Perfect Hair Forever

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Perfect Hair Forever
Gerald and Uncle Grandfather
Genre Animated Comedy
Creator(s) Matt Harrigan
Matt Maiellaro
Starring H. Jon Benjamin
Kim Manning
Dave Willis
Nick Ingkatanuwat
Country of origin USA
No. of episodes 7
Production
Running time 11 1/2 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel Cartoon Network
Original run November 7, 2004 – present

Perfect Hair Forever is an American comedy animated television series produced by Williams Street and airing on the Adult Swim television block.

Perfect Hair Forever is a parody of stereotypical anime clichés combined with Williams Street's now well-established style of absurdist humor first developed in series such as Space Ghost Coast to Coast, Aqua Teen Hunger Force and Sealab 2021, but Perfect Hair is closer to 12 oz. Mouse in style. The series blends frenetic visual montages and subcultural references rooted in both styles.

The series concerns a young boy named Gerald who is on a quest to find the perfect hair to remedy his premature baldness. He is joined on his aimless wanderings by an array of strange companions. Gerald is opposed by the evil Coiffio and his minions for unknown or incomprehensible reasons.

Each episode of the series thus far has featured different opening sequence music and visuals. The style and music of the end credits has also varied from episode to episode.

Perfect Hair Forever employs an ongoing serial format, a style not common to Williams Street projects due to their lack of emphasis on continuity, although this has been changing. A loosely continuing story framework occurs in 12 oz. Mouse, and Frisky Dingo has a fleshed out continuing story.

According to trailers for the series, future episodes will feature further battles between Gerald and the forces of Coiffio.

Following the first six episodes, members of the Perfect Hair Forever creative team posted on the official Adult Swim message board that they weren't interested in continuing the show to a second season, and at the Adult Swim panel at Comic-Con 2006, the cancellation of the series was announced.

However, in October 2006, Adultswim.com confirmed that Perfect Hair Forever is back in production with 16 episodes to be aired on its online streaming network The Fix. The new episodes are set to air in Q2 of 2007. Episode 7 premiered April 1, 2007, as part of Adult Swim's April Fool's Day joke.

Contents

[edit] The strange circumstances surrounding the pilot's first airing

The Perfect Hair Forever pilot first aired on November 7th, 2004, in the time slot that had been advertised as the premiere of the Squidbillies pilot. Unknown to the audience at the time, the existing Squidbillies pilot had fallen behind and wasn't ready to air. Williams Street continued advertising the Squidbillies premiere up to and including the bump directly preceding the show, which talked about wanting to make the show "perfect" for you and your "hair" "forever", revealing the title "Perfect Hair Forever." The night's confusion continued when, instead of seeing the opening titles for Squidbillies, viewers were confronted with a title card for an episode of Space Ghost called "Perfect Hair Forever", thus starting the pilot episode described below.

After the ending credits ran, a bumper card appeared, apologizing for the apparent scheduling mixup only for it to fade out to a fake "Technical Difficulties" card featuring a selection of Perfect Hair Forever's characters. This was shown on screen for several seconds, accompanied by typical music before the card faded to static whilst the Action Hot Dog's "Do da la la la la!" echoed. The card returned and the music was replaced with a techno remix of Action Hot Dog's chant.

The bumper then cut to commercials.

After the commercial break, a separate fifteen-minute special began. It featured Space Ghost attempting to conduct a discussion about the episode with Aqua Teen Hunger Force's Meatwad, Sharko (Marco's half-human, half-shark son who would join the cast of Sealab 2021 after the special's airing) and Early Cuyler, one of the characters from Squidbillies. This was actually Sharko's first appearance on Adult Swim. After several attempts to talk about the show, the conversation degenerates into a talk about the bestiality sex between Sharko's mother and Marco. This discussion degenerates so far as to cause Space Ghost to reveal that he may have put his own "Space ****" (actual word bleeped, though its obvious what it is) into Sharko's mother. This leads Sharko to shoot Space Ghost, rip his head off and eat it.

Early, in response, kills Sharko—with a combination of well placed shotgun blasts and a wild bear—and places Space Ghost's decapitated head on Meatwad, who is clearly freaked out about the whole incident. (The scene showing Space Ghost's head being retrieved from Sharko and is placed on Meatwad's head is not shown; instead, a test card censors the scene. However, Meatwad's voice and disapproval of Early's actions can be heard throughout.)

The show ends with Early shooting Space Ghost's head off of Meatwad after it announces to the audience that the next program was coming up. Early then proclaims "LET'S GO CRAZY, BABY!" and proceeds to shoot up the place. Brak's dad from The Brak Show and a second Space Ghost fall out of the rafters (much like Zorak had earlier in the program). Meatwad is left to his own devices in the studio, leaving us to wonder what the show was about and if Meatwad will be killed.

Whilst the 15 minute special has no official title, most Adult Swim fans refer to it as Anime Talk Show. The reason for this is most likely due to the fact that most people who digitally recorded it from television simply titled their files "Anime Talk Show".

After the specials, many believed that the Squidbillies series had been a hoax, and Perfect Hair Forever was a one time special. Neither were the case. Squidbillies aired its (unfinished) pilot on Friday April 1st, 2005 at 12 AM. The finished version aired Monday, October 17th at 12 AM, with the other episodes beginning the following week. The Perfect Hair Forever special aired unannounced a few more times, including on April 1st, 2005 at 3 AM, before the regular series would debut that fall.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

[edit] Episodes

[edit] Season 1: 2004-2005

The first season of Perfect Hair Forever premiered on Sunday, November 27th, 2005 at 12:30 AM Eastern Standard Time with the airing of the second episode. The pilot re-aired on November 20, 2005, though without the "Anime Talk Show" discussion spoof.

  • Episode 1 (Pilot) "Perfect Hair Forever" (Original airdate: November 7th, 2004)

    The first episode concerns a young boy named Gerald who is on a quest to find the perfect hair due to his extremely premature baldness. He seeks help from his "Uncle Grandfather", a pervert who loves to eat and watch his young schoolgirl companion, Brenda, dance around in a short mini-skirt and thong. Also of no particular help is the "Action Hot Dog", which is a hot dog which chants annoyingly "do the la la la la!" The Hot Dog's comments prompt Gerald to proclaim, "That's an annoying hot dog."

    The hero soon enters a forest, in which he encounters Cat Man (a belligerent man apparently dressed in a cat costume), an odd cloud (possibly a spoof of the Flying Nimbus from the Dragon Ball series; at one point, Uncle Grandfather refers to Gerald as "Gerald Bald Z"), Space Ghost being mauled by a Bear, and other insanity involving his grand nemesis, the evil Coiffio who is "the evil controller of cats", his Gundam-like robot companion, 'Model Robot', and his arboreal agent, the Inappropriate Comedy Tree (who proudly proclaims "I have sex with dogs... what's up with that?!").

    The end credits are written in the Wingdings font and use the song "Love Theme" by Eddie Horst which was later made available on page 2 of the Adult Swim website's downloads page [1]. The credits rolled over live action footage of a "dancing clown" windsock.

  • Episode 2 "Tivo Your eBay" (Original airdate: November 27th, 2005)

    The second episode featured an opening theme song by Brendon Small which is a stylistic parody of the opening for The Big O. This episode had Gerald walking through the forest where he left off with the "Action Hot Dog" following him as a companion. Meanwhile, Uncle Grandfather is interrupted from his "Horsey Ride" (wherein he sits on Brenda's shoulders as she runs about) by a young man dressed in a shiny purple coat who claims to be "King of all Animals". Although he is not "a nude," as per Uncle Grandfather's wishes, the young man gives a typical anime technobabble explanation about some random tragedy which is a mishmash of references to shows Yu-Gi-Oh, Blue Gender, and Wolf's Rain. Uncle Grandfather commands him to fight Brenda for three minutes while Uncle Grandfather looks at porn. After Uncle Grandfather has had his fill of erotica, he calls out to the young man in purple (who in the meantime has subdued Brenda and is spanking her), and tells him that he can see he is a "scholar of bosoms" and bestows upon him a special gift: a hamburger necklace, "For snacking," explains Uncle Grandfather. This necklace is a possible parody of Yu-Gi-Oh's Millennium Puzzle which the main character wears on a chain around his neck. He is then sent off to assist Gerald on his quest, accompanied by a group of loud, cacophonous animals crammed into an economy hatchback and the bear from the first episode. Meanwhile, Gerald is confronted by a flame-like entity named Rod, who calls himself the "Anime God". He then proceeds to demonstrate his "power" by telling Gerald and Hotdog to do his grocery shopping for him at the exact store where Catman happens to work. Coiffio sends Catman after him, but he is soon thwarted and Gerald makes his way to his destination, Tuna Mountain, albeit followed by the Inappropriate Comedy Tree.

  • Episode 3 "Cat Snatch Fever" (Original airdate: December 4th, 2005)

    The third episode featured an opening theme song by the band Melt-Banana called "Hair-cat ('Cause the wolf is a cat!)". This episode also revealed the Inappropriate Comedy Tree's real name, Norman Douglas. After telling a rather loud story about why he left Coiffio and how much he loves his new jeans, he joins Gerald and Hot Dog on their quest. However, their [relative] happiness did not last, as they were then accosted by a freak tornado. Uncle Grandfather watches in amusement from his roof, remarking "Oh man, the Tornado is about to suck up my bald nephew...heh heh heh, awesome. So much for that retarded journey". Upon going back inside, Rod suddenly appears before him. After a brief and pointless exchange of words, Rod proceeds to tell Uncle Grandfather that Gerald and Co. are still alive. Uncle Grandfather tells Rod to shut up, and proceeds to summon a hot dog bun to ensnare him. Rod disappears, and Uncle Grandfather sends the bun to find Gerald and tell him an important message. He then calls Brenda, proclaiming that he has news of the utmost importance, and drops some change on the ground. Brenda picks it up, with Uncle Grandfather watching, while eating a banana "Mmmm, bananana-na". Meanwhile, the tornado turns out to be a friendly, if somewhat unstable, creature named Terry/Twisty (he seems to only answer to one of those names at a given time, and becomes enraged if he's not referred to by the one he prefers, although Norman's loud talking has a similar effect). Coiffio, in his oddly phallic-shaped spaceship (complete with testicle-shaped engine nacelles), is bathing in his hot tub. He goes on about how he needs his robe to cover his "hot bod", while badly mispronouncing words in a Porky Pig-like manner. He goes off to talk to Catman, and once again, achieves next to nothing. The Animal King, while arguing with his animal subjects, succeeds in driving right into a ditch. Gerald, while walking along, begins to hear voices in the stump of his severed ear (cut off by Brenda in the pilot), and the scene shifts to Brenda in a dark room, whispering in Japanese, into Gerald's ear. Uncle Grandfather bursts into the room, accompanied by unidentified policemen saying that Brenda has caused the beginning of the Cat-Bun Wars! The last scene shows the armies of each side converging on each other, ready to fight for reasons unknown. After the credits, Coiffio plays a little tune, which seems to be a parody of Bob Dylan.

  • Episode 4 "Happy Suck Day" (Original airdate: December 11, 2005)

    The episode begins with the Cat-Bun Wars in progress. The Young Man and his animals (featuring MF DOOM as a giraffe) hear the battle from the ditch, which is in the middle of the battlefield. The Young Man tries to use the hamburger necklace, which is stolen by Astronomic Cat, along with his hand. The opening sequence plays, which shows neon-colored versions of all the characters flying around in the dark, with Gerald constantly walking. Space Cat takes the necklace and the Young Man's hand to Coiffio, who then demands Model Robot turn in into an A-Bomb. Model Robot does so, explodes, and sends Coiffio into space. He then sings a song about Model Robot. Coiffio drifts back to the ship, where Rod tries to buy his house from him. Coiffio commands Space Cat to run a background check on him. At the grocery store where Catman works, Catman sells a 12-pack to a baby. Coiffio parachutes in to the front of the store, just to be run over by the drunk-driving baby and shot by Catman, who doesn't care about his problems. The baby drives into the ditch with the Young Man and the animals. Uncle Grandfather tries to videotape a vacuum cleaner having sex with a cake, but is asked to end the Cat-Bun Wars. He does so by asking the leaders from the Cats (General Meow) and from the Buns (Commander Bun) to sign a peace treaty, complaining that he has things to do. The episode ends with the Young Man still stuck in the hole with the animals and the drunk baby. Coiffio is still after Gerald. Uncle Grandfather is still taping his porno about the vacuum and cake, when he is suddenly held at gunpoint by an MP. The credits roll, with neon Gerald walking far into the distance. The end theme is by DangerDoom.

  • Episode 5 "Woke Up Drunk" (Original airdate: December 25th, 2005)

    During a parody of 50s variety shows and mainstream American sitcoms, Gerald and his companions come ever closer to Tuna Mountain after several musical and laughtrack segments (In one scene see Felix the Bear wrestling with a shark, possibly a reference to a novel (Bear v Shark) by Chris Bachelder) along with a conference by worried corporate television executives over the poor audience reaction to "Japanese Bear Dad" (the bear chasing Space Ghost in Episode 1). The executives are rudely interrupted by a drunken Space Ghost looking for work, likely as a self-referential joke to the now cancelled/permanently hiatical Space Ghost Coast to Coast). Eventually we see Gerald and his companions continue walking toward Tuna Mountain. At the end, we see three military policemen in bed, apparently having sex though none of them move (they just remain in their usual "attention" position, and they blame standards for not allowing them to thrust). The end theme is by Diplo.

  • Episode 6 "Tusk" (Original airdate: December 18th, 2005)

    The ending theme song for this episode is performed by Widespread Panic, although the episode opens only with the mangled statement, "We now journey the join... uhh... already in progress." Twisty and Norman Douglas get into a knife fight while Gerald and Hotdog go off without them. After Gerald runs into Catman and his trailer in the forest, and is offered LSD by Rod, Coiffio shows up on an oversized motorcycle whose spokes are made of hot dogs, and challenges Gerald to a race ("choppa-doo"). In exchange for Coiffio agreeing to sell his house to him, and Gerald agreeing to buy Rod's Journey tickets, Rod magically transports the two (along with most of the other characters) to a racetrack, where buns (singing Hotdog's trademark "Do Da La La La") and cats (meowing) fill the stands, and the Young Man and the giraffe provide the commentary from the booth. Catman releases an alligator onto the track to attack Gerald (and prevent him from "wictory"), but it goes after Coiffio instead. Astronomic Cat lifts the alligator off of Coiffio's bike and onto Gerald's, but Hotdog transforms into a "wienercycle" and saves Gerald by dueling with the gator. Gerald appears to have the advantage when Coiffio's hair falls off, but he abandons the race when he sees a chance to launch his bike to Tuna Mountain.

[edit] Season 2: 2007

According to Adult Swim's website Season 2 will contain 16 episodes and be exclusive to the Adult Swim Fix. The new episodes will start airing on The Fix in Quarter 2 of 2007.

  • Episode 7 "Return to Balding Victory" (Original airdate: April 1st, 2007)

Gerald wakes up after his crash and continues his journey to Tuna Mountain. Soon the forest and all surrounding areas fall victim to a friendly flood named Wetsy. The ending theme was performed by Widespread Panic.

Episode 7 aired midnight April 1, 2007 as part of Adult Swim's April Fool's Joke. This joke spanned the entire block, beginning with this episode and then airing all of season 1 in reverse order and in the style of old VHS fansubs, complete with Engrish subtitles on most episodes. Occasionally, instead of the Engrish subtitles, transcripts from other Adult Swim shows were presented instead. It replaced scheduled premieres of Bleach, Blood Plus, and Eureka 7. (The prank was hinted to though, as the schedule listed the same episodes that were to be shown that weekend for the next weekend ahead of time)

[edit] Characters

  • Gerald Bald Z - The main protagonist of the story, Gerald, is a young boy suffering from extremely premature hair loss (and a missing ear, severed in the pilot), going off on a journey to acquire "Perfect Hair Forever" (more than likely a reference to the golden Super Saiyan hair, found in Dragonball Z, hence the title of the show). He is portrayed as a sometimes melancholy, yet optimistic young lad who believes that his goal is possible, and is blissfully unaware of the real world, which often leads into strange, meandering monologues. He seems rather unimpressed by everything, as he speaks in a monotonous tone. He wanders about on his "retarded journey", accompanied by Action Hotdog, Norman Douglas, and Terry/Twisty. He's not entirely sure what he's doing; Uncle Grandfather threw him out before explaining the true nature of the quest.
  • Action Hotdog - Gerald's first "helper" to join his journey, and a gift from Uncle Grandfather, Hotdog is a hotdog (with a visible butt). One that flies around and is only capable of uttering the words "Doo da la-la-la-la-la-la laaaaa la-la la-la!". The pitch and intonation of his singing seems to form his entire vocabulary, as that's the only thing he ever says. Despite this, most people just tolerate him, with the notable exception of Catman, who promptly swatted him away, exclaiming "'F' off, hotdog!". Gerald has grown increasingly indignant towards Action Hotdog. Recently, however, Hotdog has proven himself useful by turning into a "weinercycle" and dueling a crocodile that attacked Gerald. He is also the reason Gerald is on the journey to Tuna Mountain, whether or not the quest for perfect hair forever can be realised there remains to be seen.
  • Norman Douglas - Formerly known as the Inappropriate Comedy Tree, Norman was originally an agent of Coiffio, whose task was to follow Gerald and watch him. However, by the 3rd episode, he became fed up with the man's oppressiveness, and deserted him. He made sure to save enough money to buy some new jeans before leaving. He seems incapable of speaking quietly, and his loud talking often annoys those around him. Distrusts Terry/Twisty.
  • Coiffio - The main "villain" of the series, Coiffio is a self-centered old man with an enormous, multi-coloured coif atop his head, who otherwise looks like a more fit version of Uncle Grandfather. He is also much shorter than Uncle Grandfather, needing "Platform Sandals" in order to look taller. He does little more than bark orders to his subordinates, and his obliviousness rivals Gerald's. He speaks in a very thick pseudo-Cajun accent with a speech impediment which becomes a running gag throughout the series. He travels about in a large, phallic spaceship with a somewhat implausible outdoor hot tub, but he has also been seen inside a small house in a rural neighbourhood, which he managed to sell to Rod in the 4th episode. Exactly what his objective is remains unclear, but he does display an overwhelming desire to kill Gerald, who, for some reason he thinks is Uncle Grandfather's son (and not his Nephew/Grandson). He also seems to enjoy karaoke and jumping up and down on mattresses. Coiffio is also the "Evil Controller of Cats," though it is unsure just how he gained the title; Indeed, he has displayed very little control over cats. His color-changing coif eventually falls off in episode 5 in a motorcycle race against Gerald, revealing his true hair, which is plain white (It closely resembles and possibly is Captain Murphy's hair from Sealab 2021, another Adult Swim show). It is also strange to note that his "chopper" has hot dog rims, perhaps indicating either the motorcycle was stolen/modified by Coiffio from Uncle Grandfather or there is a deeper connection between the two.
  • Model Robot - Model Robot appears to be Coiffio's constant cohort, but seems to be more of a burden on Coiffio than helpful. Coiffio often tells Model Robot to transform into whatever particular thing he needs at that particular moment, but Model Robot takes so long to transform, it is never actually seen on the show that he changed into his final shape. Model Robot also seems unable to move his arms or legs. Coiffio, who dislikes Model Robot, often refers to him as "Model Asshole" or "Model Douchebag." In Episode 3 (Cat Snatch Fever), Coiffio refers to Model Robot as "A H," referencing his nickname from Episode 2. It should be noted that Perfect Hair Forever is the first [adult swim] program to actually use the word "asshole" without being censored (unless you count the episode of Harvey Birdman with Quick Draw). Model Robot resembles the appearance of a Gundam robot, or more specifically a Super Deformed Gundam. His transformation sequence is a reference to Transformers and other giant robot series. In Episode 2, he reveals that he is in a romantic relationship with someone named Terry. Model Robot apparently dies in Episode 4 by turning himself into an A-bomb and exploding. Given the nature of Adult Swim programming, it is possible that he will not "stay dead". He also may be rebuilt due to some parts remaining. His mutilated head was seen in Gerald's possession in Woke Up Drunk, and again in "Return to Balding Victory" as Brenda was putting it up on a shelf.
  • Catman - He is described as being the "most despicable of all of Coiffio's henchmen", although, Catman rarely does anything of the sort. He is a grumpy, fat man in a cat suit (in Episode 6, he repeatedly suggested it is not a suit at all) who'd rather sit around and groom himself all day than fight. He lives in a large, litterbox-shaped house, and has been seen working at a convenience store (their mascot seems to be Model Robot). The only vaguely evil thing he's done so far, apart from shooting Norman Douglas and Coiffio, is swat Action Hotdog away with his claws, which did little to deter him. He hates being disturbed, and has little loyalty to his rainbow-haired master. He often pulls out an enormous Gatling gun when angered, and actually shot at Norman Douglas with it in the 2nd episode and shot (and hit) Coiffio with it in the 4th episode. His attitude toward Gerald is rather ill-defined; in one episode, he said he didn't care about Gerald at all, while in another, he claimed that he left Gerald alone because he thought his target was someone named "Paul" (most likely because of a misunderstanding due to Coiffio's speech impediment.) It is also discovered in "Return to Balding Victory" that Catman, like regular house cats, are afraid of water, as he is seen shooting the flood Wetsy created with his gatteling gun.
  • Uncle Grandfather - Described by producer Matt Harrigan as a "bald, pot-bellied, dirty old man", Uncle Grandfather is Gerald's father figure of sorts. Or at least he's supposed to be. He spends almost all of his time snacking, watching his mistress Brenda put on lewd displays, or reading porn, and is almost incapable of speaking coherent sentences and speaks in an odd, pseudo-Japanese drawl, similar to Engrish. He seems to think it's erotic to see a vacuum cleaner having sex with a cake ("Frost his bag! Frost his bag!"). He also seems to have the power to summon large, fast food-related objects, most of the time Hot Dogs and Hamburgers. He also claims to be able to capture anything he desires, "in buns", seen when he summons a giant chomping hot dog bun to chase Rod the anime god. In episode 4, Uncle Grandfather tells Coiffio in a phone conversation that he has no son. If this is true, Uncle Grandfather would be Gerald's biological uncle and grandfather if his daughter is Gerald's mother and his brother is Gerald's father. Uncle Grandfather is a parody of the anime cliché of the perverted old man, particularly perverted wise old masters of some religious or martial art (see Master Roshi of the Dragon Ball mythos, Jiraiya from Naruto, Rei Hino(Sailor Mars)'s grandfather from Sailor Moon, and Happosai from Ranma 1/2).
  • Brenda - Brenda is Uncle Grandfather's scantily-clad, pink-haired mistress. She does little more than serve him food and provide a view of her (sometimes spinning) buttocks, although she has been known to take up a katana (which has a phallic object as a hilt) and fight at Uncle Grandfather's command. She usually doesn't speak much beyond grunts and screams, although she did once speak in an unintelligible language. Her name is said only by Uncle Grandfather. In the 3rd episode, she talked to Gerald through his severed ear. According to Uncle Grandfather, she is somehow the cause of the Cat-Bun Wars. Rod, in a manner recalling Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi's references to Princess Leia in The Empire Strikes Back, believes that Brenda is "our only hope."
  • Terry/Twisty - The most recent person to join Gerald's asinine quest, Terry/Twisty is a living tornado that appears to suffer from dissociative identity disorder. He's normally a very kind, modest creature, but whenever he's angered (and at seemingly random intervals), his eyes glow red and his voice takes on a demonic tone. The most common triggers for this are when people say his name wrong and Norman's perpetual screaming. Perhaps the same "Terry" that Model Robot claims as a boyfriend. Gets in a fight with Norman Douglas and still attempts to knife him in the back. He is also known to smoke cigarettes and because of his "Gollum Complex", Terry is apparently the Good side, and Twisty is the Bad side. Terry is usually conveyed with wide eyes and a smile, and Twisty with angry square eyes and a frown.
  • Young Man - The "King of All Animals", as he calls himself, is a young, enthusiastic man in a bright purple suit apparently from the Ministry of Planning. He is charged by Uncle Grandfather to aid Gerald in his quest to "find the Wig Box". Overall he is quite similar to Gerald, both with an eccentric, quixotic quest (regarding a series of apocalyptic anime gibberish sounding statements), and a total obliviousness to the absurdity of his surroundings. His most common utterance is "You don't understand...!" He travels in a red economy hatchback crammed with a bunch of animals, which he, ironically, has little to no degree of control over. Eventually loses his right hand in Episode 4, which magically returns in Episode 5 when Gerald and the gang walk past him and the giraffe. He seems to have a bit of a crush on Brenda, announcing to one of his animal companions that he'll "win the heart of that girl" as he leaves Grandfather's house where she attacked him (beginning a fight that ended with her over his knee and red palm prints on her buttocks). He is most likely meant to be a parody of anime bishonen.
  • Rod, the Anime God - The so-called "god" of anime, Rod is a fiery entity with a penchant for popping up in people's faces when they least expect it. He usually brings some kind of useless news with him, which the recipient often ignores. Most recently, he showed up at Coiffio's ship, stating that he bought his house. Currently trying to find ways to get money and pay Coiffio for his house. In Episode 6, Rod used his godly powers to transport the entire cast into a motorcycle deathrace. When he is facing left, the ofuda on his head reads "Choudzume" in Japanese (meaning "sausage"). He also likes to say pointless things to people, like "Hey... if I turn this way, do I look like Antonio Banderas?" Norman Douglas once acquired LSD from him.
  • Space Cat/Astronomicat/Pedro - A cat that can grow wings and travel in space under the control of Coiffio, who is sent out by Coiffio to complete any sort of mission he deems fit at the time. Mostly used for information retrieval but stole the hand of the Young Man and placed an alligator on Gerald's motorcycle in Episode 6. Space Cat is not its true name, but whenever Coiffio tries to pronounce it, he always trips up on the first word and defaults to "Space Cat". Coiffio also refers to him as Pedro.
  • Secret Police - These men have shown up in various places throughout the show since the pilot, though their true purpose remains unknown. They have always been depicted standing at attention (aside from a brief shot in one of the openings), holding submachine guns. They all look identical to each other, and show up in many random spots, most recently sticking up Uncle Grandfather as he tried to shoot his porno movie. They are apparently homosexual, as 3 of them were seen lying in bed together, saying that they would be having sex if standards allowed them to thrust at each other. (Coincidentally, it was also the first time they ever spoke in the series.)
  • Space Ghost - Space Ghost or a reference to Space Ghost has appeared in every episode of PHF. He also hosted the Anime Talk Show after the original Pilot airing. His first appearance was of him being chased by a bear in the Pilot (he subsequently woke up on a hill and said "I might... should... sit down"). He can also be spotted right before the credits roll, behind a tree (but in front of Norman Douglas). His appearance in episode 2 is less direct, as it's just his ship (the Phantom Cruiser) flying around during the Wolf montage (and Young Man's subsequent explanation of the Universe's peril). Less noticeable is a brief shot in which his legs can be seen underneath the Convenience Store of Death where Catman works. In episode 3 he can be spotted lying under a table after the credits. In Episode 4, Space Ghost is diabolically hidden, lying at the bottom of Coiffio's pool in space. In Episode 5, a drunken Space Ghost appears asking some Japanese officials for work. They just laugh, and as Space Ghost leaves, the bear shoots him. The bear may or may not be a reference from Space Ghost Coast to Coast Episode 91, "Idlewild South," in which Space Ghost gets drunk, and kills a bear (whose ghost goes to heaven). Space Ghost later crashes his Phantom Cruiser, and goes to heaven, where the ghost bear shoots him with a shotgun. In Episode 6, a tiny Space Ghost appears over Gerald's shoulder when he mentions "weird things." The animation used is from the Space Ghost: Coast to Coast Episode 91, "Idlewild South," in which Space Ghost gets drunk, and decides to do the robot. Later in the same episode, Coiffio introduces himself with a guitar. The music playing is from Episode 88, "Whipping Post," of Space Ghost Coast to Coast. In Episode 7, Space Ghost is seen running from the tidal wave just before it floods the forest and later on TV hosting a talk show.
  • Felix the Bear - An enigmatic bear that has appeared all over the place since the pilot. He was first seen chasing Space Ghost about, and later joined the Young Man's group of animals. After flying off with his jetpack, he proceeded to go off to his own designs. He has most recently been seen on several failed sitcoms, ranging from one that casts him as a crooked father to one that casts him as a murderous ghost student. The network in charge is greatly concerned over the failing ratings of his shows, and as he walks out of the conference room, he shoots Space Ghost before flying off again. (The bear's very first appearance was in the Space Ghost Coast to Coast Episode "Old Kentucky Shark."It was also the shark's first appearance as the episode was based around him. Later they were seen among the crowd of animals at the end of the 1st-season "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" episode "Escape from Leprechaupolis", The Shark is also "the boss" in 12 Oz. Mouse. Both are William Street creations.) The bear talks in "Happy Suck Day", and sounds like Randy Newman.
  • Sherman the Giraffe - Of all of the Young Man's animal companions, Sherman is the most often seen and the most vocal. He usually either complains about being hungry or points out the obvious to his master. He and Felix are apparently friends, as they are often seen together. Sherman is voiced by rapper Daniel Dumile AKA MF DOOM.
  • Wetsy - Wetsy is one of the newest characters to appear on Perfect Hair Forever. His first appearance is on "Return to Balding Victory". His face is almost exactly of that of Terry. He is basically a huge pool of water, which floods pretty much everywhere, and can also transform into a tidal wave, which attacks Gerald, his party, Coiffio's house, and Rod.

[edit] Easter Eggs

In addition to the various anime/cartoon references, PHF has included several visual Easter Eggs.

  • Clown Planet - Various PHF episodes have veiled references to Clown Planet. In Aqua Teen Hunger Force, in the episode "The Clowning", a clown wig turns its wearers into unwitting clowns. In fact, Clown Planet is the birthplace of these wigs. In Episode 2, at approximately 4:40, a white planet with red nebulae around it (its hair) comes into alignment with a smaller red planet, which lines up perfectly as its clown nose. When the clown face and nose align, a faint honking sound (similar to the honking from "The Clowning") can be heard. In episode four, Clown Planet makes another appearance, at the very beginning of the episode, with Astronomical Cat flying in front of it. We see Clown Planet again during Episode 5, while Gerald is singing his "I'm a Failure" song. At the end of this song, Gerald crashes into Clown Planet's 'nose moon'.
  • 12 Oz. Mouse Reference - In episode 5 "Woke Up Drunk" and episode 6 "Tusk", 12 Oz. Mouse references are made. In Woke Up Drunk, there is a small framed picture of Mouse Fitzgerald (protagonist of 12 Oz. Mouse) outside the network executive's office where Space Ghost encounters the bear. In Episode 6, the blotter of LSD Rod offers to Gerald clearly has a picture of Skillet (Fitz's sidekick from 12 Oz. Mouse) printed on it.
  • Aqua Teen Hunger Force Reference - In episode 2 after Gerald falls asleep in the woods, and the scene shifts up to Coiffio's ship, a small Master Shake can be seen on the right side of the cockpit. In the "fansub" versions of the episodes, several subtitles for lines are in fact lines from ATHF episodes (generally totally unrelated to the line actually being said).
  • Bob Dylan Reference - In episode 5, "Woke Up Drunk", at approximately 1:33, an external view of Japanese Bear Dad's house is shown, with the street sign in full view on the left of the shot. The road that Japanese Bear Dad apparently lives on is called Desolation Row, an obvious reference to a popular song by Bob Dylan.

[edit] Notes

  • Concerning the name of Uncle Grandfather, it should be noted that in Japanese the formal name for uncle is "ojisan" [伯父さん] and the formal name for grandfather is "ojiisan" [御祖父さん]. The great similarity between the 2 words may be the origin of his name. This would make sense, since many things in the series indicate that the creators have a fairly good understanding of Japanese (e.g., signs with Japanese characters on them, short spoken phrases, etc.). According to an Adult Swim bump which charted Gerald's convoluted family tree, Uncle Grandfather is, in fact, both of these. It is also possible that his name is a reference to the stereotype of hero's in anime being aided by either a grandfather or uncle of advanced age.
  • Although DANGERDOOM has a song called 'Perfect Hair Forever' on their debut album 'The Mouse & The Mask' inspired by the show (and a sequel to that song, 'Perfect Hair Forever II', on their downloadable EP 'Occult Hymn'), neither song is ever used in it's entirety on the show, though the ending of the episode "Woke Up Drunk" does have a sampling of 'Perfect Hair Forever' in the end (This episode is also where the sound bytes from the two songs are taken from). The song used at the end of the episode titled 'Happy Suck Day' is in fact a segment from the Danger Doom song 'Space Ho's, a musical take on 'Space Ghost Coast to Coast'.

[edit] External links

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