Superjail Season 1

First published on 25 May 2010. Updated on 23 Nov 2010.

Superjail Nothing in television is more polarising than the output of Adult Swim. The avant-garde US animation network is responsible for some of the most bizarre, incomprehensible and brilliant shows to hit the small screen over the last few decades. Toward the really, really out-there end of its programming spectrum is Superjail.

Produced by Augenblick Studios (Fun Fact: founder Aaron Augenblick cut his animation teeth working on cult ABC hit Daria), Superjail tells the story of a penitentiary located in the mouth of a volcano that sits in the mouth of an even larger volcano. Overseen by a psychotically eccentric warden (voiced to perfection by David Wain), the inmates are the worst of the worst, kept in order only by Alice, the head guard, and Jailbot, a white slab of technology and violence. Each episode gradually crescendos into an orgy of hyperbolic bloodshed, often due to the sabotage work undertaken by the mysterious Twins, two sibling inmates who set their own rules.

This is perhaps the main problem with Superjail. While the episodes have separate plots, they all follow such a distinct pattern that it becomes difficult to tell them apart. Character and story development lose out to surreal, Grand Guignol endings every time. Even though this is only the first season, it would be nice to be offered something that merited continued viewing. Special features include the pilot episode, an amusing little romp called ‘Bunny Love'; the videoclip for the rollicking theme song ‘Comin' Home'; and animatics for a few episodes from the season, satisfying both the casual and diehard fans of extra content.

While it would be nice to unreservedly recommend anything by Adult Swim, the truth is Superjail is strictly for fans of the network. If you have seen everything else they broadcast, be sure to pick this up. If not, perhaps start in the calmer waters of The Venture Brothers or Sealab 2021.