Comedy Central will soon welcome "Freak Show" - the latest animated series to join the rank of less-than-intelligent dorm-and-beer shows like "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" and "Tom Goes to Mayor" - to its regular lineup.
Created by David Cross ("School for Scoundrels") and H. Jon Benjamin ("New York Minute"), "Freak Show" will offer humor similar to the on-screen personalities of the actors themselves.
The series follows the adventures of a group of carnival mutants who work for the Pentagon to carry out some of the nation's most unnecessary top-secret missions, including gathering the president's favorite selection of peanuts from a war-torn country.
The squad is compiled of the Bearded Clam, who is able to squirt blinding juice, Siamese twins with the power to separate, the world's tallest Nebraskan who is able to shrink up to six inches, and a premature baby whose superpower is pinpoint projectile vomiting. The final team member is a homosexual republican who has the power to transform into a burly bear.
Compared to most popular animated series on the air, the "Freak Show" cast doesn't measure up to the set precedent for blunt and inappropriate humor. The show is no "Family Guy" or "American Dad."
The premier episode creates a setting for a potentially funny series, but by the end it lacks the hysterical comedy that is necessary in a kickoff episode. However, this shouldn't prevent interested viewers from tuning in because the second episode compensates for it.
The freak squad slogan proclaims, "Failure is not an option, it's guaranteed!" Ironically, failure may be in fact guaranteed for the series if it does not opt for more comedy.
Still, it should be taken into consideration that "Freak Show" has strong competition in the genre and even the classics such as "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" and "Family Guy" were not instant hits. It took time for viewers to grasp the simplistic and childish humor popularized by these cartoons.
Today viewers are captivated by comedy that appears immature and unintelligent, and despite this realization viewers continue to tune in. Perhaps it's in the nature of college students to relieve their stress through childlike comedy, or perhaps it is that society needs this zany humor to take their minds from the stresses of the country's current state.
With fair warning, this show is not for those who appreciate serious, dry humor. However, for an individual whose evening ritual is mindlessly sitting on the couch with a bag of Cheetos, then "Freak Show" may be in fact the perfect evening addition. The series premieres Wednesday, Oct. 4.
