BRAD NEELY’S HARG NALLIN’ SCLOPIO PEEPIO Review
Image Source: Screenshot
You’re probably at least somewhat familiar with the many, many works and creations of Brad Neely, whether it’s his series of webcomics, Creased Comics, his many animations that include his music, or maybe you stumbled on WIZARD PEOPLE DEAR READER one night and refer to Professor McGonagall as Hardcastle McCormack, much to the confusion of your friends who are really sure that’s not from A VERY POTTER MUSICAL. Neely is a prolific purveyor of nonsense, and his recent addition to the Adult Swim lineup, BRAD NEELY’S HARG NALLIN’ SCLOPIO PEEPIO is really just another outlet for him, which is good because I’m honestly worried he’ll explode if he keeps all that in.
Shhh… Just let it out, buddy…
Each episode of NALLIN’ is about 11 minutes long and consists of rapid-fire animated sketches with no real theme or context to connect them, creating an almost Pythonesque stream of consciousness; not only in its apparent lack of rhyme or reason, but also in the air of intelligence that permeates each episode. Of course, it’s hard to see sometimes in between clips of naked basketball players and Swamp Hags, but there’s an awareness of pop culture and philosophy that allows the more jaded to feel better about what’s making them giggle.
Pictured: the finger on the pulse of the cultural zeitgeist
Adult Swim has long made short form comedy something of a trademark (with the exception of the infamous TOO MANY COOKS), and HARG NALLIN’ fits the mold pretty well. In its essence, it’s an animated version of ROBOT CHICKEN if Seth Green got really into nihilism and did more drugs. It’s less steeped in pop culture than CHICKEN, but definitely knows how to make use of it, especially in such sketches as “Pre-Teen with a Predator Head.” At times the show’s wit almost feels like an indictment of the current TV landscape, especially with the recurring TV Guidance Counselor character and the vaguely threatening bearded mascot with “TV” on his headband.
What does he want? What is his purpose? And how can we defeat him?
And it’s not just arguably intellectual dick jokes; there’s a variety of original songs composed by Neely as well just to keep things interesting and to maintain that Brad Neely flavor you the consumer have/will come to appreciate. For those already familiar with Neely’s brand of humor, especially his webcomics, you’ll be enthused to know that many of the sketches feel reminiscent of his one-panel comics. In addition, some episodes feature the voice talents of entertainers like Ilana Glazer from BROAD CITY, Andre 3000 (yes, really), Darrell Hammond from SNL, and Gabourey Sidibe (yes, really). Furthermore, if you enjoyed Neely’s previous show on Adult Swim, CHINA, IL, you’ll appreciate the occasional inclusion of one of the show’s characters.
Pretty much every bit feels like this
If you’re already a fan of the surreal anti-humor that dominates much of Adult Swim’s lineup, then you’ll be a fan of NALLIN’. It’s intellectually absurd and almost confusingly funny with a style that hits it and quits it before you can even try to understand what the title is supposed to mean. BRAD NEELY’S HARG NALLIN’ SCLOPIO PEEPIO has an interesting vibe to it, in that it seems like it would exist in some form even if the show didn’t exist, a testament to the creativity and thoughts that seem to constantly burst out of this man’s forehead, as if the goddess Athena was a random-ass sketch show.
Verdict: Recommend
Steven Porfiri
Steven Porfiri is a Crossfader guest contributor that has been slowly learning what true patrician culture is about after spending a lifetime in Bakersfield, CA. In addition to Crossfader you can find him at Top Shelf Gaming.
