Sealab 2021

Sealab 2021

Title card
Genre Animated Comedy
Surreal humour
Created by Adam Reed
Matt Thompson
Voices of Harry Goz (2000-2003)
Michael Goz (2003-2005)
Kate Miller
Erik Estrada
Brett Butler
Ellis Henican
Bill Lobley
MC Chris
George Lowe (2000-2002)
Theme music composer Julie Stepanek
Country of origin United States
Language(s) English
No. of seasons 4
No. of episodes 52 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s) Keith Crofford
Mike Lazzo
Producer(s) Adam Reed
Matt Thompson
Running time 12 minutes
Production company(s) Williams Street
70/30 Productions
Radical Axis
Hanna-Barbera (original footage)
Broadcast
Original channel Adult Swim
Picture format 4:3 SDTV
Original run November 23, 2000 (2000-11-23) – April 25, 2005 (2005-04-25)
Chronology
Related shows Sealab 2020
External links
Website

Sealab 2021 is an American animated television series. It was shown on Cartoon Network's adult-oriented programming block, Adult Swim. It premiered on November 23, 2000 and the final episode aired on April 25, 2005. Sealab 2021 is one of the four original Williams Street series that premiered in 2000 before Adult Swim officially launched, the others being Aqua Teen Hunger Force, The Brak Show, and Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law.

Much like Adult Swim's Space Ghost Coast to Coast, the animation used stock footage from a 1970s Hanna-Barbera cartoon, in this case the short-lived, environmentally themed Sealab 2020, along with original animation. While there was initial resistance from several of the original series' creators to the reuse of their characters, production moved forward on the series.[1] Sealab 2021 was produced by 70/30 Productions, which eventually closed in January 2009.

Contents

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Summary

Adam Reed and Matt Thompson, the creators and writers of Sealab 2021, came up with the idea for the show in 1995 while they were production assistants for Cartoon Network. They stumbled on a tape of the show Sealab 2020, and wrote new dialog. Cartoon Network passed on the show because they did not believe it was funny. Five years after quitting Cartoon Network, the two went back to the original tape, this time making the characters do what they wanted. Cartoon Network bought the show, coincidentally around the same time that Adult Swim was created.[2] The original "pitch pilot" is available on the Season 1 DVD as a special feature.

The show is set one year after the time frame of Sealab 2020. During this year, the crew's professionalism and morals have slowly degraded, causing the crew to spend more time goofing off in various ways rather than doing any serious work. None of the episodes share any connection or ongoing plot. As a result, continuity is frequently ignored; for instance, the entire installation is destroyed at the end of many episodes, and cast members are often killed in horrible ways, only to return in the following episode. While the show contains many references to the pop culture of the 1980s-2000s (decade) and appears to be set in the year 2021, John F. Kennedy is President and Robert Kennedy is his Attorney General, suggesting that it is in fact still the early 1960s. (Episode 29, "Red Dawn"). The show also contains numerous subtle references to The South, e.g. the submarine "The Hunley" and the discussion of Dollywood.

Many fans and critics felt that the show fell into a sharp decline following the death of Harry Goz (the voice of Captain Murphy) during Season 3.[3] After four seasons, the final episode aired on April 25, 2005.

Characters

Episodes

Fifty-two 11-minute episodes of Sealab 2021 were produced, as opposed to only 16 25-minute episodes of the original Sealab 2020. Sealab 2021 is rated TV-14.

Reception

In January 2009, IGN listed Sealab 2021 as the 79th best in the "Top 100 Animated TV Series".[4]

DVD releases

In addition to being available on DVD, all of the episodes are available on the "Build a Custom DVD" feature on the Adult Swim website.

DVD Name Release Date Ep
#
Additional Information
Season One July 20, 2004 13 This two disc boxset contains the first 13 episodes ("Radio Free Sealab" through "Swimming in Oblivion"). Bonus features include alternate endings for episode "I, Robot", deleted scenes, the original pitch pilot, and uncensored scenes for "Radio Free Sealab". Music during the main menu is the original recording of the theme song.
Season Two February 1, 2005 This two disc boxset contains the second set of 13 episodes ("Der Dieb" through "Return to Oblivion"). Bonus features include commentaries for all thirteen episodes, an animatic for the unseen episode "Ronnie", and other assorted bonus features - many of which involve women in bikinis. The DVD cover, used for the "Bizarro" episode, is a homage to the cover of Uncanny X-Men #100, by artist Dave Cockrum. Music during the main menu is the theme song played backwards. This season two DVD is included on Adult Swim in a Box, which was released on October 27, 2009.
Season Three July 12, 2005 This two disc boxset contains the third set of 13 episodes ("Splitsville" through "Neptunati"). Bonus features include two unseen episodes and the animatic of a third unseen episode, commentary for four episodes, and other features. Music during the main menu is the music used in the "Red Dawn" episode.
Season Four August 8, 2006 This two disc boxset contains the final 13 episodes ("Isla de las Chupacabras" through "Legacy of Laughter"). Bonus features include alternate endings and deleted scenes. For this set, Cartoon Network abandoned their usual digipak packaging design in favor of a more traditional amaray style keep case. During the main menu, underwater sound effects are used.

References

  1. ^ Holman, Curt and Kuldell, Heather. "Midnight Munchies with [Adult Swim]" (2005-03-09) Access: 2009-12-29. Quote = "Do the original creators of Birdman or Sealab ever come up to you and say, 'What the hell did you do to my character?' Crofford: Actually, yes. Ouweleen: Yes, they're mad about it."
  2. ^ "Predictability is a Disease: Adam Reed and Matt Thompson, Sealab 2021". 2003-03-13. http://www.morphizm.com/features/adult_mattandy.html. Retrieved 2007-03-24. 
  3. ^ "SCI FI Weekly: Review of Sealab 2021 Season-Three DVD". 2005-11-21. Archived from the original on 2007-01-26. http://web.archive.org/web/20070126064402/http://www.scifi.com/sfw/screen/sfw1956.html. Retrieved 2007-03-08. 
  4. ^ http://tv.ign.com/top-100-animated-tv-series/79.html

External links

Animation portal
Television portal