, the DVD sets were the highest selling TV on DVD sets ever (until Chappelle's Show came out, anyway), which'd imply that a good portion of the people watching Family Guy on AS already had the DVDs, and as such, had probably watched the episodes a few times before AS even picked the show up...); and I have to admit kind of agreeing with the Harvey Birdman one, since I'm not a fan of that show, but, well, they could have actually been funny about it. Just going "Hey, it's the same thing over and over again!" doesn't really cut it. (Since, hey, that applies to a lot of things... for example, the National Lampoon Adult Swim parody! Funny how that works...)
Most of them just seemed mean-spirited (and weirdly so -- what's the deal with the "HA HA! GORE'S DAUGHTER GOT FIRED!!" thing?) and stupid ("Black music" and "fags" mainly...). If the parody had been funny, I would have enjoyed it, even if it was one big long thing where they were bagging on, say, FLCL or Space Ghost Coast 2 Coast (two of my favorites from AS) -- there ARE valid criticisms of those shows and the AS block in general (I did prefer the old-people-in-the-pool bumps to the cards -- partially because they only write enough cards for one night per week and just cycle them over and over (so if you want to see the real rebuttal card, just watch tonight! And tomorrow night!), and the tone does get a little annoying and not quite as funny as they think they are), but... well, "HA HA! THEY'RE FAGS WHO DRINK TOO MUCH COFFEE AND LISTEN TO THAT NEEEGRO MUSIC!!" isn't exactly one of them.
The main problem with it is that you don't get a "we're making fun of this mentality" vibe from the NatLamp piece when it comes to "Black music" and "fags" -- it really does feel like they're actually... squirming with revulsion or something. (And the Black Music thing seems so... out of left field. It's not like AS is Strongly Aligning Itself with black culture or anything; the closest thing I can think of is the CD that's coming out by Danger Mouse and MF DOOM, which is apparently using a bunch of Williams Street samples... but as far as I know, DM/MFD approached Adult Swim, not the other way around. And I guess there's MC Chris, but well, he'd been doing that before he started working at AS and AS doesn't really promote him all that much outside of "Hey, he's a friend of ours!". I would assume if one of the other creators had a rock band that was gaining in popularity, they'd be "Hey, check out this rock band!" too.) There's no... tip of the cards that National Lampoon is saying "Oh, I get it, our racism is Ironic" (to paraphrase Wonder Showzen) -- particularly because for it to work, there'd kind of have to be some Adult Swim-related reason to mention it. (Like, if AS were doing some really lame parody of Gangsta Culture, like "y0 y0 y0 we gotZ da AQUA TEEEEENS in the HIZZY y'ALLLLLL go an watch 'fore I bust a cap in dat azzz" or something, then, well, yeah, going "Wow, not only are you trying to be cool by pretending you listen to hip hop, you're actually being at best idiotic/at worst racist in your display! Way to go!" would be warranted! But just "Well, we've got a nerdcore rapper who did storyboards for us, and we got Schooly D to do a theme to one of our shows, and Danger Mouse and MF DOOM, among other rappers/hip-hop-producers are fans of ours, so rock on"? That's... not really enough.
I don't know. There could be something funny in a parody of that format, and there could be something that actually really lays into Adult Swim with both Valid and Funny Complaints, but, well, this sure isn't it.
(But I am kind of amused by the way you get that sour grapes thing; to go back to the Mad Versus Onion thing, I find it funny that the Onion's piece (sorry, it's offline, and the best I could find is a google cache of a mirror) is a loving tribute to one of their big influences and an appreciation of Those Who Went Before, where Mad's "Bunion" is a "Fuck you! We used to be the kings of Satire! Now everyone thinks you're hot shit! But you're really just cold diarrhea!"; and the National Lampoon piece seems to be exactly the same, only more misguided since Adult Swim and National Lampoon aren't really "competing" in any way at all. (At least Mad and The Onion are both publications, though one could easily read both...)
Also -- thanks for the link to the NYT article! It's a really excellent one and really sad how National Lampoon went from being a dark, biting satirical magazine to, well, basically being Frat Boy Toilet Paper. (The biography Mr. Mike on Michael O'Donoghue is actually really interesting as well and goes a bit into the decline of National Lampoon. And also is about the history/life of one of my favorite comedy writers ever, but still.)
posted by Rev. Syung Myung Me at 11:59 AM on August 9, 2005
But yeah -- I'm kind of baffled by a lot of the anti-Natlamp comments on the G4 board (I'd expect it from the (not-linked) AS Boards, since that's basically just fanboyland anyway), since, well, yeah -- it seemed that most of the complaints were of the "YOU MADE FUN OF MY FAVORITE SHOW! PREPARE TO DIE!" which... I don't really get.
I mean, I'm a fan of Adult Swim (obviously, otherwise, I wouldn't have known about this to post it), but there are real complaints to be made about Adult Swim and various shows; the Family Guy one came reasonably close to being spot on (except when you take into consideration that before AS picked it up, the DVD sets were the highest selling TV on DVD sets ever (until Chappelle's Show came out, anyway), which'd imply that a good portion of the people watching Family Guy on AS already had the DVDs, and as such, had probably watched the episodes a few times before AS even picked the show up...); and I have to admit kind of agreeing with the Harvey Birdman one, since I'm not a fan of that show, but, well, they could have actually been funny about it. Just going "Hey, it's the same thing over and over again!" doesn't really cut it. (Since, hey, that applies to a lot of things... for example, the National Lampoon Adult Swim parody! Funny how that works...)
Most of them just seemed mean-spirited (and weirdly so -- what's the deal with the "HA HA! GORE'S DAUGHTER GOT FIRED!!" thing?) and stupid ("Black music" and "fags" mainly...). If the parody had been funny, I would have enjoyed it, even if it was one big long thing where they were bagging on, say, FLCL or Space Ghost Coast 2 Coast (two of my favorites from AS) -- there ARE valid criticisms of those shows and the AS block in general (I did prefer the old-people-in-the-pool bumps to the cards -- partially because they only write enough cards for one night per week and just cycle them over and over (so if you want to see the real rebuttal card, just watch tonight! And tomorrow night!), and the tone does get a little annoying and not quite as funny as they think they are), but... well, "HA HA! THEY'RE FAGS WHO DRINK TOO MUCH COFFEE AND LISTEN TO THAT NEEEGRO MUSIC!!" isn't exactly one of them.
The main problem with it is that you don't get a "we're making fun of this mentality" vibe from the NatLamp piece when it comes to "Black music" and "fags" -- it really does feel like they're actually... squirming with revulsion or something. (And the Black Music thing seems so... out of left field. It's not like AS is Strongly Aligning Itself with black culture or anything; the closest thing I can think of is the CD that's coming out by Danger Mouse and MF DOOM, which is apparently using a bunch of Williams Street samples... but as far as I know, DM/MFD approached Adult Swim, not the other way around. And I guess there's MC Chris, but well, he'd been doing that before he started working at AS and AS doesn't really promote him all that much outside of "Hey, he's a friend of ours!". I would assume if one of the other creators had a rock band that was gaining in popularity, they'd be "Hey, check out this rock band!" too.) There's no... tip of the cards that National Lampoon is saying "Oh, I get it, our racism is Ironic" (to paraphrase Wonder Showzen) -- particularly because for it to work, there'd kind of have to be some Adult Swim-related reason to mention it. (Like, if AS were doing some really lame parody of Gangsta Culture, like "y0 y0 y0 we gotZ da AQUA TEEEEENS in the HIZZY y'ALLLLLL go an watch 'fore I bust a cap in dat azzz" or something, then, well, yeah, going "Wow, not only are you trying to be cool by pretending you listen to hip hop, you're actually being at best idiotic/at worst racist in your display! Way to go!" would be warranted! But just "Well, we've got a nerdcore rapper who did storyboards for us, and we got Schooly D to do a theme to one of our shows, and Danger Mouse and MF DOOM, among other rappers/hip-hop-producers are fans of ours, so rock on"? That's... not really enough.
I don't know. There could be something funny in a parody of that format, and there could be something that actually really lays into Adult Swim with both Valid and Funny Complaints, but, well, this sure isn't it.
(But I am kind of amused by the way you get that sour grapes thing; to go back to the Mad Versus Onion thing, I find it funny that the Onion's piece (sorry, it's offline, and the best I could find is a google cache of a mirror) is a loving tribute to one of their big influences and an appreciation of Those Who Went Before, where Mad's "Bunion" is a "Fuck you! We used to be the kings of Satire! Now everyone thinks you're hot shit! But you're really just cold diarrhea!"; and the National Lampoon piece seems to be exactly the same, only more misguided since Adult Swim and National Lampoon aren't really "competing" in any way at all. (At least Mad and The Onion are both publications, though one could easily read both...)
Also -- thanks for the link to the NYT article! It's a really excellent one and really sad how National Lampoon went from being a dark, biting satirical magazine to, well, basically being Frat Boy Toilet Paper. (The biography Mr. Mike on Michael O'Donoghue is actually really interesting as well and goes a bit into the decline of National Lampoon. And also is about the history/life of one of my favorite comedy writers ever, but still.)
posted by Rev. Syung Myung Me at 11:59 AM on August 9, 2005
NL reminds of the parody of Mad Magazine as seen on the Simpsons:
"What about, 'Not Everyone Likes Raymond!"
As for their views on homosexuals and people of colour, I'll let them stand and fester in the wind, forever clinging to their increasingly worthless brand.
posted by haqspan at 12:24 PM on August 9, 2005
"What about, 'Not Everyone Likes Raymond!"
As for their views on homosexuals and people of colour, I'll let them stand and fester in the wind, forever clinging to their increasingly worthless brand.
posted by haqspan at 12:24 PM on August 9, 2005
Anyone who does not absolutely love Harvey Birdman, exhibit A: Harvy's Civvy (feat. Shado), is, well, um, misinformed and needs to report to their favorite file trading or TiVo'ing friends house to be re-educated.
I... AM... SHADDOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!
Ahem. I always took the AS bumps for what they were -- trying to be that snarky, hipster type thing. It's a character, sometimes he's self-effacing and sometimes he's just babbling on about some jap pop. It's all good. I think some of their brilliant shows (Sealab season 1) get blown out when they run out of ideas yet still produce them anyway (Sealab season 3) , but on the whole Adult Swim is this 20-30 something geeky anarchy zone.. it's impressive that they have survived, if not thrived, this long. And by their own admission the Family Guy reruns certainly help their ratings (read: survival!)
posted by cavalier at 2:34 PM on August 9, 2005
I... AM... SHADDOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!
Ahem. I always took the AS bumps for what they were -- trying to be that snarky, hipster type thing. It's a character, sometimes he's self-effacing and sometimes he's just babbling on about some jap pop. It's all good. I think some of their brilliant shows (Sealab season 1) get blown out when they run out of ideas yet still produce them anyway (Sealab season 3) , but on the whole Adult Swim is this 20-30 something geeky anarchy zone.. it's impressive that they have survived, if not thrived, this long. And by their own admission the Family Guy reruns certainly help their ratings (read: survival!)
posted by cavalier at 2:34 PM on August 9, 2005
In its glory days, around 1971, National Lampoon ran an absolutely brilliant parody of Mad Magazine, which by then had begun falling into the catatonia where it would remain for many years.
Speaking as someone who was in high school at the time, it was nearly worth having Nixon in office for the Swiftian satire that NatLamp ran on his gang every month. John Stewart and The Onion come close w/respect to Bush now and then, but don't have quite the same twisted black humor.
posted by Creosote at 8:40 PM on August 9, 2005
Speaking as someone who was in high school at the time, it was nearly worth having Nixon in office for the Swiftian satire that NatLamp ran on his gang every month. John Stewart and The Onion come close w/respect to Bush now and then, but don't have quite the same twisted black humor.
posted by Creosote at 8:40 PM on August 9, 2005
The National Lampoon treasury is well worth finding used online if just for "How To Write Dirty," a piece supposedly by Thurgood Marshall.
This new stuff, not so funny.
posted by johngoren at 12:19 AM on August 10, 2005
This new stuff, not so funny.
posted by johngoren at 12:19 AM on August 10, 2005
You can't really parody Adult Swim without appearing like you enjoy the shows. Self-mockery is a shield from satire. It's like pro wrestling. Making fun of it is how you are supposed to enjoy it. Laugh at the show, and laugh with the creators at the show, and laugh at yourself for watching it.
This is the secret that television advertising companies have been exploiting for about a decade. If you make fun of yourself, no one can touch you.
posted by Laugh_track at 8:01 AM on August 10, 2005
This is the secret that television advertising companies have been exploiting for about a decade. If you make fun of yourself, no one can touch you.
posted by Laugh_track at 8:01 AM on August 10, 2005
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This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
The entire thing reminds me of when Mad Magazine parodied The Onion a few years ago -- the entire thing smacks of sour grapes as the one-time popular source for comedy gives way to a newer, fresher source while the older one ends up going downhill as staffs change. (At least the Mad piece actually had one or two jokes in there among the shrillness and a little bit of apt criticism...)
Still, though, Adult Swim had it right when they mentioned that they would have been thrilled to have been parodied by National Lampoon... if it were 1975.
(Speaking of which, for some good National Lampoon stuff, check out the work of Michael O'Donoghue.)
posted by Rev. Syung Myung Me at 1:20 AM on August 9, 2005