Line #54 WesternAnimation/TheBrakShow


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13	[[quoteright:299:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/thebrakshow.png]]
14
15	''The Brak Show'' (2000-2003) was a ''very'' surreal QuarterHourShort on Creator/AdultSwim, [[TheParody parodying]] {{Dom Com}}s, set (sort of) in the ''WesternAnimation/SpaceGhostCoastToCoast'' [[TheVerse universe]]. The show starred Brak and Zorak as [[HighSchool high school students]] in a suburban neighborhood.
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17	It was animated by Wild Hare Studios, which animated ''WesternAnimation/AquaTeenHungerForce'' for its first two seasons. Creator/ClayMartinCroker, who played Zorak, was also the animation director for both series. It ran for three seasons and twenty-eight episodes before it was unexpectedly canceled, with viewers not finding out until the end of the final episode, the first of the original Adult Swim lineup (not counting Anime/CowboyBebop, which didn't belong to them) to be canceled.
18
19	----
20	!! The Brak Tropes:
21	* AdaptationalDumbass: Most notably Brak, who was a intelligent, underhanded supervillain in ''WesternAnimation/SpaceGhost''. Here, he's [[AgeLift a teenager]] who is a [[KindheartedSimpleton lovable, harmless simpleton]] who is [[PluckyComicRelief very comedic]], especially in other adaptations such as ''WesternAnimation/CartoonPlanet'' and ''WesternAnimation/SpaceGhostCoastToCoast''.
22	* AdaptationalHeroism: Brak leans more towards good than bad and is not what one calls a villain, in contrast to how he is a full on villain in the original ''Space Ghost''.
23	* ActorAllusion: Zorak says "[[WesternAnimation/AquaTeenHungerForce Gentlemen, behold]]!" as he unveils the "[[BuxomBeautyStandard operated]]" cast in "All That I Desire You".
24	* BasementDweller: Despite being a suave man of culture, Mobab still lives in his mother's basement. And is easily cowed into compliance when she threatens to dispose of his "tiny pies."
25	* BlackComedy: "Splat" has this in droves. Mom and Dad [[spoiler:accidentally run over Zorak]]. Not long after, Mom's using his severed head as a hand puppet, and both devour his remains as a "chicken dinner." When [[spoiler:Clarence]] plans to alert the authorities, Mom brutally murders him and grinds his body into sausages. Throughout the episode, she makes several quips about her actions, but at least the end reveals [[spoiler: "Mom" in this episode was actually a substitute named Brenda]].
26	* BrickJoke: At the start of "Brakstreet: Men in the Band" it's mentioned Mom went to a ski resort to get away from Dad and Brak. After Dad and Brak win the rap battle, first prize being a trip to a ski resort, it turns out to be the same ski resort Mom went to, much to her displeasure.
27	* BuffoonishTomcat: Well Brak is classified as an anthropomorphic [[AgeLift teenage]] "space cat" and/or a Alien Cat, Brak is one that is very buffoonish and is a [[KindheartedSimpleton lovable simpleton]] in the show.
28	* BullyingADragon: Zorak to Thundercleese. Granted, Zorak is a bullying {{jerk\|ass}} to everyone, but you'd think he'd give the ''literal war machine'' a wider berth.
29	%% * TheCameo: A blink-and-you-missed-it [[WesternAnimation/AquaTeenHungerForce Meatwad]] riding a scooter/moped.
30	* TheChewToy: Clarence grew into this role as he made more appearances. He's been dropped down a trapdoor, set on fire by a pyrokinetic Zorak, nonchalantly gunned down also by Zorak (offscreen, he thought they were playing squirt guns), EatenAlive by a giant ant, had his body processed into sausages, and lost part of his head to a shoulder rocket.
31	%% ** Zorak, and [[LaserGuidedKarma he deserves it.]]
32	%% --->'''Zorak:''' Nobody likes me. That's the way I like it.
33	* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Dad often demonstrates this side of himself through his nuggets of wisdom. Or emptying a shotgun into an ice cream display case for "trying to rob him".
34	** The titular Brak demonstrates this on a regular basis due to how eccentric and goofy he is.
35	* {{Crossover}}:
36	** One with ''WesternAnimation/SpaceGhostCoastToCoast'' where Space Ghost shows up to try and get Brak back while Moltar meets Brak and Zorak.
37	** "The Bashingtons", a series of shorts played during New Year's Eve 2003 that starts with Brak's mom and dad inviting all the other Adult Swim stars at the time (specifically, everyone from a show made by Williams Street, so no appearances of the ''WesternAnimation/HomeMovies'', ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'', and ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' characters or anyone from their anime lineup, not that they'd fit, anyway.) for a New Year's Eve party. The last segment ends with Dad watching the show get canceled, Mom running off with their last paycheck, and George Lowe begging Adult Swim executive Keith Crofford to keep ''Space Ghost'' on.
38	* CurbStompBattle: How Zorak describes his InUniverse playing of "Headkicker" in "Time Machine".
39	--->'''Mom''': What have you boys been up to all weekend?
40	---> '''Brak:''' We've been playing Headkicker.
41	--->'''Zorak:''' ''I've'' been playing. ''You've'' been getting a red-ass beatdown.
42	* DarkerAndEdgier: Season two compared to season one, justified in that season one aired before Creator/AdultSwim had "officially" split from Creator/CartoonNetwork.
43	%% * DirtyOldMan:
44	%% ** Marlon the Wizard.
45	%% ** Despite being a PosthumousCharacter, Poppy is shown to be one, considering his advice to Brak about girls essentially amounts to sexual harassment. Amusingly, Marlon and Poppy shared the same voice actor (Don Kennedy).
46	* DismemberingTheBody: In the episode "Splat", Zorak is chopped apart by Dad and Mom's [[spoiler: imposter]] and make him into filets after running him over.
47	* DownerEnding: The series ends with [[ItMakesSenseInContext everyone turned into penguins]] and Brak aware he's been canceled. An ad for reruns after the show ended shows Brak back to normal...except he's been forced to live in a garbage dump and is rather bitter about it.
48	* DudeLooksLikeALady: [[spoiler:Despite the androgynous voice and vaguely feminine appearance, Pepper is actually a guy. Zorak is quite disturbed and pissed off when he finds out]].
49	* EndOfSeriesAwareness: Deliberately subverted. There's no indication ''whatsoever'' in "Cardburkey" that it's the last episode until the literal last line, "I wish we [[ItMakesSenseInContext weren't penguins]] and that [[BreakingTheFourthWall our show]] [[BreathlessNonSequitur wasn't canceled]]." And then the episode just '''stops''', followed by the Cartoon Network logo and a [[LettingTheAirOutOfTheBand deflated]] snipped of the theme song. At least during the original airing, there was a brief ShowWithinAShow epilogue where Brak and his dad respond to Adult Swim canceling them.
50	* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: Everyone calls Brak's parents "Dad" and "Mom". Including campaign advertisements and newspapers. [[spoiler:Subverted in "The Bashingtons" where "Dad" tells Brak his name is Javier, and he isn't Brak's dad after finding out they were canceled]].
51	* EvilVersusEvil: One episode revolves around Zorak having his booth ([[RefugeInAudacity wherein his targets would pay him to beat them up, since they'd "be getting it anyway"]]) stolen by a new bully named "Butchy" Toughington. The mantis's attempts to fight Butchy [[CurbStompBattle end with an ass-beating]].
52	* FireMeansChaos: In an episode, Brak's mother leaves Brak and his father alone in the house; [[MenCantKeepHouse after a few minutes]], the house is shown in complete disarray and Father asks Brak about the status of the fire. Brak (in bunker gear) replies, "It's contained for now."
53	* ForcedTransformation: [[spoiler:Thanks to Mobab forcing her into a cocoon, Mom becomes a giant butterfly at the end of his episode]].
54	* FreeTheFrogs: Brak tries to get out of dissecting a clam. The clam eventually manages to free himself.
55	* TheFriendNobodyLikes: Zorak. Wantonly destructive, more than willing to [[ThePrankster pull pranks]] on everybody, and in general seen as a nuisance by everyone but Brak. That all being said, he still hangs out with Brak's family and helps them out, like participating in a play Brak put on or playing a role in Dad's campaign ad.
56	* FurryConfusion: Used in the {{pilot}}.
57	* GroinAttack: Brak brings up Butchy's threat to kick Zorak "where his biscuits are baked." [[ShareTheMalePain Dad's reaction]] more or less confirms the tropes is in play.
58	-->'''Zorak''': Shut up about my biscuits!
59	* GroundedForever:
60	** In an episode, [[CloudCuckoolander Dad]] grounded Brak for 3 years.
61	** In another, he grounded Brak with these words:
62	---> "... and you can rot up there, for all I care!"
63	%% * HeroicComedicSociopath: Zorak, somewhat muted by the fact that he is TheChewToy.
64	%% * HeyLetsPutOnAShow: ''Film/{{Psycho}}[[Theatre/{{Oklahoma}} klahoma]]''!
65	* HugeGirlTinyGuy: Mom is ''much'' taller than Dad, who is essentially a normal-sized human.
66	%% * HumongousMecha: [[AvertedTrope Averted]] in that Thundercleese is based off one, but he's certainly not as tall.
67	* HypocriticalHumor:
68	** One of the opening lines from Brak in "Hippo": "Then when I was doing my book report, Zorak pulled my pants down and everybody laughed, even me! [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment 'Cause it was funny, but not to me!]]"
69	%% * IceCreamKoan: Dad has ''a lot'' of these.
70	* IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming: Not the official titles, but episodes from Season 1 started with a parody of a Dom Com, but with Brak's name, much like ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy''.
71	* InCaseYouForgotWhoWroteIt: Parodied with the original pilots, ''Brak Presents The Brak Show Starring Brak.''
72	* {{Jerkass}}: Zorak.
73	** Dad also, though a bit more passive-aggressive about it.
74	* KillItWithFire: Zorak is seen discharging a flamethrower in the opening credits, and appears in one fantasy sequence turning that same flamethrower onto an auditorium. He also undergoes an inexplicable "metamorphosis" in one episode that gives him pyrokinesis. He immediately uses this newfound power to bathe Thundercleese, Wunderbird, and Clarence in flames.
75	* KnightOfCerebus: Brenda, Mom's lookalike and replacement in "Splat", is easily the darkest character in the series. Helps that she has [[NightmareFetishist a disturbing sense of humor]] and [[AxCrazy a violent temper]].
76	* LargeHam:
77	** '''"I AM RHONDA, FROM THE SEVENTH LEVEL OF YAR!"'''
78	** Thundercleese as well.
79	--->'''Thundercleese:''' "Is that the best you can do?"
80	--->'''His Adversary:''' "... yes."
81	--->'''Thundercleese:''' "THEN PREPARE TO TASTE MY RAGE!"
82	*** Seriously, he can't even take a vacation without getting hammy.
83	---->''Cut to Thundercleese surfing on a tidal wave while aimlessly shooting his laser cannons in all directions.''
84	---->'''Thundercleese:''' "OUT OF MY WAY! HA HA! TASTE DEFEAT!!!"
85	* LethallyStupid: Brak is put in charge of looking after Thundercleese's pet goldfish. He's warned not to feed said goldfish three hams, because it will kill him. The first thing Brak does is feed the fish a three-ham omelette (because he misremembered the warning as "three hams will fill him, three hams will thrill him").
86	%% * MusicalEpisode:
87	%% ** A majority of the episodes in the first two seasons. But ''Psychoklahoma'' especially.
88	%% ** Same goes for ''Brakstreet''.
89	%% * NegativeContinuity, caused by {{Snapback}}s.
90	* NightmareFuelStationAttendant: Rhonda, of the Seventh Level of Yar, is a freaky entity in a box that tried to encourage her son's attempts at cannibalism. There's also Brenda, Mom's very disturbing lookalike and replacement.
91	%% * NoIndoorVoice: Rhonda of the Seventh Level of Yar.
92	* NoNameGiven: Brak's parents. [[spoiler:In one of the Adult Swim New Year's Eve Party bumpers in 2003, his name is Javier and he's not Brak's dad.]]
93	* NoSocialSkills: Thundercleese. He prepares for social get-togethers by studying bad "party jokes".
94	* OhCrap: When Thundercleese's powers are turned off after being deemed "obsolete", Zorak takes this opportunity to destroy his garden since he can no longer blast him like usual. Zorak has this reaction when Brak tells Thundercleese his powers were turned back on due to the threat of an oncoming meteor.
95	* OlderThanTheyLook: Parodied in one episode when Zorak reveals he's actually forty years old
96	* OnceAnEpisode: Brak sings, and Thundercleese blows up Zorak.
97	* OnlySaneMan: Mom, 99% of the time.
98	* OutOfFocus: In "Feud", Brak and Zorak are completely absent until they suddenly show up in a tank near the end.
99	* PaperThinDisguise: Dad (rather poorly) dresses up his new vacuum cleaner with a wig, a pair of fake lips, a bra, and a skirt, and tries to pass it off as his mother. Brak and Thundercleese buy it (although Thundercleese was already smitten with the vacuum cleaner).
100	* PinocchioNose: In "Dinner Party", Franklin's nose keeps growing every time he lies. Nobody seems to notice.
101	* PopularSayingBut:
102	--->'''Brak:''' It's like I say, WhenLifeGivesYouLemons... blow those lemons to bits with your laser cannons!
103	* PrematureAggravation: Brak's father declares a hypothetical brother dead to him after imagining what he would be like.
104	* ProductPlacement:
105	** Papa John's Pizza appeared through stock photos in a few episodes. The company was even thanked in the credits of an episode.
106	** At the end of ''Braklet, Prince of Spaceland'', after both Brak and Zorak have been decapitated.
107	--->'''Brak:''' Well, what are we gonna do now?
108	--->'''Zorak:''' ''(Looking into the camera)'' Watch ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirlsMovie'' on DVD!
109	* ReallyFondOfSleeping: Brak. Once he can be heard muttering, "MAN, I love sleeping. I wish I could wake up so I could go back to sleep again."
110	* RuleOfFunny: The show essentially runs on it. How else do you [[ItMakesSenseInContext make the jump from fish food to]] ''[[ItMakesSenseInContext ham]]'' in less than five seconds?
111	* ShoutOut:
112	** As seen in his "grandma prison" flashbacks, Zorak shared the same prison number as [[Film/AClockworkOrange Alex [=DeLarge=]]].
113	** Merlin, the more serious wizard, shares the same garb colors as [[WesternAnimation/TheSwordInTheStone another wizard with the same name]].
114	** Brak has a jar containing a "Charlie Daniels Gland", which he named because of the hat it inexplicably possesses.
115	** The bulletin board in Brak's bedroom has a ''WesternAnimation/TwoStupidDogs'' picture on it.
116	* SpinOff: From ''WesternAnimation/SpaceGhostCoastToCoast''.
117	* StockFootage:
118	** From ''WesternAnimation/SpaceGhost & Dino Boy.'' One episode used StockFootage from ''Huckleberry Hound''.
119	** Most of Brak and Zorak's animation were actually recycled from the "Brak Presents the Brak Show Starring Brak" Specials.
120	* TheyKilledKennyAgain:
121	** Zorak has been killed a few times, but always manages to return (although "Splat" required some magical assistance for that to happen). Clarence has also been killed or grievously injured a few times, as well (such as in the aforementioned "Splat").
122	** Not of the show itself, but Dad once hosted a series of "We will kill you" Halloween bumpers in 2003. [[RunningGag He's killed in almost every one of them]].
123	* ToServeMan: Zorak surmises that the mothership that appears in "Pepper" is a lunch wagon that'll take the "lucky one" and feed them to a giant worm. [[spoiler:It turns out he was not far off when they abduct Sisto and ask how long it takes to "prepare themselves"]].
124	* TokenHuman: Dad is a human in a world full of aliens much taller than he is, including Mom and Brak, although he could be a humanoid, given the setting.
125	%% * TooDumbToLive: Zorak always dies.
126	* UnsettlingGenderReveal: [[spoiler:It turns out that Pepper is actually male, when the mothership speaker outright says that it's time to return home to his wife and children. Zorak, who had spent the episode in a relationship with Pepper, was understandably angry to find this out]].
127	%% * TheVoiceless: Sisto, Brak's brother who tended to appear OnceAnEpisode in Season One (until he was [[spoiler:abducted and presumably eaten by aliens]]).
128	* WhamLine:
129	** The show's final line is Brak revealing that the show has been canceled.
130	** Dad's line after the show was canceled.
131	--->'''Dad:''' [[spoiler:I'm not your father, you can stop calling me "Dad". My name is Javier. And I think I might as well go back to my normal size]].
132	** Parodied in "All That I Desire You," which made fun of soap opera tropes. Dad was really the tumor-threatened millionaire Drake Gainway the entire time, Brak's wife was actually his half-sister and Dad's legitimate daughter, and Zorak and Clarence were the illegitimate children of Dad's mistress, Cynthia. [[SurpriseIncest Whom they both married]].
133	* WhatDoesSheSeeInHim: The series gets a lot of mileage out of Mom's unpleasant marriage to Dad. Amusingly, he's quite aware of it.
134	--> '''Mom:''' No, Brak, dear. Your father is just being an ass.
135	--> '''Dad:''' Well, you should know. You married one!
136	* WholePlotReference: ''Braklet, Prince of Spaceland'' is a take on ''Theatre/{{Hamlet}}''. Of course, this is still The Brak Show so everything is completely insane. For example, there is a [[Franchise/StarWars lightsaber battle]] at the end, and a plug for ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirlsMovie''.
137	** The way that episode ended could qualify as a GainaxEnding.
138	* AWizardDidIt: The show presents a literal example. Apparently everything, from medicine to practices such as homework, were brought into existence by Marlon and his more serious colleague Merlin.
139	* YouDoNotWantToKnow: While taking up residence in Brak's room, Zorak discharges some sort of disgusting goo all over Brak's bed. He then asks Brak if he really wants to know where his "funk" came from.

Context WesternAnimation / TheBrakShow