Kent State offers course on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim

I never thought my favorite superheroes would be a wad of meat, a milkshake cup and a box of fries.

In reality, they’re not superheroes at all, even though the show is called “Aqua Teen Hunger Force.” But they do save me after a hard day of classes, meetings and tons of homework with their quirky humor and randomness.

“ATHF” is just one of the many shows that air on Adult Swim. Adult Swim is a lineup on Cartoon Network that airs from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m. with repeats of the shows until 5 a.m., Saturday through Thursday. Even though Friday nights are for the kids, adults can still dive into their favorite shows on the Adult Swim Web site.

The awesome name for this lineup was picked for the allotted time adults have to swim in the pool, before all the kids come back, according to the Adult Swim Web site.

According to Ron Russo, author of the book Adult Swim and Comedy, Ted Turner of TBS obtained the Hanna-Barbera cartoon library in 1991 with full control from 1993 to 1994. Cartoon Network producer Mike Lazzo and many others started “Space Ghost Coast to Coast,” “The Brak Show,” “Sealab 2021” and “Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law.”

Russo explains in his book that the lineup’s birth happened Sept. 2, 2001. The lineup, from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. included the shows listed above produced by Lazzo and “Home Movies” and “Cowboy Bebop.” After four months, this shifted to 11 p.m. to 2 a.m.

One reason Adult Swim is so successful is some of the shows are cheap to make. For example, “ATHF” costs $60,000 per episode, while one episode of “The Simpsons” costs around $1 million dollars.

And let’s not forget about the Fox rejects, such as “Family Guy” and “Futurama.” “American Dad” was also on the Sunday night Adult Swim lineup, but was booted according to Russo. Viewers love these shows, and because of the smashing DVD sales, “Family Guy” has returned and new DVD movies of “Futurama” are soon to come, according to www.gotfuturama.com.

Russo, the only professor to ever submit a plan to teach a course about Adult Swim, began teaching the class in Fall 2004. Kent State is the only university in the world to have a class about this lineup, and no permission was needed to teach it, either.

“The Adult Swim creators are happy with the recognition,” Russo said. “They are super nice and super supportive.”

The Spring 2006 course of Adult Swim is every Monday, and there are about 30 students with equal numbers of males and females. Russo said the course uses teleconferencing – letting the class interact with the creators of the shows that appear on Adult Swim. The creators of “Home Movies” and “Tom goes to the Mayor” are just a couple of creators who have talked with students.

Russo is also close to the creator of “The Oblongs,” Angus Oblong, who created the cover of Russo’s book. The book contains three to four pages on each show and has a glossary of terms the students need to know for the midterm.

Adult Swim and Comedy can be bought for around $20 on Amazon.com.

Students also watch and research information about the shows and find out how the shows are put together. The final exam consists of writing about any show or character.

The “Aqua Teen Hunger Force” movie comes out at the end of March.

Contact features correspondent Carrie Circosta at [email protected].