Love Stinks, but at least we have Brillo, David, and Archer.

So these days I'm back to playing the creator game.  Create a new adult animation series.  Brush the dust off the creative forces inside and bring something new into the world.  I believe the challenge to writing a successful adult animated TV series is coming up with a new way to express what people believe to be true, but don't know how to say, or by saying something that people want to say, but don't have the balls to because of the possible repercussions.

One of my friends is currently exploring Andy Warhol's filmic works and going through the process of recreating similar pieces of his own each week.  It reminds me of the power of artists like Warhol whose work in and of itself doesn't look that powerful, some might say children could have done it, and yet these works continue to fascinate and inspire artists today decades after their creation.

Warhol's Brillo Box

You might argue that Andy Warhol's Brillo Box is nothing like Michelangelo's David, but aside from the skill required to to create one verse the other I think you might have your work cut out for you to argue that angle.  I have no intention of arguing any such thing.  I'm more interested in talking about the similarities.  One of which is that they both have similar spacial oddities.  The Brillo box is oversized - as is David (aside from his wedding tackle).

But I digress, what I'm really interested in examining is the process that lead to these two geniuses creating works that caught the imaginations of their audiences at the time of their creation.  Either work, created in the time of the other, would have been inconsequential and I'd postulate that a great artist becomes so by being able to tap into creative forces that will allow them to create a work that will affect those in their society.

Michelangelo's David

To me, creating an animated show that incorporates various pieces of the societal puzzle is similar; it needs to come at a time when audiences are receptive to it otherwise the interest won't be great enough to sustain the creative process required to sustain a show.  So while the friend I mentioned previously is pursuing the illusive Warhol I am once again taping into the world of animated shows that have struck a cord with their audiences recently to see if I can ascertain as to why.  There is a caveat to that though, I'm only watching shows that also strike a cord with me. Sorry Squidbillies.

So far the winner is Archer, followed immediately by Bob's Burgers and then Clone High.  Drawn Together is good, but it didn't fully draw me in.

Archer has completely flawed characters.  Even the ones you at first root for as the underdogs succumb to their flaws and betray themselves and others, but at the same time they remain loveable.  Maybe this is because they don't pretend that their flaws don't exist.  They also take joy in their own hypocrisy, which maybe helps the viewer delight a little more in it as well.  Anyway, I'm starting to ramble now.  I'm still letting Archer permeate through my senses, but it's the first animation I've watched since seeing Robot Chicken where once I started I couldn't unglue my eyes until I'd watched every episode available.  The final second season episode of Archer "Double Trouble" airs later today and I'm waiting with baited breathe.  I'll check back in once I've seen it and then maybe my thoughts on Warhol, Michelangelo, and Archer will coalesce into something more than late night (early morning for some) ramblings.

Oh, and by the way, the working title for the new series I'm putting together is: 'Love Stinks'.  It revolves loosely around a heroine with flatulence issues.