Aqua Teen Hunger Force - Vol. 2  (2004)

Starring: Dana Snyder, Carey Means, Dave Willis, C. Martin Croaker, George Lowe, Rita McGrath

Rating: NA

Distributor: Warner Home Video

Release Date: July 20, 2004
Review posted: July 18, 2004

Spoilers: None

Reviewed by Jon Bjorling

SYNOPSIS

The continuing adventures of the Aqua Teen Hunger Force and their never ending quest to fight crime in New Jersey…okay, not really, it’s a show about a talking shake, a floating package of French fries, and a child-like meatball.

CRITIQUE

It’s almost impossible to describe Aqua Teen Hunger Force; it’s such a bizarre show.  What can one say about a show about talking food items that spend each 11-minute episode complaining about mundane things? Like the other Adult Swim shows, it’s a collection of offbeat gags and surreal situations. 

I have a love/hate relationship with the show. Some episodes are brilliant, the gags flow beautifully and, even after watching the episode a thousand times, I can still laugh at it. Other episodes, on the other hand, have either brief moments of brilliance or are completely lame altogether. The second season lacks the freshness that the first season had (it also lacked the Mooninites, who really crack me up) but makes up for it by having some truly outrageous situations (such as the Robotic Ghost of Christmas Past who comes, a few months late, to show Carl the true meaning of Christmas.)

Like the Sealab 2021 DVD, this collection will mainly appeal to the fans of the Adult Swim line up. It’s not an easily accessible show, as it has no real story. However with each show running 11 minutes long, Aqua Teen Hunger Force can be digested in bite sized morsels.

THE VIDEO

The transfer looks really good. The images are clean and sharp, as if they came directly from the original computer files.

THE AUDIO

The audio is presented in Dolby 2.0 and sounds good. The mix is nothing special, just the standard TV mix.

THE EXTRAS

- Deleted Scenes (Super Model, Baffler Meal, Cybernetic Ghost of Christmas Past from the Future, Super Birthday Snake) – Some deleted segments from a few of the shows. The clip from Baffler Meal is the cold opening of the Space Ghost show, which sets up the “deal” that he has with the Aqua Teens.

- Commentary (Super Trivia, Meat Zone, Cybernetic Ghost of Christmas Past from the Future, and Baffler Meal) – There is more commentary on this DVD than there was on the previous DVD set. While the episodes themselves never get commented on that much, the creators and cast talk about how the show came about and how the show is made.

- Space Ghost Coast to Coast: Baffler Meal – The “original” debut of the Aqua Teen Hunger Force. Of course, this episode was made after the show had already aired.

- Baffler Meal music video – The music video that is featured at the end of the Baffler Meal episode.

- Future Wolf II: Never Cry Wolf: Origin of the Series: The “making of” Aqua Teen. It’s very, very lame.

- Future Wolf III: The character sketches of Aqua Teen. You can see how the characters evolved in design.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The presentation of Aqua Teen Hunger Force: Volume 2 is excellent. While the shows range from brilliant to completely lame, the extras make up for it. Fans of the show will love it, and those new to the series can jump into the show without any problem. Out of the two Adult Swim titles being released this week (Sealab 2021 is the other), this is the more complete of the two.

VERDICT: RECOMMENDED

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