''Liquid Television'' was an animation showcase broadcast on

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

from 1991 to 1995. It launched several high-profile original

cartoon A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently Animation, animated, in an realism (arts), unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or s ...

s, including ''

Beavis and Butt-Head ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' is an American Adult animation, adult animated Animated sitcom, sitcom created by Mike Judge. The series follows Beavis and Butt-Head, both voiced by Judge, a pair of teenage slackers characterized by their apathy, Stupi ...

'' and ''

Æon Flux ''Æon Flux'' () is an American adult animated avant-garde science-fiction adventure television series that aired on MTV from November 30, 1991 until October 10, 1995. It premiered on MTV's '' Liquid Television'' experimental animation show as ...

''. Other recurring segments include "The Art School Girls of Doom", '' The Specialists'', and '' Brad Dharma: Psychedelic Detective''. Independent animators and artists created most of the material specifically for the show, and some previously produced segments were compiled from festivals such as

Spike and Mike's Festival of Animation Spike and Mike's Festival of Animation is a presentation of award-winning animated short films, annually touring throughout theaters, film festivals or college campuses in the United States. Background The festival premieres annually in the La ...

. The first season of ''Liquid Television'' also aired on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

in co-production with MTV. Ultimately, MTV commissioned three seasons of the show, produced by

Colossal Pictures Colossal Pictures (also styled as (Colossal) Pictures or (C)P) was an American entertainment company that developed and produced television programming, advertising, network branding, and visual effects. Colossal's work has won every major indus ...

. The show was eventually succeeded by ''

Cartoon Sushi ''Cartoon Sushi'' is an adult-animated showcase program that aired on MTV from 1997 to 1998. It was developed by Eric Calderon and produced by Nick Litwinko, and was the successor to Liquid Television. The title screen opening was illustrated ...

''.

Mark Mothersbaugh Mark Allen Mothersbaugh (; born May 18, 1950) is an American musician and composer. He came to prominence in the late 1970s as co-founder, lead vocalist and keyboardist of the new wave band Devo, whose " Whip It" was a top 20 single in the US ...

composed the theme music. The show was broadcast in Canada on

MuchMusic Much is a Canadian English language discretionary specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. through its Bell Media subsidiary that airs programming aimed at teenagers and young adults. It is headquartered at 299 Queen Street West in what was o ...

, in Asia on

Channel V Channel '' ("V" as in the letter, not the Roman numeral "5") is a Chinese and former Asian pay television musical network originally launched by Star TV Hong Kong (now Disney Networks Group Asia Pacific). It was part of the unit of Disney In ...

, in Australia on SBS and in New Zealand on

TV3 Channel 3 or TV 3 may refer to: Television *Canal 3 (Burkina Faso), a commercial television channel in Burkina Faso * Canal 3 Niger, a commercial television channel in Niger * Canal 3 (Guatemala), a commercial television channel in Guatemala * Can ...

History

Many animation pieces were adapted from

Art Spiegelman Itzhak Avraham ben Zeev Spiegelman ( ; born February 15, 1948), professionally known as Art Spiegelman, is an American cartoonist, editor, and comics advocate best known for his graphic novel ''Maus''. His work as co-editor on the comics magazin ...

's comic compilation, '' RAW''. ''RAW'' features underground cartoonists such as Mark Beyer,

Richard Sala Richard Sala (June 2, 1954 – May 7, 2020) was an American cartoonist, illustrator, and comic book creator with a unique expressionistic style whose books often combined elements of mystery, horror and whimsy. Biography Richard Sala was born i ...

, and

Peter Bagge Peter Bagge (pronounced , as in ''bag''; born December 11, 1957) is an American cartoonist whose best-known work includes the comics ''Neat Stuff'' and ''Hate (comics), Hate''. His stories often use black humor and exaggerated cartooning to drama ...

. In particular, ''Dog-Boy'' by Charles Burns was based on the artist's series from ''RAW''. Due to the extensive use of licensed music throughout the series (many episodes begin with a contemporary

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

being "liquified"), full episodes of ''Liquid Television'' have not been broadcast since their original run. Selected segments from the series, including the debut of ''Æon Flux'', were released on two VHS tapes in the late 1990s as ''The Best of Liquid Television''. A collection volume, ''Wet Shorts (The Best of Liquid Television)'', with the content of the two VHS tapes, was released on DVD in 1997.

Credits

Japhet Asher Simeon Japhet Asher (born 14 January 1961) is an English film and television producer, writer and director who has worked in the United States for most of his career. Having moved back to England, he was the executive producer for interactive at ...

– Executive Producer/Creative Director # Prudence Fenton – Executive Producer/Story Editor #

– Composer, Theme Music # XAOS Inc. – Title Sequences, Liquid Lips, Liquid Eyes, End Credits Bed # A BIG Pictures & Noyes & Laybourne Collaboration # Produced by

(Colossal) Pictures Colossal Pictures (also styled as (Colossal) Pictures or (C)P) was an American entertainment company that developed and produced television programming, advertising, network branding, and visual effects. Colossal's work has won every major indus ...

for MTV & BBC-TV

Series overview

Episodes

Season 1 (1991)

Season 2 (1992)

Season 3 (1993–95)

Season 4 (2014)

Revival

On October 13, 2011,

MTVX MTVX was an American hard rock music music video, video channel operated by Viacom (1952–2005), Viacom's MTV Networks division. A sister channel of MTV, MTVX was available exclusively on digital cable providers, being the first network to be mad ...

, MTV's cross media group, announced the return of ''Liquid Television''. It became an online network. Its first content was "F**KING BEST SONG EVERRR" by

Wallpaper Wallpaper is used in interior decoration to cover the interior walls of domestic and public buildings. It is usually sold in rolls and is applied onto a wall using wallpaper paste. Wallpapers can come plain as "lining paper" to help cover uneve ...

, available on the website. Full-length episodes featuring the online content and all-new material were released in 2013.

LiquidTelevision.com

* '' The Head'' - Animated series about the adventures of a young man who has an alien hatch out of his head. * ''

The Maxx ''The Maxx'' is an American comic book series created by Sam Kieth in 1993 and originally published monthly until 1998 by Image Comics for 35 issues, before being collected in trade paperback by DC Comics' Wildstorm imprint. The first appearanc ...

'' - Animated adaptation of comic book series ''

'', the story follows the dual-reality adventures and struggles of the Maxx and his social worker Julie. Aired on ''MTV's Oddities'', which was a sub-category of ''Liquid Television'' in the 1990s. * ''

Daria ''Daria'' is an American adult animation, adult animated sitcom television series created by Glenn Eichler and Susie Lewis, Susie Lewis Lynn. The series ran from March 3, 1997, to January 21, 2002, on MTV. It centers on the titular character, D ...

'' - Daria Morgendorffer is a smart, acerbic, and somewhat misanthropic teenage girl who observes the world around her in this spin-off of ''Beavis and Butt-Head''. * ''

Wonder Showzen ''Wonder Showzen'' is an American adult puppet black comedy television series that aired between 2005 and 2006 on MTV2. It was created by Vernon Chatman and John Lee of PFFR. Described as a children's television series for adults, the show's ...

'' - Live-action and animated sketch comedy series about a darkly perverse kids' show modeled after ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Worksh ...

''. * ''

Celebrity Deathmatch ''Celebrity Deathmatch'' is an adult stop-motion claymated series created by Eric Fogel and produced by John Worth Lynn Jr. for MTV. A parody of sports entertainment programs, ''Celebrity Deathmatch'' depicted various celebrities engaging ...

'' -

Clay animation Claymation, sometimes called clay animation or plasticine animation, is one of many forms of stop-motion animation. Each animated piece, either character or background, is "deformable"—made of a malleable substance, usually plasticine cl ...

series featuring overly violent wrestling matches between celebrities. Originally part of LT's follow-up, ''

''.

Notes

References

External links

Official homepage of Liquid Television
* {{MTV Network programs 1990s American adult animated television series 1990s American animated comedy television series 1990s American anthology television series 1990s American sketch comedy television series 1991 American animated television series debuts 1995 American television series endings American adult animated comedy television series American adult animation anthology series American English-language television shows MTV cartoons American television shows featuring puppetry American television series with live action and animation Television shows scored by Mark Mothersbaugh