Superjail!

Last updated

Superjail!
Superjaillogo.png
Genre
Created by Christy Karacas [1]
Stephen Warbrick [1]
Ben Gruber [1]
Directed byChristy Karacas
Voices of
Music by Bradford Reed (season 1)
Elmer Bernstein (season 1)
Didier Leplae (season 2-4)
Joe Wong (season 2-4)
Opening theme"Comin' Home" (written and performed by Cheeseburger featuring Doc [2] )
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons4
No. of episodes36 (and 1 pilot) (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
Producers Ollie Green (season 1, 3)
David McGrath (season 2)
Shannon Prynoski (season 2)
PeeDee Shindell (season 3-4)
EditorsFelipe Salazar (season 2)
Stephen Warbrick
Running time11 minutes
Production companies Williams Street
Augenblick Studios (2007–08)
Titmouse, Inc. (2011–14)
Original release
Network Adult Swim
ReleaseSeptember 28, 2008 (2008-09-28) 
July 20, 2014 (2014-07-20)

Superjail! is an American adult animated television series created by Christy Karacas, Stephen Warbrick and Ben Gruber for Cartoon Network's late night programming block, Adult Swim. It follows the events that take place in an unusual prison. The pilot episode aired on May 13, 2007, and its first season began on September 28, 2008.

Contents

Superjail! is characterized by its psychedelic shifts in setting and plot and extreme graphic violence, which give the series a TV-MA-V rating (for graphic violence, including scenes of bloodshed, dismemberment, torture, and extreme cruelty). [3] These elements are depicted through highly elaborate animated sequences, which have been described as "Baroque and complicated and hard to take in at a single viewing". [4]

Setting and premise

The majority of Superjail! is set inside the eponymous prison, located in an alternate dimension identified as "5612". The prison is overseen by a Willy Wonka-esque individual known only as "The Warden", the amiable yet sadistic and mischievous head of Superjail with apparent shapeshifting powers who uses the prison (and prisoners) to satisfy his numerous whims. Externally, Superjail is built underneath a volcano which is itself located inside of a larger volcano. Internally, it seems to constitute its own reality, where the fabric of time and space is fluid and changes at the whim of the Warden. It has been indicated that the prison itself has a degree of sentience and that the nature of the prison is fluid according to the perceptions of the individual. Superjail's inmate population is estimated by Jared, the Warden's primary assistant, to be in excess of 70,000, though the show's creators mention that the prison processes "billions of inmates".

In the first season, each episode begins with a linear story revolving around an irresponsible scheme concocted by the Warden to satisfy some personal desire. The episode builds in both violence and surrealism into a climactic psychedelic blood bath during which dozens of inmates are brutally and gruesomely murdered either by one another or an external force. Some episode plots have no resolutions at all, with the story simply stopping when events have reached their most chaotic. Regardless, the status quo is always restored by the next episode, unless the episode is a multi-part one.

Beginning with the second season, the creators modified the format of the series to focus more on character development and story, as imagined by a revised writing staff. [5] The second-season premiere "Best Friends Forever" demonstrated an immediate break from the first season's template, focusing the episode on Jailbot and Jacknife as opposed to the Warden, setting half of the episode outside of the prison and lacking an extended murder sequence in the climax.

The third and fourth seasons of the show attempted to meld the formats of the first two seasons, continuing a focus on character development and ongoing storylines while reviving the technique of ending each episode with a complex murder sequence. [6]

Development

The series was the creation of Christy Karacas, Stephen Warbrick, and Ben Gruber. Karacas was a member of the band Cheeseburger (who provided the show's theme song "Comin' Home" until season 4), a background designer for MTV's Daria , directed Robotomy for Cartoon Network and later created Ballmastrz: 9009 . Stephen Warbrick was originally known for his work on MTV's Beavis and Butt-Head and Daria, was a digital artist on MTV's Celebrity Deathmatch and was also an animatic artist at Blue Sky Studios. Ben Gruber originally wrote for Ultracity 6060 on MTV's Cartoon Sushi and later wrote for shows like Teen Titans Go! , Breadwinners , and SpongeBob SquarePants , and would later become a story editor for Jellystone! .

Karacas originally created a student film in 1997 for MTV's Cartoon Sushi, entitled "Space War". He then partnered with Warbrick in 2001, creating another film known as "Bar Fight", which caught the attention of Cartoon Network's Adult Swim, who allowed them, and Ben Gruber, to create a show of their own. The name "Superjail!" was based on the former name of the Central North Correctional Centre.

Episodes

SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
Pilot May 13, 2007 (2007-05-13)
1 10September 28, 2008 (2008-09-28)December 7, 2008 (2008-12-07)
2 10April 3, 2011 (2011-04-03)June 12, 2011 (2011-06-12)
3 10September 30, 2012 (2012-09-30)December 9, 2012 (2012-12-09)
4 6June 15, 2014 (2014-06-15)July 20, 2014 (2014-07-20)

International broadcast

In Canada, Superjail previously aired on G4's Adult Digital Distraction block, [7] and currently airs on the Canadian version of Adult Swim. [8]

Characters

Main

Recurring

Ultra-Prison

  • The Mistress (voiced by Sally Donovan) is the female warden of Ultra-Prison (a women's prison). She had a brief one-night stand with the Warden while under the effects of Spanish fly. In the season 2 finale, she takes control of Superjail. She engaged in a relationship with Lord Stingray in the season 3 episode "Stingstress". However, after a night of intercourse with Alice, the Mistress returns Superjail to the Warden while she begins a new life-style as a hippie.
  • Bruce (voiced by Melissa Brown (Ladies' Night) and Chris McCulloch, Stephen Warbrick (Stingstress) is the head guard at Ultraprison and part of the Mistress' staff. He is the opposite counterpart to Alice and is thus also transgender.
  • Nova (voiced by Sally Donovan) –The pink robot of UltraPrison. While she appears to be the female version of Jailbot, she is also sleeker, refers to herself as 'newer model' than he is however since they both are custom built prototypes no one can be newer or older.
  • Charise (voiced by Kamala Sankaram ("Ladies' Night") and Sally Donovan in "Vacation" and onwards) is part of the staff at Ultraprison, acting as both Mistress' personal assistant and her accountant. She is the counterpart to Jared.

Influences

In a Cold Hard Flash interview, creator Christy Karacas explained influences for the show were Gary Panter, Robert Crumb, Sally Cruikshank, Mad magazine, Vince Collins, Looney Tunes , Fleischer Studios, Tex Avery, Bob Clampett, Schoolhouse Rock! , Sesame Street , the Itchy & Scratchy segments from The Simpsons , kids' art, Muppets, outsider art, underground comics and Pee Wee's Playhouse . [13]

Home releases

SeasonEpisodesRelease dateFeatures
Region 1
1 200810 + PilotFebruary 23, 2010 [14] All episodes from the first season, the music video "Comin' Home", the animatics for episodes 1,9,10, and the pilot. All featured in 2.0 Stereo and closed captioning. Dialogue remains censored in the feature episodes despite the label on the DVD stating otherwise.
2 201110March 13, 2012 [15] Episode commentary for all episodes but 2 and 7, Cheeseburger concert footage, Cheeseburger animated music video, interview with Christy Karacas and Joe Bradley, script to film comparison of episode 10, animation tests, animatics for episodes 1, 4, 6, 8, 9, and 10, "Introstring" of the episode openings. Dialogue and footage are uncensored.
3 201210July 23, 2013 [16] Animatics for episodes 1 and 7, animation tests of episodes 6 and 10, "Introstring" featurette. Dialogue and footage remain censored despite the DVD label stating otherwise.

The series is also available on HBO Max since September 1, 2020. [17]

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References

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  2. Dodero, Camille. "Les Savy Fav's Tim Harrington Was on Super Jail Last Night." Sound of the City Blog. Village Voice. November 24, 2008. Archived February 2, 2009, at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved 01 January 2009.
  3. Reynolds, Mike (April 26, 2007). "Adult Swim to Test Friday Waters". Multichannel News. Retrieved April 29, 2014..
  4. Lloyd, Robert (September 27, 2008). "Animation for adult eyes only". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 26, 2014.
  5. Going Back to 'Superjail!'
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  10. "r/movies - I am David Wain - filmmaker, drummer, magician, cuber and director of the new movie A Futile and Stupid Gesture. AMA!". reddit. February 2018. Retrieved October 12, 2018.
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  13. "Superjail Super Interview". Cold Hard Flash. March 24, 2011. Archived from the original on September 29, 2008. Retrieved October 16, 2008. Gary Panter, Crumb, Sally Cruikshank, Mad Magazine, Vince Collins, Looney Tunes, the Fleischer brothers, Tex Avery, Bob Clampett, School House Rocks [sic], Sesame Street, Itchy and Scratchy, kids [sic] art, Muppets, outsider art, underground comics add [sic] Pee Wee's Playhouse!
  14. "Superjail Season One DVD release". Tv shows on DVD. November 5, 2009. Archived from the original on February 27, 2014.
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