Throwback Thursday: Aqua Teen Hunger Force ‘Cybernetic Ghost of Christmas Past from the Future’

Spoilers Below

Gentlemen, Behold! I am writing a review for Aqua Teen Hunger Force! In fact, I’m writing about one of the best episodes of the show. The Cybernetic Ghost of Christmas past from the Future.

Of course, my usual preamble.

Guys, Aqua Teen is a very unique and original show. A giant milkshake, a large flying cup of fries, and a giant ball of meat live together in the South Jersey Shore next to a fat, hairy guido named Carl. Together they get into all kinds of random and sometimes morally compromising situations that border upon the manic to the downright insane.

In the first season of the show, the early episodes actually had a coherent overarching plot. Dr. Weird would be featured doing some kind of outlandish experiment and the Aqua Teens would have to put an end to it. Eventually the plot completely fell apart and the boys stopped being crime fighters completely and it became a show about three slackers getting into trouble. Sometimes this 180 degree change can be a detriment to a show, but Aqua Teen pulls it off beautifully because I think that is what the creators had in mind (if they didn’t, they knew how to hide it well, I tell you what.)

Often the episodes were choppy, ending in random spots and sometimes not wrapping up whatever outlandish plot they had gotten themselves into. I have spoken to people who absolutely hate the show for its randomness, but for as many people I know who hate the show, there are at least two people who love it for that very reason. Paulie Von Doom loves the show because of this, and the episode I’m reviewing today speaks great volumes to the randomness of the show.

Basically the plot is simply: A giant Cyber-Chicken greets Carl by showing him Christmas when he was a small child. Given the length of the episodes, they have to get the laughs in early or else you won’t get hooked. Carl as a child is handled deftly and we’re immediately pulled in.

Carl is told of a prophecy by this Cybernetic Ghost of Christmas Past from the Future, who then goes on to tell a convoluted and perverted version of the origin of Santa Claus as a giant ape like creature who enslaves an advanced race of elves and slaughters them. Carl now finds himself with a pool full of elf blood. Meatwad, Master Shake, and Frylock, who don’t do much in this episode aside from making funny remarks and doing their trademark slacking, become upset when Carl sells the bleeding house to an eager Glenn Danzig (voiced by the real Glenn Danzig,) who runs the sprinklers all day and all night, splattering elf blood all over his new house.

The episode culminates with Danzig going to visit the Aqua Teens to demand the location of the Cybernetic Chicken. Shake tells Danzig he doesn’t know where he is, but Shake being Shake, asks if Danzig wants something to eat in their “haunted kitchen” (cut to Meatwad wearing a blue sheet flicking the kitchen lights on and off,) but Danzig was having none of it and demands to be notified when they find the Cybernetic Ghost. Meatwad tells him he can come out and it turns out the chicken robot is afraid of Danzig because “he never wears a shirt.”

The episode randomly ends in true Aqua Teen Fashion. There is no linear story that we can follow, and everything returns to normal in the next episode like some weird perversion of Ground Hog Day. Carl is back in his house, and few of the adventures and random occurrences are ever mentioned again.

There is a reason why people either love this show or can’t stand it. As someone who loves the show, it’s easy for me to give this episode a 10 out of 10. The jokes simply work within the tiny time slot allowed for each episode. Glenn Danzig was one of my favorite singers during my formative high school years (the Misfits haven’t been the same since,) and his appearance only added to my enjoyment of this episode. So if you want some classic Adult Swim in your diet, look no further than a giant ball of meat, a large Shake, and a supersized, super smart, cup of fries.

Stay Hungry, Blabberbuddies!

-Paulie Von Doom.

10 out of 10.