[Midway bags Adult Swim license] @ Gaming Target

Written by John Scalzo on February 15, 2005

News: Five original Adult Swim series are being turned into games at Midway.

Midway has signed a deal with the Cartoon Network to bring programs from their popular Adult Swim block to video games beginning in 2006. Five shows are being adapted for unspecified consoles and handhelds.

Adult Swim is Cartoon Network's popular late night programming block designed with the coveted 18-34 demographic in mind. They're weird and a little surreal, but consistently hilarious. Trying to describe them would just make my brain hurt, so here is descriptions of the five shows straight from Midway:

Aqua Teen Hunger Force - Aqua Teen Hunger Force is an animated comedy about human-sized food products that live together in a rental house in New Jersey. Master Shake, the self-appointed leader is a miserable crank. Frylock, the most reasonable member of the group, happens to be a box of french-fried potatoes. Meatwad rounds out the squad, with his - you guessed it - round mound of meat. Together they are Aqua Teen Hunger Force. Sometimes they solve the mysteries of New Jersey. More often, they hang out in their neighbor Carl's above-ground swimming pool.

The Brak Show - The Brak Show is set somewhere in outer space, but it looks an awful lot like any American suburb, circa 1965. The show follows the formative years of Brak and his best pal Zorak, both of whom attend Learnmore High. Brak's Dad, a small human man with a vaguely Latin accent, loves reading the paper and giving nonsensical advice. Brak's mother is supportive and quite a dish, in a June Cleaver as a space monster kind of way. Zorak leads Brak into all kinds of trouble like stealing the mascot of Learnmore High's rival just before the big game, overfeeding a neighbor's fish or stealing a magic candy bar. In the end, everything always turns out just fine and there's even usually time for a song.

Harvey Birdman, Attorney At Law - once a third-rate superhero, Harvey Birdman is now a third-rate lawyer trying like hell to get by in a fancy law firm. It's not clear whether Harvey actually went to law school, but he definitely knows the things to say to sound like a lawyer. And he has a suit now, that's for sure.

Sealab 2021 - The year is 2021, and deep below the ocean's surface lies a vast, high-tech compound: Sealab. This multinational effort has been designed to explore the viability of underwater colonization and uncover the mysteries of the sea. Unfortunately, it's run by a bunch of idiots.

Space Ghost Coast to Coast - Space Ghost Coast to Coast is the planet's only late-night talk show hosted by a cartoon superhero. Days when mere men in coats and ties ruled the late-night universe have gone the way of The Chevy Chase Theater, but Space Ghost is fully costumed and on the scene with an array of superpowers. Space Ghost Coast to Coast combines celebrity interviews and assorted nonsense for the weirdest talk show in the universe. Space Ghost is joined by archenemies Moltar and Zorak, whom he has enslaved as unwilling members of his late-night crew. Guests on Space Ghost Coast to Coast have been an eclectic mix, including Tenacious D, Bjork, Donny Osmond, Charlton Heston, The Ramones, Lassie and Fran Drescher. But not Don Rickles.

Don't ask me how Midway expects to create a game out of a talk show.

As part of this deal, Midway also signed a deal to produce games based on Cartoon Network properties Ed Edd and Eddy, The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy and Dexter's Labratory.

When actual games are announced for actual systems, we'll be there.