Sealab 2021
Series, 2000, Launch night, Set in An undersea lab
Sealab 2021 is #3 of 16 in release order and #3 of 16 in chronological order in the Adult Swim Classics.
The story
The year is 2021. Deep below the ocean's surface, looms a vast, magnificently high-tech compound: Sealab. A multi-national scientific station with an annual budget in the trillions, manned by a motley collection of malcontents and screw-ups who were unfit for work in the private sector. They really don't get any research done, but instead spend their time bickering among themselves or just plain goofing off. The crew have manipulated their luckless leader, Captain Murphy, into submission, and are content to ride the government clock, raking in fat, hazardous-duty paychecks.
Sealab 2021 recap
Sealab 2021 takes footage from Hanna-Barbera's 1972 cartoon Sealab 2020, about an undersea research station, and redubs and reanimates it into a workplace comedy about the worst crew imaginable. Captain Hazel "Hank" Murphy is the scheming, childish commander; Dr. Quinn is the smart, vain science officer who tries to keep things working; Debbie is a marine biologist; Stormy Waters is a cheerful, dim pilot; Marco is an engineer who speaks in Spanish-flavoured outbursts; Sparks is the radio operator and a convict who runs a still; and Dr. Virjay is the bitter station doctor. Sealab is often destroyed by the end of an episode, then is back to normal the next week. After Harry Goz, Murphy's voice actor, dies in 2003, the character is written out, and the crew gets a new captain, Tornado Shanks, a former football coach voiced by Goz's son, Michael. The show starts in 2000 and runs four seasons to 2005, from the team that later made Frisky Dingo and Archer.
Sealab 2021 ending explained
The final episode is "Legacy of Laughter" (2005), done as a panel interview with the cast and creators after a fake sequel screening. Audience questions go nowhere, the panel jokes that the show's problem was not being enough like Aqua Teen Hunger Force, and a tribute to Captain Murphy honours Harry Goz. It promises a preview of next season after the break; there is none, and the show has not returned.
Where to watch Sealab 2021
Sealab 2021 is streaming on YouTube TV, Adult Swim, and Spectrum On Demand in the US. You can rent or buy it on Amazon and Apple TV.
Ratings
IMDb 7.8/10
Where it fits
- Release order: after Home Movies, before The Brak Show.
- Chronological order: after Home Movies, before The Brak Show.
Cast
- Erik Estrada as Marco (voice)
- Kate Miller as Debbie (voice)
- Brett Butler as Quinn (voice)
- Ellis Henican as Stormy (voice)
- Bill Lobley as Sparks (voice)
- MC Chris as Hesh (voice)
- Harry Goz as Captain Murphy (voice)
- Michael Goz as Captain Shanks (voice)
- Angela Elayne Gibbs as Black Debbie (voice)
- Matt Thompson
- Dave Willis as Meatwad (voice) (uncredited)
- Adam Reed
Created by Adam Reed, Matt Thompson.