Sealab 2021

**Sealab 2021** is an American adult animated television series created by American animation production assistants Adam Reed and Matt Thompson based on the short-lived, environmentally-themed Hanna Barbera cartoon, *Sealab 2020*, exclusively for Cartoon Network's late-night programming block, Adult Swim.

The entire series was made available on HBO Max on September 1, 2020.

## **Premise**

*Sealab 2021* follows the never-ending drama of an oft-doomed aquatic colony and its various cast of personnel, who more often than not, hate each other.

## **Voice Cast**

### Main

* Harry Goz as Captain Hazel "Hank" Murphy
	+ Jon Hamm voices Hank in the *Archer* crossover.
* Michael Goz as Captain Bellerophon "Tornado" Shanks
* Bill Lobley as Lieutenant Jodene Sparks
* Kate Miller as Debbie "White Debbie" DuPree
* Ellis Henican as Derek "Stormy" Waters
* Brett Butler as Dr. Quentin Q. Quinn
* Erik Estrada as Marco Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar Gabriel Garcia Marquez
* MC Chris as Hesh Hepplewhite
* Angela Gibbs as Debbie "Black Debbie" Allison Love

* Adam Reed as Dr. Ilad Virjay

### Minor

* N/A as Dolphin Boy
* Matt Thompson as Sharko

## **Production**

### Development

Adam Reed and Matt Thompson, the creators and writers of *Sealab 2021*, came up with the idea for the show in 1995 while they were production assistants for Cartoon Network. They stumbled on a tape of the show *Sealab 2020* and wrote the new dialogue. Cartoon Network passed on the show because they did not believe it was funny. Five years after quitting Cartoon Network, the two went back to the original tape, this time making the characters do what they wanted. Cartoon Network bought the show, coincidentally around the same time that Adult Swim was created.

Very few of the episodes of the series share any continuity or ongoing plot. For instance, the entire installation is destroyed at the end of many episodes, and crew members are often killed in horrible ways, only to return in the following episode. There are occasional running gags, such as the "Grizzlebee's" restaurant chain, the character of Sharko, and Prescott, the half-man, half-tentacle monster "from the network." It contains many references to the pop culture of the 1980s–2000s and makes use of other cartoons from the 1970s besides that on which it is based, such as 1973's *Butch Cassidy* for the on-screen appearances of the Sealab writers, and various one-off appearances of other characters.

The show was a satirical parody of both the original *Sealab* series and the general conventions of the 1970s animated children's series. While there was initial resistance from several of the original series' creators to the reuse of their characters, production moved forward on the series.

### Release

Cartoon Network aired the show's first three episodes in December 2000 before the official inception of the adults-only programming block, Adult Swim on September 2, 2001, with the final episode airing on April 24, 2005.

*Sealab 2021* is one of the four original Williams Street series that premiered in 2000 before Adult Swim officially launched, the others being '*Aqua Teen Hunger Force'*, '*The Brak Show* ', and '*Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law'*.

The original "pitch pilot" is available on the Season 1 DVD as a special feature.

In Canada, *Sealab 2021* previously aired on Teletoon's Teletoon at Night block since September 2007, and currently airs on the Canadian version of Adult Swim since July 2012.

## **Reception**

### Critical

In January 2009, *IGN* listed *Sealab 2021* as the 79th best in the "Top 100 Animated Series". In 2013, *IGN* also placed *Sealab 2021* as number 22 on their list of Top 25 Animated series for adults.

Paul Di Filippo of the website *Sci-Fi Weekly*, in his review of the Season 3 DVD, felt that the general fan opinion of the show declined sharply following the death of Harry Goz (the voice of Captain Hazel Murphy) during Season 3.

## **Trivia**

* There is no true "pilot" for the series.
	+ The show was run on a three-episode trial basis, which became known as "Season Zero".
* *Sealab 2021* was produced by 70/30 Productions.
	+ The production company eventually closed on January 9, 2009.
* Mike Lazzo, an executive producer of the series, is credited differently in every episode.
	+ Some humorous examples include Like Mazzo, Ekim Ozzal, Melvis Lazlo, Kim Olezza, Ieao Mklzz, Milos Laznik, and Miles Lazenby.
* One of the many pieces of graffiti around the phones ("My backpack's got jets").
	+ This is actually a line from the song "Fett's Vette" by Chris Ward (who also provides the voice for Hesh).