Mar 1, 2008

[TV] Æon Flux (The Complete Animated Series)

Æon Flux (The Complete Animated Series)Once upon a time, there was Liquid Television. This MTV show meant as a showcase for animated shorts was mind-blowing for me as kid and I feel like it's such a shame that the show ended so soon and seems to have largely disappeared into social history. You can't even get it on DVD anymore.

One of the better-known cartoons that managed to survive the demise of the show is Aeon Flux a rather avant garde science fiction series that managed to snag its own limited TV series and eventually a live-action movie that was received with mixed reactions.

I always loved this cartoon and was happy to have eventually managed to download the entire series and after several sit-down sessions, eventually got to watch he entire run. Whether or not I actually understand the series fully is yet to be seen and I think I'll need to watch it several more times before I fully get it.

Æon Flux is all about a secret agent from the nation of Monica named Aeon, who engages in various missions against Trevor Goodchild and the nation of Bregna. The entire series was the product of the mind of Peter Chung.

One of the greatest challenges when it comes to trying to understand the entire series was the non-linear nature of the entire show. In the 6 initial shorts, Aeon died at the even of every episode and thus naturally there was not possibility of continuity. When it came to the full TV show, each half-hour episode was also largely independent of the other and the only constants present were the two primary characters of Aeon and Trevor, both enemies and lovers at the same time.

The series was highly symbolic in terms of both the characters and of course the visuals and I used to joke that you'd need to be seriously doped up to even begin to make sense of all the imagery. I still hold to this belief, to some extent, which speaks of both the brilliance and potentially the madness of Chung.

I don't recommend trying to watch all 16 episodes in a single sitting - it's just too hard to comprehend. Take time between episodes to sort through all the images and plot twists you've been subjected to. It might help you just a bit.

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