Code Monkeys
by Pedro RodriguezWhen I first heard about the animated series "Code Monkeys" on G4, I knew that it was going to colorful humor, extreme geek stereotypes, and anachronisms that only a stoner wouldn't pick up on. I had no idea that it would also have a back bone and brains. I'll admit I had my doubts that they could pull off a good show, especially since most of the programs on the Comcast owned channel were as out of place as an Eskimo in Cancun (still in America, but nowhere near Nowhere). Still, as a member of the industry, I decided to bear witness to this portrayal of an eighties video game company.
In the first episode, Dave and Jerry are two programmers that work for Steve Wozniak, in a company called Gameavision. However, when Mr. Wozniak announces that he will be selling the company to start a computer company called Apple, Dave does everything he can to make the potential buyers run in fear. Unfortunately, his plan has unexpected repercussions and his boss decides to sell the company to Beleecovision, a company where "awesomeness goes to die". Steve does have an alternative seller named Robert Larity, and leaves it up to the staff to vote for a seller. Desperate for anyone but Beleecovision, Dave convinces Jerry to vote for Mr. Larity. In a sense of irony, the company employees dodge a metaphorical bullet, only to end up dodging real ones. It turns out that the new owner is a trigger happy Texan who has only bought the company to make money off of it. Thus the plot has been set into motion: a group of slackers that work in a video game company and the rollicking old cowboy that owns it.
Dave and Jerry personalities are based on the polar opposite buddy formula. Dave is narcissistic and apathetic, while Jerry is reasonable and cautious. Jerry's reaction to seeing Steven Spielberg is to pee in his pants. Dave's reaction to a night of getting high is walking around with no pants and pondering why his *ahem* old fellah is painted green. You can decide who is better off for yourself. One positive aspect about their relationship is that their personalities are more flexible than other duo comedies, so it doesn't feel like you're watching just another buddy comedy. Jerry does tend to cower quicker than Dave, but he doesn't turn into a rug. Dave has also been known to roll around in the ground, agonizing in pain.
Mr. Larity is another surprise. Despite the fact that he acts like a "stupid, gun happy Texan", he is actually quite smart. One perfect example is in the plot of the second episode. At first the company is hired by Spielberg to do E. T. the video game. During the show, Dave botches the project and the biggest video game release of all time becomes the biggest flop of all time. As an angry mob arrives and passes, Mr. Larity reveals to the two programmers that he switched the company labels with Beleecovision. Then at the end of the show he reveals that he was actually planning on Dave to fail in order to help out director George Lucas pull a friendly little "prank" on his buddy Steven.
The rest of supporting cast members (or at least the male half) are embedded in stereotypes, the hostile African American, the flamboyant gay guy, the dumb jock, and of course the D&D master with the extended vocabulary. In most cases, the supporting cast is used for comic relief rather than push the plot forward. Between the primary and sub plots, the show is very well balanced, and the show doesn't feel like it takes to much time to do one or the other.
The platform for the show well planned out. If you're even casually familiar with the show, chances are you're aware that it's been made to look like an 8-bit video game. Chances are that you're also aware of some of the visual gags, as seen in the trailers, are based off of the games from that time as well. Truth be told, the commercials only scratch the surface. The gags used throughout the shows range from common knowledge to obscure refrences. Either way most gamers will get a kick out of it. The mockup Head-Up Display used in the show is priceless. Young gamers might not be familiar with it, but the HUD at the top and bottom is in reference to the ones used in old PC adventure games where both the game's title, the active character's status and/or items are displayed on the top or bottom of the screen. In this case the status bar at the top and bottom will change based on what the character says or does. The common status bars include health (LoZ), BS, and Psycho Level.
The show is not for everyone, and there are content may be offensive to some people, but that isn't the biggest problem. No, the biggest problem isn't the show itself, but G4's method of station identification. G4's placement of their Digital Onscreen Graphic (DOG) overlaps the show's HUD mockup. It gets really annoying when the DOG extends itself for an advertisement. Try watching the show after midnight when Midnight Spank is on; it almost covers the whole bloody screen!
The good news is Code Monkeys is a good show that is able to poke fun at the video game industry and the people running it. The writing is more solid that one would anticipate, with enough laughs to keep gamers coming back for more. The show isn't the splitting image of the business so I don't recommend that you use it as a reference. The bad news (for G4 at least) is when it comes to putting out the Anit-G4 flames, the show is just another drop in the bucket. It just isn't enough to make up for all those reruns of "COPS" and "The Man Show", which are vaguely related to either a gamer or geek's life.