Liquid Television

Liquid Television was an early-1990s animation showcase that appeared on MTV. The first season of Liquid Television originally aired on BBC-2. Six months after it debuted on BBC-2, MTV picked up the show, and began producing it. It has served as the launching point for several high-profile original cartoons including: Beavis and Butt-head, Æon Flux, Cartoon Sushi, The Maxx, Daria, and The Head. The bulk of Liquid Television's material was compiled from festivals such as Spike and Mike's. There was also a large amount of animation pieces adapted from the work of Raw-era underground cartoonists such as Mark Beyer, Richard Sala, and Peter Bagge. In particular, Dog-Boy by Charles Burns was turned into a live-action production serialized across multiple episodes. Mark Mothersbaugh composed the show's theme music.

Series episodes

Season 1 (1991)

First Episode

• Open: Robert Palmer "Addicted to Love"
• Soap Opera "A Showery Scene"
• Buzz Box
• Grinning Evil Death
• Aeon Flux
• Invisible Hands
• Lea Press on Limbs
• Stick Figure Theatre "Angel and the Bad Man"
• Miss Lidia's Makeover to the Stars "Sinead O'Connor"
• The Art School Girls of Doom
• Psycho-Gram (serialized throughout episode)

Second Episode

• Open: John Denver PSA or ad
• Winter Steele "Eat Crow"
• Invisible Hands
• Stick Figure Theatre "presents Mister Alfred Hitchcock"
• Rocky (a short film by Malcolm Bennett)
• Footwork "Dog Flirting"
• Dog Brain (by J. Falconer)
• Dangerous Puppets
• Cut-Up Camera
• Excerpt from Joy Street
• Weird (by Derek Philips)
• Aeon Flux
• Psycho-Gram (serialized throughout episode)

Third Episode

• Open: Faith No More "Epic"
• Soap Opera "Diandra Washes Away"
• Buzz Box (a short film by David Daniels)
• Snookles (by Juliet Stroud)
• Stick Figure Theatre "Edmund O'Brien in D.O.A."
• Cut-Up Camera
• Miss Lidia's Makeover to the Stars "Sylvester Stallone"
• Invisible Hands
• Prophet & Loss (by Jonathan Bairstow)
• Black Hula
• The Art School Girls of Doom
• Beach Chair
• Aeon Flux
• Psycho-Gram (serialized throughout episode)

Fourth Episode

• Open: Dental Health
• Winter Steele "Ball of Communion"
• Jac Mac and Rad Boy Go
• Footwork "Scoring"
• Dangerous Puppets
• The Thing That Lurked in the Tub
• Invisible Hands
• Monk's Purpose
• Stick Figure Theater "Madonna's Express Yourself"
• Aeon Flux
• Psycho-Gram (serialized throughout episode)

Fifth Episode

• Open: B-52's "Love Shack"
• Soap Opera "Caught in the Act"
• Enemies (by Bill Plympton) (serialized throughout episode)
• Push Comes to Shove
• Cut-Up Camera
• Face Like a Frog "Don't Go in the Basement"
• Invisible Hands
• Miss Lidia's Makeover to the Stars "George Michael"
• Stick Figure Theatre "José Ferrer in Cyrano de Bergerac"
• The Art School Girls of Doom
• They Might Be Giants "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)"
• Aeon Flux
• Psycho-Gram (serialized throughout episode)

Sixth Episode

• Open: Chalk test bars and tone
• Winter Steele "Stupid Hippies"
• Cut-Up Camera
• Invisible Hands
• Stick Figure Theatre "It's a Wonderful Life"
• Aeon Flux (entire first season)
• Psycho-Gram (serialized throughout episode)

Season 2 (1992)

First Episode

• Open: Uncle Louie's Travels (also serialized throughout episode)
• Aeon Flux "Gravity"
• The Adventures of Thomas and Nardo
• Beavis and Butt-head "Frog Baseball"
• The Specialists
• Winter Steele "Soft Heart, Hard Alcohol"
• Stick Figure Theatre "Night of the Living Dead"
• Dog-Boy

Second Episode

• Open: The Safety Twins
• Bobby and Billy "Let's Go to the Party!"
• Wishful Thinking (by Candy Guard)
• Dog-Boy
• The Specialists
• Office Space (the animated short by Mike Judge)
• The Listener (by Chris Landreth)
• Was Not Was "Hello Dad, I'm in Jail"
• Glove Story (by Miles Flanagan, Mole Hill, Mark Slater)
• Aeon Flux "Night"

Third Episode

• Open: Concert (excerpt from a short film by Ondrej Rudavsky)
• Joe Normal (serialized throughout episode)
• Was Not Was "What Up, Dog?"
• Speedbump the Roadkill Possum "Slipp'ry When Wet"
• Doktor Züm "Cafe LeBad"
• The Adventures of Thomas and Nardo
• Meggamorphosis (by Sean Schur, featuring the voices of Tim Curry and Annie Potts)
• Stick Figure Theatre "Henry V"
• The Specialists
• Bobby and Billy "Winter Fun"
• Killing of an Egg (by Paul Driessen)
• Dog-Boy

Fourth Episode

• Open: Stick Figure Theatre "Jimi Hendrix performing the Star Spangled Banner"
• Doktor Züm "Typical Records"
• Elvis Meets the Spider People From Hell
• Winter Steele "All Men Suck (Except Crow)"
• Dog-Boy
• Getting to Know Each Other
• Earth to Doris
• The Honkey Problem (animated short film by Mike Judge)
• Bobby and Billy "Camping Out"
• Bob the Frog in "Burp"
• A Day At the Beach (Feggorama)
• The Specialists

Fifth Episode

• Open: An excerpt of The Running Man
• The Specialists
• Stick Figure Theatre "Sergei Eisenstein's silent classic The Battleship Potemkin"
• Flugbild (a short film by Thomas Meyer-Hermann)
• Ladies
• Dog-Boy
• The Running Man (anime short by Yoshiaki Kawajiri)

Sixth Episode

• Open: 12 Dangers of Skydiving (also serialized throughout episode)
• Bobby and Billy "Soap Box Derby"
• Speedbump the Roadkill Possum "Batt'ry-fied"
• Dog-Boy
• Doktor Züm "Atom Bomb Factory"
• Stick Figure Theatre "The Crash of the Hindenberg"
• Let's Chop Soo-e
• Winter Steele "Rhinestones and Concussions"
• The Specialists

Seventh Episode

• Open: Door #8
• The Adventures of Thomas and Nardo
• This is Not Frank's Planet
• Aeon Flux "Leisure"
• Dog-Boy
• In the Aquarium (excerpt)
• Stick Figure Theatre "The Terror"
• The Specialists
• Koko's Earth Control

Eighth Episode

• Open: biker/rebel film
• Smoking Section (Feggo)
• The End
• Heads
• Winter Steele "F.T.W."
• The Specialists
• Pickpocket (Feggo)
• The Street Sweeper
• Speedbump the Roadkill Possum "Buck-a-Roost"
• The Hitchhiker
• Beware of Dog (Feggo)
• Dog-Boy

Ninth Episode

• Open: Truck Turner
• The Adventures of Thomas and Nardo
• Conversations (serialized throughout episode)
• Dog-Boy
• The Specialists
• Beavis and Butt-head "Peace, Love, and Understanding"
• Bobby and Billy "Earning Money"
• Aeon Flux "Tide"

Tenth Episode

• Open: Amore Baciami
• The Adventures of Thomas and Nardo
• Aeon Flux "War"
• The Specialists
• Dog-Boy
• Stick Figure Theatre "Bette Davis in Of Human Bondage"
• Winter Steele "Desperate Beauty"
• Amore Baciami

Season 3 (1994)

First Episode

• Open: Stick Figure Theatre "The Naked Edge part one"
• The Blockheads "Mall"
• Crazy Daisy Ed "To Officer with Love"
• Gas Planet
• Smart Talk with Raisin
• The Dangwoods "Nightmare in Trailer City"

Second Episode

• Open: The Day of the Dead Guy
• Uncle Louie "Party"
• Anyway (serialized throughout episode)
• Technological Threat
• Brad Dharma: Psychedelic Detective
• Stick Figure Theatre "The Naked Edge part two"
• One Less Ant
• The Bill and Willis Show

Third Episode

• Open: Strangers in Paradise
• Brad Dharma: Psychedelic Detective
• Nightwatchman
• Nietzsche Pops
• Beat Dedication
• Dr. X vs. Mr. Y
• Stick Figure Theatre "The Naked Edge part three"
• Crazy Daisy Ed "Fast, Loud, Dumb, and Proud"
• Sound Asleep

Fourth Episode

• Open: Uncle Louie "Blind Date"
• Genie Junkie
• Stick Figure Theatre "The Naked Edge part four"
• Cat and Mouse
• The Blockheads "TV"
• The Chore
• Human Bomb

Fifth Episode

• Open: Krazy Teens USA
• Rico Klein
• Honey Bunny (serialized throughout episode)
• Stick Figure Theatre "The Naked Edge part five"
• Crazy Daisy Ed "Let's Go to the Stinkin' Movies"
• Balloon Guy
• Sweat
• Green Beret

Sixth Episode

• Open: Medallion Love
• Crazy Daisy Ed "Hill Bomb Skate Sniper"
• Swine Cowboy
• Stick Figure Theatre "The Naked Edge part six"
• Autoguard 2000
• The Big City
• Beat
• Brad Dharma: Psychedelic Detective
• The Invisible Man in "Blind Love"