It was 25 years ago this week that Adult Swim debuted on Cartoon Network. In the years since, it has been the go-to place for edgy, off-kilter slices of adult animation, but in its early years, it gave aging Hanna-Barbera properties a whole new life.
Of the six shows that run on the block's first night, all but two of them were based in some part on older Hanna-Barbera titles. Everyone knows all about Space Ghost: Coast to Coast, but you can't forget its spin-off, The Brak Show, or other series like Sealab 2021 and Harvey Birdman. Much like Space Ghost, these shows brought back often forgotten Hanna-Barbera characters, and spun them into wildly diverging directions. Even in the years since, Hanna-Barbera has remained a core part of Adult Swim's identity. Several of the previously mentioned shows got spin-offs of their own, and newer series like Mike Tyson Mysteries were clear homages to the Hanna-Barbera cartoons of yesteryear.
Adult Swim has changed a lot over the years, but it's (in my opinion at least) stayed far more true to its roots than Cartoon Network has as of late. To celebrate its 25th and the impact it has had on animation, let's go back to the beginning with this piece from the Chicago Tribune, dated September 1st, 2001. It's a good preview for the block and several of its programs, which premiered the following evening. Also included in this post is a collection of several early Adult Swim promos, which I'm sure will be more than familiar for a lot of you.
'Adult Swim' hopes to make a splash
By Allan Johnson
Cartoon Network has had some success in this area with its witty and hip "Space Ghost Coast to Coast." The channel has wisely inserted the half-hour spinoff, "The Brak Show," starring the ghost host's dumbfounded talk show crewmate, into a three-hour block of animation for viewers age 18 to 34.
The umbrella block, called "Adult Swim," premieres Sunday from 9 p.m. to midnight (it encores the same time Thursdays). The shows have ratings ranging from TV-PG to TV-14. They also show why doing funny, adult animated comedy is so tricky.
There are several offerings besides the delightful "Space Ghost" and "Brak" (a sendup of those unreal 1960s family sitcoms):
"Home Movies" is an amusing but failed 1999 UPN series in which a cast of voice actors improvise scenes, and the animation is derived from what they make up.
"Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law" is a lawyer who looks like the DC Comics character Hawkman and takes on quirky criminal cases involving various Hanna-Barbera characters. The opener is a nasty custody battle between Dr. Benton Quest and his "longtime partner" Race Bannon for Quest's son Jonny and Jonny's friend Hadji. The semiserious, semi comical voice of Birdman is from Steppenwolf's Gary Cole of "Midnight Caller."
"Aqua Teen Hunger Force" is a detective unit made up of a talking milkshake, hamburger meat and an order of fries. How it sounds is just how it is—simple and flat.
"Sealab 2021," a really, really updated version of the 1970s Hanna-Barbera cartoon featuring an underwater city. How updated? A female crewmate seeks one of the males of the crew to father her child. The premise reaches, but rarely scores. Japanese "anime" series "Cowboy Bebop," another "Adult Swim" show, wasn't available.