Distributor: Madman
Runtime: 150 mins
Genre: comedy, animation
Number of Discs: 2

From the twisted minds over at Adult Swim comes the oft-hilarious and at times ridiculous antics of the crew on Sealab 2021. Similar in concept to Space Ghost Coast to Coast, the show, created by Adam Reed and Matt Thompson, utilises old Hanna-Barbera stock footage from the 70’s, complete with re-dubbed lines. The cartoon was originally Sealab 2020, an environmental program with a socially conscious theme about, you guessed it, an underwater sea lab. Following the release of other Adult Swim properties such as Aqua Teen Hunger Force and Robot Chicken, comes the complete season one of Sealab 2021.

With a cast of seemingly normal characters, the show relies on the viewer to see this as a routine look at underwater research, but instead, they get a crew who are more interested in doing anything but work. Led by the stoic yet sexually crazed Captain Hank Murphy, the season starts off with an emergency in the lab. Sirens are blaring as a hull breach threatens the safety of the lab’s inhabitants. Yet each and every member of the crew are more interested in what kind of robot they would be. From laser beam eyes to x-ray vision, the crew argue over what exactly each attribute they would put in their robot body. It’s antics like these that define the series and soon you realise it’s the norm. There isn’t much of a plot, and when it does have some semblance of direction, the crew manage to derail it and go on a completely different tangent.

While the animation is crude, I think that is what makes the show quite entertaining. The incongruence of the dialogue to the animation is unsettling at first. Kind of like South Park, where those cute little kids swear their fucking mouths off, these characters seem to be normal and above board but in this (cartoon) reality, they really don’t know what they’re doing. It won’t be to everyone’s taste, but those who appreciate subtle humour will lap this up.