Code Monkeys

For the phrase on which this program's title is based, see Code monkey.
Code Monkeys

Code Monkeys title card; main characters from left to right: Black Steve, Dave, Todd, Clare, Jerry, Mary, Mr. Larrity, Dean and Benny.
Genre Animation
Black Comedy
Created by Adam de la Peña
Voices of Adam de la Peña
Matt Mariska
Andy Sipes
Dana Snyder
Tony Strickland
Gretchen McNeil
Suzanne Keilly
Lionel Tubbins
Opening theme "Code Monkey" by Jonathan Coulton
Composer(s) Jon and Al Kaplan
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 2
No. of episodes 26 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s) Adam de la Peña
Producer(s) Jennifer Saxon Gore
Tony Strickland
Running time Approx. 22 minutes
Release
Original network G4
Audio format 320 kbit/s
Original release July 11, 2007 – August 17, 2008
External links
Website

Code Monkeys is an American animated television program by Adam de la Peña. Set in the early 1980s, it follows the adventures of fictional video game company GameaVision.

The show first aired on July 11, 2007. Two seasons have aired on G4 and G4 Canada. In September 2008, the show began airing on the Teletoon Detour block on Teletoon in Canada.

While G4 was vague on the future of the show after the end of the second season, it was announced in May 2009 that the show would not be renewed for a third season.[1]

Plot

The plot of Code Monkeys revolves around the fictitious video game company GameaVision (a play on companies like Activision and Intellivision) and its eccentric employees, mainly the slacker Dave and his high-strung friend Jerry. The entire series takes place in the Silicon Valley city of Sunnyvale, California during the 1980s. The humor of Code Monkeys relies on crude humor and stoner comedy to convey the numerous references to video games, past and present, but mostly games from the 8-bit era. This also extends to cameos from well known video game developers, who appear in the show pitching their ideas to GameaVision for the games that would later make them famous, usually to be rejected, insulted, and sometimes injured or killed off.

Episode structure

A screenshot from "Code Monkeys", showcasing elements of the show: the health meter (upper-right), score (upper-left) and text box (bottom).

Code Monkeys is presented as though it were an 8-bit video game. In keeping with this format, characters, backgrounds and other objects are rendered with an 8-bit color palette, occasionally leading to trouble animating specific objects. Most episodes begin with a screen flashing "PLAYER 1 START!";[2] episodes end with a black "Game Over" screen, with a "kill screen" appearing after the production company logo in the first season. Before each commercial break, a small pause box typically appears in the middle of the screen which freezes the scene. On the two occasions when Jerry "died", a "Game Over/Continue?" box appears, with the "player" contemplating on selecting "No", but selects "Yes" to continue the episode anyway. Near the end of "Todd Loses His Mind", the episode "crashes" abruptly, forcing the "player" to eject the "game cartridge" to blow dust off its connectors, and the episode is reset to its beginning, thus negating everything that happened in the episode. The show also features status bars at the top and bottom of the frame, which display a running counter of points earned by the characters doing video game-like actions in each episode, a health meter for the current characters, narrative asides based on certain characters' actions or dialogue, and other humorous sayings or pictures based on an episode's story line. Characters also use similar methods to show emotions, such as air humping (usually to exaggerate sexuality or awesomeness), or throwing up the sign of the horns. The show is entirely computer animated, with the exception of the "game crash" scene in "Todd Loses His Mind", and is done in-house at the G4 studios in Los Angeles. The original music for the show, video game-styled underscore, is composed by Jon and Al Kaplan. Other music prominently featured in the series includes music by Los Angeles heavy metal group Tinhorn. Jonathan Coulton's song "Code Monkey" serves as the theme song of the show.

Characters

History

While working on the pilot for Minoriteam, Adam de la Peña began writing a script for what would become Code Monkeys. The original title for the show was Dave And Jerry VS The World, but the name was changed to Code Monkeys after receiving the rights to use the Jonathan Coulton song of the same name. After making a seven-minute animation test, he began shopping for a network to broadcast the show. He settled with G4 because he thought they understood the premise of the show the most.[3] G4 allowed him to make a full-length pilot and subsequently picked up the show for 13 episodes and after a successful first season ratings-wise, the show was picked up for a second season.[4]

Several months before Code Monkeys began airing, G4 launched an advertising campaign for the show in which GameaVision was presented as a real game company. There were two commercial advertisements for the fictitious games "Crosswalk" and "Barfight", the games "Sir Eats-A-Lot" and "Floating Space Rocks" were featured in a "Cheat! G-Spot" segment, and "Barfight" was featured in an episode of Attack of the Show. G4 created a website for GameaVision's, featuring two playable games: "2 Card Monte", which cannot be won; and "Hangman", which contains fewer than 10 words, all of which are meant to insult the player.

Episodes

Season 1 (2007)

No. Title Directed by Written by Original air date
1"The Woz"Adam de la PeñaAdam de la PeñaSeptember 11, 2007 (2007-09-11)
2"E.T."Adam de la PeñaAdam de la PeñaSeptember 18, 2007 (2007-09-18)
3"Stonervision"Adam de la PeñaAdam de la PeñaSeptember 25, 2007 (2007-09-25)
4"Super Prison Breakout"Adam de la PeñaAdam de la PeñaOctober 1, 2007 (2007-10-01)
5"Just One Of The Gamers"Adam de la PeñaAdam de la PeñaOctober 8, 2007 (2007-10-08)
6"The Takeover"Adam de la PeñaAdam de la PeñaOctober 15, 2007 (2007-10-15)
7"Larrity's Got Back"Adam de la PeñaAdam de la PeñaOctober 22, 2007 (2007-10-22)
8"IPO"Adam de la PeñaAdam de la PeñaOctober 29, 2007 (2007-10-29)
9"Todd Loses His Mind"Adam de la PeñaAdam de la PeñaNovember 6, 2007 (2007-11-06)
10"Third Reich's The Charm"Adam de la PeñaAdam de la PeñaNovember 13, 2007 (2007-11-13)
11"Wrassle Mania"Adam de la PeñaAdam de la PeñaNovember 20, 2007 (2007-11-20)
12"Vegas, Baby!"Adam de la PeñaAdam de la PeñaNovember 27, 2007 (2007-11-27)
13"The Revenge Of Matsui"Adam de la PeñaAdam de la PeñaDecember 3, 2007 (2007-12-03)

Season 2 (2008)

No. Title Directed by Written by Original air date
14"The Story of 420"Adam de la PeñaAdam de la PeñaApril 20, 2008 (2008-04-20)
15"Psychological Problems"Adam de la PeñaAdam de la PeñaJuly 11, 2008 (2008-07-11)
16"My Pal Jodie"Adam de la PeñaAdam de la PeñaJuly 18, 2008 (2008-07-18)
17"Dave Gets Boobs"Adam de la PeñaAdam de la PeñaJuly 25, 2008 (2008-07-25)
18"Valley of the Silicon Dolls"Adam de la PeñaAdam De La PeñaAugust 2, 2008 (2008-08-02)
19"The Kid is Mine"Adam de la PeñaAdam de la PeñaAugust 9, 2008 (2008-08-09)
20"Dean In Charge"Adam de la PeñaAdam de la PeñaAugust 16, 2008 (2008-08-16)
21"Drunken Office Party"Adam de la PeñaAdam de la PeñaAugust 23, 2008 (2008-08-23)
22"Trouble in the Middle East"Adam de la PeñaAdam de la PeñaAugust 30, 2008 (2008-08-30)
23"Benny's Birthday"Adam de la PeñaAdam de la PeñaSeptember 7, 2008 (2008-09-07)
24"The Great Recession"Adam de la PeñaKevin RushSeptember 14, 2008 (2008-09-14)
25"Dave's Day Off"Adam de la PeñaNeil DiamondSeptember 21, 2008 (2008-09-21)
26"Car Robber Sunnyvale"Adam de la PeñaMungo JerryOctober 5, 2008 (2008-10-05)

Reception

According to the president of G4, the first season was a huge success for the network. During its first season the show was watched by more than 20 million people.[4] Since its inception, Code Monkeys has received mixed reviews. Virginia Heffernan of The New York Times called the show a "promising idea [with] gags [told in a South Park deadpan dialect that] has a fast free-for-all quality, as if they were produced by a zealous Galaga player with his palm down flat on the "fire" button."[5] Scott Jon Siegel of Joystiq agreed, saying that "Code Monkeys has potential, [but] squanders it." He went on to say that "there was hope that G4 could deliver something actually watchable. [Code Monkeys] isn't."[6] Jake Swearingen of Wired magazine stated that the show would appeal to "anyone who spent their youth blowing dust out of Nintendo cartridges and developing Contra-induced carpal tunnel syndrome." Furthermore, he compared Code Monkeys to arcade games of the 1980s, stating "[m]uch like the classics it riffs on, Code quickly veers into the wildly surreal."[7] Andy Grieser of Zap2it called the show "the funniest ... animation this side of South Park." He called the graphics "[i]nstant nostalgia for thirtysomethings."[8] Will Harris of Bullz-Eye.com gave the show a 3.5/5 and commented that "Code Monkeys is a twisted little show, [but that] it's not for all tastes." [9]

Home release

Shout! Factory, partnering with G4, released a two-disc DVD set of the first season of Code Monkeys on August 5, 2008 in Region 1.[10]

Code Monkeys: Season One
Set Details Special Features[10]
  • "Adam de la Peña Interview"
  • "A Look Behind the Scenes of Code Monkeys"
  • "Daily Pranks"
  • "GameaVision's 'Hangman'"
  • "Original Commercials"
  • "Gaming Tips from Kristin Holt"
  • "GameaVision's '2 Card Monty'"
  • Downloadable Wallpapers and Posters

References

  1. "G4 - Open Source". G4. Retrieved 2009-05-05.
  2. In "Psychological Problems", the usual start of the episode—a screen flashing "PLAYER 1 START!"—was preceded by a screen that was similar to the multicart loading of a game, resembling the 3-in-1 Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt/World Class Track Meet multigame.
  3. "Code Monkeys: The Secret History of Videogames". IGN. Retrieved 2008-08-10.
  4. 1 2 "G4 Announces Season Two of Its Animated 8-Bit Hit "Code Monkeys" Premiering June 1". G4. Retrieved 2008-08-10.
  5. Heffernan, Virginia (2007-07-11). "Like an Arcade Game With a Potty Mouth". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-08-10.
  6. "G4's new show Code Monkeys has potential, squanders it". Joystiq. Retrieved 2008-08-10.
  7. "8-Bit Comedy Goes Prime Time With Code Monkeys Cartoon". Wired Magazine. 2007-07-24. Retrieved 2008-08-10.
  8. "Premierewatch: 'Code Monkeys' Season Two". Zap2it. Retrieved 2008-08-10.
  9. "Code Monkeys: Season One review". Bullz-Eye.com. Retrieved 2008-08-10.
  10. 1 2 "Shout! Factory Store - Code Monkeys: Season One". Shout! Factory. Retrieved 2008-08-10.

External links

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