8. Colonel Bleep
Another weirdo, limited-animation series from the 1950's, Colonel Bleep has the distinction of being the first ever color cartoon made for television. It is also the first, and only, program to focus on the unlikely friendship between a gumdrop-headed, unicycle-riding extraterrestrial (the title character), a cowboy marionette named Squeek, and an unfrozen caveman with the unfortunate name of Scratch. Over 104, 5-minute episodes, Bleep, Squeek and Scratch clashed with various evildoers, most of which wore dark clothing and had their name preceded by the word "Black," righting wrongs and saving the world from imminent danger, always while barely seeming animated at all.
I'm not going to lie: a big Hollywood reboot of Colonel Bleep might be appealing. There is enough oddball charm to the concept (An alien who hurtles through the stars on an intergalactic unicycle! A living cowboy puppet! A caveman named Scratch!) that in the right hands, a Colonel Bleep movie could be a real crowd pleaser, provided the crowd is mostly made up of weirdos like me.
Verdict: Weird
9. Elfen Lied
Elfen Lied is a challenging piece of visceral entertainment about betrayal, disillusionment, loneliness, unrequited love, jealousy, intolerance, genocide, violence, hatred, and pain. It is depressing, thought-provoking, and at times extremely difficult to look at, making it perhaps one of the most rewarding experiences I've ever had during my years of watching Japanese animation. It's been said so much that it has become cliche, but Elfen Lied provides a more meaningful exploration of the human condition in 13, 20-minute animated episodes than most live-action American dramatic series do over multiple seasons. To put it quite simply, Elfen Lied kicks major ass.
Verdict: Sick, Twisted, Awesome
The few individuals who have seen and been delighted by my "Rats Off To Ya" t-shirt--a group that includes at least two Disney World employees, one of which helped me into a go-cart on the Tomorrowland Speedway--are already familiar with Tom Goes to the Mayor, a limited-animation gem from the brilliantly twisted minds of Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim. Tom tells the story of one Mr. Tom Peters, a hapless visionary who wants to improve conditions in Jefferton, perhaps the dumbest town in America (Think Springfield if it were populated by nothing but thousands of Homer Simpsons) for his lumpy, misshapen stepsons and caustic, morbidly-obese, scooter-bound wife, but is thwarted at every step by Jefferton's well-meaning, but completely batshit crazy mayor.
Tom Goes to the Mayor was very polarizing when it first aired in 2004. I was introduced to the program by my brother-in-law and, for me, it was love at first sight. Tom Goes to the Mayor established Tim and Eric as new comic luminaries and rebooted my interest in Adult Swim's programming. If it hadn't been for Tom, I would've never returned in time for Squidbillies or Tim and Eric's epic follow-up, Awesome Show Great Job.
Verdict: Sick, Twisted, Hilarious, Weird
11. Adventure Time
There is so much to love about Cartoon Network's new series Adventure Time--the quirky character design, the fanciful landscapes, the edgy writing, the oddball theme song, John DiMaggio's unmistakably awesome voice--that I've had no problem whatsoever deeming it my Lost replacement after that show ends its epic run this Sunday. Sure, I'm going to miss Jack, Not- Locke, and fun time Hurley, but Jake (the dog) and Finn (the human) will soften the blow, I'm sure.
Why do I love Adventure Time so damn much? Well, it only took one little scene to make me fall in love forever. Jake and Finn are walking through a magical forest and Finn starts to sing, his voice auto-tuned to perfection. Jake asks, "Hey, Finn, how do you sing like that?" And Finn answers, "Remember that computer I swallowed?" Gold!
Verdict: Hilarious, Weird
