For most of us cartoons are part of a much more innocent time in our youth. They were full of talking animals and silly characters that made us laugh. In the sixties animation began to take on a decidedly more adult slant. With animated feature films like ‘Fritz the Cat’ and ‘Heavy Metal’ cartoons were no longer just for the kids. It took awhile for more adult animation to make its way to television but now it is fairly common place. There is the ‘Simpsons’ which retains enough of a family take to be acceptable by most. Other series like ‘South Park’ and ‘Family Guy’ push things too much for younger, more impressionable viewers. Of all these new edgier animated shows one stands out as out right raunchy in every aspect of its production’ ‘Tripping the Rift’. This cartoon series is rude, crude and without social redeeming qualities. It is close to pornographic in nature. It is also hilarious. Needless to say this is offensive enough that anyone with more delicate sensibilities. The series has become a staple of discussion at many science fiction conventions but despite its cult classic status seems to have a difficult time in finding a regular home. It used to show up on the Sci-Fi Channel every so often and in Canada has been shown on the niche Space network. Still, the legion of fans clamors for more of the show. So far there have been three seasons and a direct to video movie. With the DVD release of the third season under consideration here you can now have a complete collection at home. This is Star Trek on hallucinogenic drugs with a rowdy dose over done libido on a foundation of the most politically incorrect humor imaginable. So send the kiddies off to the grandparents, pop this in the DVD player and sit back and be prepared to laugh a whole lot.

This series came from the wonderfully warped imagination of Chris Moeller and Chuck Austen. It started on the internet and quickly found a home in Canada. For most of us here in the States our first exposure to this was a brief stint on the Sci-Fi Channel. Both of the creators have experience in more traditional animation such as ‘King of the Hill’. The fundamental style used here is a three dimensional animation that looks a bit like the online avatars used in the Sim world series. There are strange creatures that populate this wacky universe including a lot of young women with overly exaggerated breasts. Since the target demographic is teenaged boy and men you still think like teenaged boys this fits right in. Almost every character is misogynistic so this might not be the right thing to share with your wife or girlfriend unless they have a really good sense of humor. The stories usually center on satire of well know space flicks and television. Some of the humor is over the top while other gags are far more subtle and are hidden in the background. For example there is a vacuum cleaner that looks just like R2D2.

At the center of all the action here is the broken down space ship the Jupiter 42. It is run by an unseen artificial intelligence unit called Space Ship Bob (voiced by John Melendez). He has a superiority complex which considering the lack of intelligence exhibited by the rest of the crew is not difficult. Lack everyone on this ship Bob is psychologically disturbed; in his case prone to anxiety attacks. Typically he can only snapped out of it by the ship’s pilot, T'nuk (voiced by Gayle Garfinkle). She is ugly to an extremely that has to be seen to understand. T’nuk als has three breasts, eyes on stalks and a centaur of sorts. The captain of the ship and its motley crew is Chode McBlob (voiced by Stephen Root). He is one of the most unlikable characters ever devised with absolutely no redeeming qualities. He is self centered, greedy and lacking in any moral compass. Chode is a spotted purple blob of a creature with three eyes and four tentacles sticking out of his head. Chode is also as greedy as he is stupid. He second in command and sex android is Six. The voice actress is constantly changed with each season; always a stunningly beautiful woman taking the part. For this season the role fell to Jenny McCarthy who is the best of the lot. She has that sassy attitude that works incredibly well here. Six is a sex android and has the only spark of intelligence in the crew. Typically she wears very low cut outfits that provide no support to her ample, constantly bouncing breasts. Most of the work on board is done by Chode’s robotic slave, Gus (voiced by Maurice LaMarche). He is fussy and particular which leads the crew to believe he is gay although he adamantly denies it. Last and certainly least of the crew is Chode’s idiot nephew, Whip (voiced by Rick Jones). He is bipedal lizard who has being a slacker down to a science. If there is work to be done or some responsibility required Whip is certain to be somewhere else; typically asleep. The nemesis of Chode is Darth Bobo (voiced by Terrence Scammell). He is the reason so many people are afraid of clowns. He is always dressed in full clown makeup and is out to kill Chode at any cost. He kind of looks like a space version of Pennywise from the Steven King novel ‘It’. Also on a mission to get Chode is Captain Adam Francis Shatner who is the commander of a Confederation ship which represents the small degree of law and order in this bizarre universe.

The episodes poke fun at all the classics in Sci-Fi and much of popular culture. In a satire of ‘24’ Six is kidnapped by Bobo in order to set up an assignation of Chode. The crew has only a short time to get her back but is hindered by a ship full of snakes. In another episode Chode is contacted by an former girlfriend who informs him he has a son. Try as he might to reform and be a good father Chode’s innate sleaziness wins out in the end. As usual the crew is broke and in desperate need of cash. Six learns that she just received a rather large inheritance which she wants to give to charity. The crew goes about buttering her up to get their slimy hands on the cash. In another episode Chode gets Bobo’s daughter pregnant and Bobo’s wife sends a terminator clown out to kill him.

The series is irreverent and puerile to an extreme. It is also so on target with its satire and humor that you will not be able to keep yourself from laughing. Anchor Bay as rescued this series and made it available on DVD and fans of this kind of humor should be extremely thankful.