Liquid Television: Pushing the Limits of Animation

 

    In the early nineties, the world of television animation was experiencing a boom. Theatrical animation was changing direction to new and refreshing directors and artists, and the world of television decided to go in a new direction as well. It decided it was time for some more provocative, experimental, and adult-oriented material. It was time to push the boundaries of animation and test the audiences consuming it. It was time for Liquid Television.

    MTV was the home for music throughout the eighties. With almost nonstop music videos, paired with music news and talk shows, MTV was the place for the young and hip. The young MTV audience was growing up a little, generation X was pushing into other mediums and MTV wanted to jump on that train, so they started offering other shows like Real World, Road Rules, and other youth-centric programming. They also began airing more isolated and specific content late at night on weekdays, when kids were up and parents were asleep. One of those shows was Liquid Television.

    Liquid Television was born of a desire to air rude and crude animation. This was not the Disney Channel or Bugs Bunney, this was animation too EXTREME for old people, this was edgy. Liquid Television was an anthology program that aired a variety of animation and other multimedia short films that wouldn't otherwise have a home. Most of the content shown was 3-5 minutes in length and was centered around shock humor and single gags. It was meant to be dirty, funny, sometimes grotesque, and really push the limits of what was acceptable after 11pm.

    The surprising element that came out of Liquid Televison, was that it was actually pretty good. It may have started as a way to simply shock their viewers, but some segments began to gather a following. They would come back every week to see how certain storylines would continue and progress. They weren't as interested in the gross-out humor and they were with the characters they were starting to connect with. Shows like Aeon Flux, a very flexible and provocative dress spy in a dystopian warzone, or Beavis and Butthead, about two losers who watched MTV all day and made stupid jokes, 

    It wasn't long after that MTV had to adjust Liquid Televison programming and go after shorts that might turn into hits. They soon pulled promising segments and began producing full tv shows. Unfortunately, Liquid Television was meant as a place for creative freedom and envelope-pushing ideas, and with the network pulling out segments, the program began to lose its appeal, and ultimately its audience. By 1995 Liquid Television had lost its slot in the late-night gutter of MTV, and along with it went a fairly special home of animation, at least for those of us who remember it.