Off the Air is an American psychedelic anthology television series that aired on Adult Swim. Every episode is composed of surreal videos of different media and purposes – animated and live-action short films, clips from feature films and other television series, stock videos, music videos, abstract loops – presented continuously and in succession. These videos are arranged around a single vague theme, as expressed in the episode's title,[1] and are accompanied by songs by various artists.[2] Dave Hughes, the creator of the series, also serves as its editor.[3] He and the rest of the series' producers also commission artists to produce works to be featured in an episode.[1][4][5]
Fifty episodes have aired over thirteen seasons since Off the Air premiered on January 1, 2011. Every episode had a time slot of 4 a.m., which has contributed to the series' obscurity and status among fans of Adult Swim.[1] Three special episodes have been produced: "Dan Deacon: U.S.A.",[6] "Seramthgin", and "Dan Deacon: When I Was Done Dying".[3] The twentieth episode "NEWNOW" is a celebration of New Year's Day and the series' fifth anniversary featuring six original songs.[2]
Series overview edit
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | |||
| 1 | 5 | January 1, 2011 | June 1, 2012 | |
| 2 | 4 | August 28, 2012 | October 1, 2013 | |
| 3 | 3 | December 31, 2013 | April 22, 2014 | |
| 4 | 4 | September 2, 2014 | January 6, 2015 | |
| 5 | 4 | July 21, 2015 | December 29, 2015 | |
| 6 | 4 | May 24, 2016 | January 31, 2017 | |
| 7 | 3 | November 21, 2017 | December 5, 2017 | |
| 8 | 4 | May 29, 2018 | January 1, 2019 | |
| 9 | 4 | September 3, 2019 | December 31, 2019 | |
| 10 | 3 | June 9, 2020 | December 29, 2020 | |
| 11 | 4 | October 12, 2021 | December 27, 2021 | |
| 12 | 4 | July 4, 2022 | December 26, 2022 | |
| 13 | 4 | December 19, 2023 | ||
Episodes edit
The closing credits of every episode list the featured videos and songs as well as their respective artists; generic stock footage is often employed,[7] and suppliers (including Corbis, Getty Images, and iStock) are additionally credited. In the following lists, material commissioned for an episode are marked with a dagger (†). Segments are shown in an episode with more than one excerpt and so are marked with a plus (+) and the number of the segment that has been previously shown earlier in an episode.
Season 1 (2011–12) edit
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date | Prod. code | US viewers (millions) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Animals" | January 1, 2011 | 101 | N/A | ||
|
Too moist to burn.
| |||||||
| 2 | 2 | "Food" | May 25, 2011 | 102 | N/A | ||
|
Delicious When Consumed.
| |||||||
| 3 | 3 | "Dance" | September 3, 2011 | 103 | N/A | ||
|
The language of the body in motion speaks all languages.
| |||||||
| 4 | 4 | "Space" | November 5, 2011 | 104 | N/A | ||
|
Staring lovingly into the cold infinite void that will one day kill us all.
Note: Space Ghost's quote was taken directly from the Space Ghost Coast to Coast episode "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed". | |||||||
| 5 | 5 | "Body" | June 1, 2012 | 105 | 1.1[9] | ||
|
This is you. Explore your deep caverns. Consume yourself.
| |||||||
Season 2 (2012–13) edit
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date | Prod. code | US viewers (millions) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 1 | "Falling" | August 28, 2012 | 201 | 0.8[10] | ||
|
Everything will be ok. The natural feeling of dread.
| |||||||
| 7 | 2 | "Color" | October 30, 2012 | 202 | 1.1[11] | ||
|
Collect them all. Like smells for your eyeballs.
| |||||||
| 8 | 3 | "Nightmares" | December 22, 2012 | 203 | 1.3[12] | ||
|
They don't only happen while you're sleeping. You're having one right now.
| |||||||
| 9 | 4 | "Light" | October 1, 2013 | 204 | 0.9[13] | ||
|
Brighter than a thousand digital suns.
| |||||||
Season 3 (2013–14) edit
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date | Prod. code | US viewers (millions) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 1 | "Nature" | December 31, 2013 | 302 | 1.0[14] | ||
|
Love it or leave it.
Note: The owl stock footage from Getty Images is reused from the music video for Mike Jourgensen's song "Eye Drops" that show creator Dave Hughes and his company Million Monkeys Inc. directed. | |||||||
| 11 | 2 | "Robots" | January 7, 2014 | 301 | 1.2[15] | ||
|
They're on to us.
Note: Although this episode aired the week after the episode "Nature", Adult Swim lists this to be set before that episode. | |||||||
| 12 | 3 | "Worship" | April 22, 2014 | 303 | 1.0[16] | ||
|
This train will be making all stops between Everything and Nothing.
| |||||||
Season 4 (2014–15) edit
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date | Prod. code | Viewers (millions) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | 1 | "Hair" | September 2, 2014 | 401 | N/A | ||
|
The tangled web we weave.
Note: Gerald Bald Z of Perfect Hair Forever makes a cameo in the "Virtual Reality Haircut Simulator" segment. | |||||||
| 14 | 2 | "Sports" | December 23, 2014 | 402 | 1.1[17] | ||
|
Arbitrary goals, invented glory, permanent brain damage.
| |||||||
| 15 | 3 | "Death" | December 30, 2014 | 403 | 1.0[18] | ||
|
Life without the hassle of living.
| |||||||
| 16 | 4 | "Transportation" | January 6, 2015 | 404 | N/A | ||
|
From here to there, but never back again.
| |||||||
Season 5 (2015) edit
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date | Prod. code | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | 1 | "Liquid" | July 21, 2015 | 501 | ||
|
Slippery when wet.
| ||||||
| 18 | 2 | "Conflict" | October 27, 2015 | 502 | ||
|
Straight blasting Ron.
| ||||||
| 19 | 3 | "Holes" | November 24, 2015 | 503 | ||
|
There's one beneath you right now.
| ||||||
| 20 | 4 | "NEWNOW" | December 29, 2015 | 504 | ||
|
Now, new. This episode celebrates New Year's Day and the show's fifth anniversary, setting six original songs by various artists to miscellaneous videos.
The following artists provided additional animated loops: Zachary Zezima, Kevin Eskew, Annapurna Kumar, Julia Newhide, Jack Turpin, Alan Jennings, Andrew Benson, Allegra Jones, Adriana Trukillo, Benjamin Janos-Szabo Hunter, Rachel Seropian, Tim Brown, Gina Maune, Dina Kelberman, Kaylee SooHyun Lee, Ana Mouyis, Sian Bliss and Maureen Kuo. Note: Adult Swim posted an "Analog Video Remix" of this episode by Rob Feulner on their YouTube channel on January 26, 2018.[19] | ||||||
Season 6 (2016–17) edit
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date | Prod. code | US viewers (millions) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | 1 | "Shapes" | May 24, 2016 | 601 | N/A | ||
|
$H&P3$
| |||||||
| 22 | 2 | "Clowns" | September 20, 2016 | 602 | N/A | ||
|
No Clowns were harmed in the making of this video.
| |||||||
| 23 | 3 | "Work" | November 8, 2016 | 603 | 0.6[20] | ||
|
A Q4 analysis.
Note: While audio from Hands: They're Here to Stay by Tyler Russo plays, stock footage supplied by iStock is reused from the episodes "Body" and "Color". | |||||||
| 24 | 4 | "Words" | January 31, 2017 | 604 | N/A | ||
|
Now with 50 percent less meaning!
| |||||||
Season 7 (2017) edit
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date | Prod. code | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | 1 | "Earth" | November 21, 2017 | 701 | ||
|
You break it, you buy it
| ||||||
| 26 | 2 | "Technology" | November 28, 2017 | 702 | ||
|
404 Not Found
Note 1: This episode was guest curated and produced by Wham City Comedy (Ben O'Brien, Robby Rackleff, and Alan Resnick). | ||||||
| 27 | 3 | "Paradise" | December 5, 2017 | 703 | ||
|
Lost and Found
Note 1: This episode was guest curated and produced by Ghosting.tv (Ricky Jonsson Jr. and Kristel Brinshot). | ||||||
Season 8 (2018–19) edit
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date | Prod. code | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 | 1 | "Health" | May 29, 2018 | 801 | ||
|
9 out of 10 doctors disagree
| ||||||
| 29 | 2 | "Love" | August 28, 2018 | 802 | ||
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It's inside of you right now.
| ||||||
| 30 | 3 | "Sound" | October 30, 2018 | 803 | ||
|
Listen with your eyes.
| ||||||
| 31 | 4 | "Winter" | January 1, 2019 | 804 | ||
|
The ultimate bookend to humanity.
| ||||||
Season 9 (2019) edit
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date | Prod. code | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 32 | 1 | "Fashion" | September 3, 2019 | 901 | ||
|
Got you covered.
| ||||||
| 33 | 2 | "Trash" | October 29, 2019 | 902 | ||
|
Everybody's doing it.
| ||||||
| 34 | 3 | "Fire" | November 26, 2019 | 903 | ||
|
It's all around you.
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| 35 | 4 | "Patterns" | December 31, 2019 | 904 | ||
|
Watch, rinse, repeat.
| ||||||
Season 10 (2020) edit
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date | Prod. code | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 36 | 1 | "Coping" | June 9, 2020 | 1001 | ||
|
You are not alone. Well, maybe a little bit. Yeah, definitely pretty much alone.
| ||||||
| 37 | 2 | "Dreams"[21] | December 29, 2020 | 1002 | ||
|
Trying to keep up with reality.
| ||||||
| 38 | 3 | "Progress"[22] | December 29, 2020 | 1003 | ||
|
Comfort is the enemy.
Note: This episode was guest curated and produced by Blink Industries. | ||||||
Season 11 (2021) edit
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date | Prod. code | US viewers (millions) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 39 | 1 | "Family"[24] | October 12, 2021 | 1101 | N/A | ||
|
The deepest connection.
Note: This episode was guest curated and produced by Cole Kush.[23] | |||||||
| 40 | 2 | "Moon"[25] | November 9, 2021 | 1102 | N/A | ||
|
The Moon is an egg.
Note: This episode was guest curated and produced by Sophie Koko Gate. | |||||||
| 41 | 3 | "Touch"[27] | December 27, 2021 | 1103 | N/A | ||
|
In the flesh.
Note: This episode was guest curated and produced by Alan Steadman.[26] | |||||||
| 42 | 4 | "Liminal"[27] | December 27, 2021 | 1104 | N/A | ||
|
You are at the threshold.
Note: This episode was guest curated and produced by Cody DeMatteis.[28] | |||||||
Season 12 (2022) edit
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date | Prod. code | US viewers (millions) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 43 | 1 | "Nonsense"[29] | July 4, 2022 | 1201 | N/A | ||
|
To be eaten with a runcible spoon.
| |||||||
| 44 | 2 | "Bugs"[30] | September 12, 2022 | 1202 | N/A | ||
|
They're under your skin.
| |||||||
| 45 | 3 | "Bliss"[32] | November 28, 2022 | 1203 | N/A | ||
|
Get you some.
Note: An additional segment, Big and Small Night by Anna Seregina and Kyle Mizono, was commissioned for the episode, but wasn't included due to time constraints. The segment was uploaded online on December 23, 2022.[31] | |||||||
| 46 | 4 | "Journeys"[33] | December 26, 2022 | 1204 | N/A | ||
|
Bring snacks.
Note: This episode was guest curated and produced by Meghan Oretsky. | |||||||
Season 13 (2023) edit
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date | Prod. code | US viewers (millions) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 47 | 1 | "Sex"[34] | December 19, 2023 | 1301 | N/A | ||
|
Better than drugs
| |||||||
| 48 | 2 | "Drugs"[35] | December 19, 2023 | 1302 | N/A | ||
|
Better than sex
| |||||||
| 49 | 3 | "Music"[36] | December 19, 2023 | 1303 | N/A | ||
|
Better than sex on drugs
| |||||||
| 50 | 4 | "Farts"[37] | December 19, 2023 | 1304 | N/A | ||
|
Music of the gods
| |||||||
Specials edit
| Title | Original air date | Prod. code | US viewers (millions) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Dan Deacon: U.S.A." | July 6, 2013 | S01 | 1.0[38] | ||
|
This 22-minute music video sets the last four songs of the Dan Deacon album America to videos pertaining to landscapes in the United States:
| |||||
| "Seramthgin" | November 1, 2014 | S02 | 0.8[39] | ||
|
This special plays the episode "Nightmares" in reverse.[7] Everything shown is also inverted, while the "[adult swim]" logo remains normal.
| |||||
| "Dan Deacon: When I Was Done Dying" "DDWIWDD" | March 24, 2015 | S03 | N/A | ||
|
This five-and-a-half minute music video sets the song "When I Was Done Dying" by Dan Deacon from his album Gliss Riffer to original animations by nine artists (in chronological order):
| |||||
References edit
- ^ a b c McManus, Austin (June 2014). "Dave Hughes". Juxtapoz. Vol. 21, no. 6. pp. 82, 89.
- ^ a b Amidi, Amid (December 18, 2015). "Off the Air, the Best Animation Anthology Since Liquid TV, Is Celebrating Its 5th Anniversary". Cartoon Brew. Archived from the original on December 19, 2015. Retrieved May 16, 2016.
- ^ a b Price, Stephen (April 4, 2015). "Interview: Dave Hughes 'When I Was Done Dying'". Stash. Archived from the original on March 15, 2016. Retrieved May 16, 2016.
- ^ Skidmore, Maisie (April 8, 2015). "Like Spongebob Squarepants on Acid! New Animated Psychedelia by TGNSF". It's Nice That. Archived from the original on April 10, 2015. Retrieved May 16, 2016.
- ^ Armstrong, Annie (July 31, 2015). "Trippy Mutants: A Stop-Motion Love Story". The Creators Project. Archived from the original on August 3, 2015. Retrieved May 16, 2016.
- ^ Martins, Chris (July 3, 2013). "Dan Deacon and Adult Swim Deliver Bong-Bait in 'USA' Short Film". Spin. Archived from the original on August 2, 2015. Retrieved May 16, 2016.
- ^ a b Nectoux, Gaspard (May 2015). "Les yeux déchirés par Off the Air". Cahiers du cinéma (in French). No. 711. p. 62.
- ^ Space | Off the Air | Adult Swim. Adult Swim. May 15, 2015. Archived from the original on October 14, 2021. Retrieved October 17, 2021 – via YouTube.
- ^ Pucci, Douglas (June 18, 2012). "Adult Swim Ratings (June 4–10, 2012)". Son of the Bronx. Archived from the original on December 4, 2012. Retrieved May 16, 2016.
- ^ Pucci, Douglas (September 6, 2012). "Adult Swim Ratings (August 27 – September 2, 2012)". Son of the Bronx. Archived from the original on September 10, 2012. Retrieved May 16, 2016.
- ^ Pucci, Douglas (November 9, 2012). "Adult Swim Weekly Ratings Scorecard". TV Media Insights. Archived from the original on June 3, 2013. Retrieved May 16, 2016.
- ^ Pucci, Douglas (December 28, 2012). "Adult Swim Weekly Ratings Scorecard". TV Media Insights. Archived from the original on December 5, 2013. Retrieved May 16, 2016.
- ^ Pucci, Douglas (October 8, 2013). "Adult Swim Weekly Ratings Scorecard". TV Media Insights. Archived from the original on October 15, 2013. Retrieved May 16, 2016.
- ^ Pucci, Douglas (January 7, 2014). "Adult Swim Ratings Scorecard – Week of Dec. 30, 2013". TV Media Insights. Archived from the original on May 12, 2014. Retrieved May 16, 2016.
- ^ Pucci, Douglas (January 14, 2014). "Adult Swim Ratings Scorecard – Week of Jan. 6, 2014". TV Media Insights. Archived from the original on May 12, 2014. Retrieved May 16, 2016.
- ^ Pucci, Douglas (April 29, 2014). "Adult Swim Ratings Scorecard – Week of Dec. 30, 2013". TV Media Insights. Archived from the original on April 30, 2014. Retrieved May 16, 2016.
- ^ Metcalf, Mitch (December 24, 2014). "Top 25 Tuesday Cable Originals (& Network Update): December 23, 2014". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on December 27, 2014. Retrieved May 24, 2016.
- ^ Metcalf, Mitch (December 31, 2014). "Top 25 Tuesday Cable Originals (& Network Update): December 30, 2014". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on January 2, 2015. Retrieved May 24, 2016.
- ^ NEWNOW Analog Video Remix | Off the Air | Adult Swim. Adult Swim. January 26, 2018. Archived from the original on November 23, 2020. Retrieved October 17, 2021 – via YouTube.
- ^ Welch, Alex (November 9, 2016), "Tuesday cable ratings: Highest election-night ratings in cable news history", Tribune Media Company, archived from the original on November 11, 2016, retrieved November 12, 2016
- ^ Off The Air 1002 DREAMS promo Adult Swim. cheesepapa1. December 17, 2020. Archived from the original on February 3, 2021. Retrieved October 17, 2021 – via YouTube.
- ^ OTA 1003 PROGRESS promo Adult Swim / Blink Industries. cheesepapa1. December 17, 2020. Archived from the original on January 1, 2021. Retrieved October 17, 2021 – via YouTube.
- ^ cheesepapa [@cheesepapa] (October 4, 2021). "Off The Air Season 11 kicks off next week with FAMILY. All week at 4am on @adultswim Curated and Produced by #ColeKush https://t.co/FExMSyXGLT" (Tweet). Archived from the original on October 5, 2021. Retrieved October 17, 2021 – via Twitter.
- ^ OTA 1101 FAMILY promo. cheesepapa1. October 4, 2021. Archived from the original on October 5, 2021. Retrieved October 17, 2021 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Off the Air | MOON promo". YouTube.
- ^ "Off the Air | TOUCH". YouTube.
- ^ a b Off the Air season 11 concludes on Monday, December 27th Twitter
- ^ "Off the Air | LIMINAL promo". YouTube.
- ^ Off The Air | NONSENSE promo. cheesepapa1. June 30, 2022. Retrieved July 3, 2022 – via YouTube.
- ^ Off The Air | BUGS promo. cheesepapa1. September 9, 2022. Retrieved September 15, 2022 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Big and Small Night | off the Air: Bliss (Bonus) | adult swim". YouTube.
- ^ Off The Air | BLISS promo. cheesepapa1. November 20, 2022. Retrieved November 20, 2022 – via YouTube.
- ^ Off The Air | JOURNEYS promo. cheesepapa1. December 16, 2022. Retrieved December 22, 2022 – via YouTube.
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cG9dz9cj-YE
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cG9dz9cj-YE
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cG9dz9cj-YE
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cG9dz9cj-YE
- ^ Pucci, Douglas (July 10, 2013). "Adult Swim Weekly Ratings Scorecard (July 1–7, 2013)". TV Media Insights. Archived from the original on December 6, 2013. Retrieved May 24, 2016.
- ^ Metcalf, Mitch (November 4, 2014). "Top 25 Saturday Cable Originals (& Network Update): November 1, 2014". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on November 6, 2014. Retrieved May 24, 2016.