If you are not familiar with the name Adult Swim, there is no telling where you have been for the last decade and a half. Since 2001, AS has been bringing the best ten-hour chunk of nightly programmed cartoons that the American adult demographic could ever ask for. From extremely successful originals, to numerous syndicated programs, Adult Swim has become arguably the number one outlet for the highest rated adult animation series on television today.
Starting mid-September of this year, Adult Swim held a series of fifteen free pop-up drive-in events across the country. The events were to feature “things you’ve never seen” – namely, unaired episodes of upcoming and current AS series, as well as some arbitrary bits done in the enigmatic style that Adult Swim is known for. We had a chance to attend the second-to-last date of tour, which took place in the parking lots of Pasadena's Rose Bowl Stadium.
The tour was backed by a set of third-party sponsorships, such as Cricket Wireless, Sony, and Hershey’s. This allowed for a number of enviable giveaways including a fully loaded Playstation 4 bundle bestowed upon the winner of a round of cat-themed trivia before the main event. The trivia questions were based on information ranging from the average number of whiskers a cat has (24 apparently), to the fact that King Henry I declared 60 bushels of corn to be the price for killing a cat. An extended preview of Paramount's new movie Scout's Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse was also shown before the show. As far as the grub situation goes, popcorn and Jolly Ranchers were being given out for free, compliments of Hershey's. Attendants also had their choice of three different food trucks: The Grilled Cheese Truck, Dogtown Dogs, and Crepe'n Around (the sautéed vegetable crepes were delicious).
The night’s main entertainment began about an hour and a half after the gates opened, and the roster was as follows:
- A semen riddled second-season premiere of Mike Tyson Mysteries, which officially aired on Adult Swim this week
- An episode of Tim and Eric’s Bedtime Stories involving testicular implants and priestly extortion
- A sneak peak of an upcoming season of the demonic doggy series Mr. Pickles
- An episode of the visual wonder that is Dream Corp LLC, the brainchild of former “The Office” star John Krasinski
- A clip from the upcoming season of the Ebonic show Black Jesus
- A music video based on the notoriously politically-incorrect Squidbillies
- An inexplicably disconcerting Claridryl commercial, Adult Swim’s faux brand of allergy medicine
- A preview clip of the forthcoming series Neon Joe, Werewolf Hunter
- Lastly, a full episode from the coming season of Emmy-winning series Robot Chicken
We were lucky to be able to attend the hilariously bizarre tour before it ended off in a Sacramento Pumpkin Patch on Halloween. Keep an eye out for new episodes coming out on Adult Swim!