TripTank
| TripTank | |
|---|---|
| Genre |
Sketch comedy Animated |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 8 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 22 minutes |
| Production company(s) | ShadowMachine Films |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Comedy Central |
| Picture format | 1080i (16:9 HDTV) |
| Original run | April 2, 2014 – present |
TripTank is an American animated television series which premiered April 2, 2014 on Comedy Central.[1] The series has been renewed for a 20-episode second season.[2]
The show is made up of various sketches, portrayed by multiple animation styles and writers. Although no direct correlation exists between the different stories, a continued theme of dark satire prevails throughout.
Voicing talent includes Bill Oakley, Wayne Brady, Bob Odenkirk, Curtis Armstrong, Nat Faxon, Tom Kenny, Rachel Butera, Larry David, Yotam Perel, Zach Galifianakis, Kumail Nanjiani, Brett Gelman, Kyle Kinane, John DiMaggio, Duncan Trussell, and Joey "CoCo" Diaz among others.[1]
Recurring Sketches
Several sketch characters and scenarios recur within the series sometimes inter-spaced throughout the same episode or only once per episode. These include:
- TripTank Reception - A scenario where the receptionist for the animated broadcasters of the show fields calls from random people. Some callers react with extreme distaste in the show's content, while others praise it in high regards, and even a small number of calls are completely random and abstract. The receptionist normally responds by putting people on hold while he "transfers them to that department". Additionally, a janitor and friend to the receptionist usually skulks about the lobby complaining about his job or talking the receptionist into doing things that he normally wouldn't by himself.
- Versus - A show hosted by Death, in which two groups of unfairly matched combatants are pitted against each other in a fight to the death. Examples include a 3rd grade soccer team versus the Mongolian Horde.
- Jeff and Some Aliens - Jeff, who is considered by the aliens to be the most average man on earth, has his personal space and privacy invaded by three aliens who seem to exist to torment him emotionally. It is later revealed that they are on a mission to judge humanity to see if it is worthy of survival or extermination by the aliens' overlords.
- Suicidal Attention Whore Chicken - A short about a chicken who gets people to do whatever he wants by making suicide threats. Chicken publicly threatens to commit suicide for many reasons that range from gaining publicity, to making himself happier, to just downright pissing people off.
- Dick Genie - A show about a nerdy teenage boy named Billy who has a magical Dick Genie that he is able to summon by masturbating. Dick Genie grants all of Billy's wishes based upon his perverted sexual fantasies. However, when he does this, his wishes always backfire on him and it's not always easy for him to undo his wish.
- Suck it Gary - Three guys do horrible things to pull "friendly" pranks on a guy named Gary. The three of them go out of their ways to attack, horrify, terrorize, and basically ruin the life of Gary just so they can tell him to "Suck it."
- 4:20 - Normally short, even by the shows standards, it shows various people going through seemingly serious situations until they are asked what time it is. A three eyed hippy responds with "4:20" before getting the other sketch characters high on marijuana.
- Bethiffer - A short about an obese teenage girl, Bethany, and her friend, Jennifer, who always fight with each other despite being best friends.
- Flower Teen Kill Team Go - An anime style short about a four girl team of Japanese teenage hitmen sent to Texas to take over the local drug cartels under the guise of transfer students. They also deal with the usual struggles of high school including driver's education and dating.
Episodes
Season 1 (2014)
| No. in series |
No. in season |
Title | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Shovels Are for Digging" | April 2, 2014 |
| Ricky the Rocketship takes some friends to the moon, a paranoid and delusional homeless man hosts a talk show, and "the birds and the bees" talk gets an update. | |||
| 2 | 2 | "Crossing the Line" | April 9, 2014 |
| A drunk hobo faces off against six gorillas, a group of friends plots revenge on Gary, and Mr. There's Got To Be A Better Way tries to solve world hunger. | |||
| 3 | 3 | "Game Over" | April 16, 2014 |
| A man falls in love with an artificial vagina, Roy becomes obsessed with a video game, and a cult leader struggles to keep his followers interested in his revelations. | |||
| 4 | 4 | "The Green" | April 23, 2014 |
| A third grade soccer team takes on the Mongolian horde, the aliens help Jeff through a breakup, and Jesus makes a terrible mistake. | |||
| 5 | 5 | "Ahhh, Serenity" | April 30, 2014 |
| A spokesman hawks a device that allows women to pee silently, a trucker has a life-changing experience while on mushrooms, and Billy meets the D**k Genie. | |||
| 6 | 6 | "Candy Van Finger Bang" | May 7, 2014 |
| A Chinese man looks for an American mail-order bride, two piñatas come to a terrifying realization, & Bethiffer goes shopping for lingerie. | |||
| 7 | 7 | "Roy & Ben's Day Off" | May 14, 2014 |
| Larry David has lunch with Larry Flynt, an “Animal Hitman” takes out various pets, and Gary’s day out playing mini-golf with his son is interrupted by pranks on “Suck It, Gary.” | |||
| 8 | 8 | "XXX Overload" | May 21, 2014 |
| Jeff must find someone to have sex with to prevent aliens from destroying the planet, a doctor performs magic tricks while delivering babies, and Bethiffer tries out a virtual reality video game. | |||
Season 2
TripTank has been renewed for a 20-episode second season.[2]
Reception
The first two episodes of TripTank were met with very mixed reviews, as A.V Club stated; "TripTank is a mixed bag by default. If the good stuff doesn’t stick around long enough, the silver lining is that the stinkers and the duds don’t last much longer."[3]
General feeling among reviewers was of much the same mind, with some reviewers calling the show "rude and irrelevant",[4] while some noted that the better quality sketches were enough to overcome the failure of the negative sketches, and compared the show to Liquid Television.[5]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Bibel, Sara (December 11, 2013). "Comedy Central Sets Winter Schedule Including 'Workaholics', 'Tosh.0' & 'Inside Amy Schumer'". Zap2it. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Andreeva, Nellie (June 9, 2014). "Comedy Central Gives Series Orders To ‘Another Period’ & ‘Idiotsitter’, Renews ‘Inside Amy Schumer,’ Review’ & ‘TripTank’". Deadline.com. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
- ↑ "A.V Review".
- ↑ "Alibi Review".
- ↑ "MetaCritic Review".