In addition to the premise about being detectives from the first three episodes, Aqua Teen Hunger Force has many other examples.
- At the beginning of every Season 1 and 2 episode, Aqua Teen Hunger Force used cold openings about Dr. Weird's strange antics and Steve's reactions. Notably, in Season 1, the things that Dr. Weird showcased or talked about would usually have something to do with the plot of episode, while in Season 2, he would showcase or talk about random things that had no impact on the plot.
- Crossing over with Later-Installment Weirdness, Season 3 still had cold openings, but they were no longer about Dr. Weird and Steve, instead, it was about "Spacecataz", a rejected Poorly Disguised Pilot split up about the rivalry between the Mooninites and the Plutonians. Season 3 would be the last season with cold openings, as in Season 4, cold openings were dropped completely. It wasn't until Season 8 (in "Allen Part One") that one last cold opening (with Dr. Weird and Steve) appeared in the show.
- The first two episodes used transitions with the show's logo followed by an explosion.
- There also used to be a Jive Turkey Lemony Narrator voiced by Schoolly D in the very early episodes. The narrator returned in the episode "Rabbot Redux" in Season 7, but that only happened because the episode was a huge Continuity Cavalcade of the early seasons.
- The houses of Carl and the Aqua Teens had simpler and more cartoony designs in the first two episodes. Also the GET OUT graffiti in the Aqua Teens' house was red rather than black.
- In the pilot episode, Meatwad's room was yellow instead of blue.
- Earlier episodes make liberal use of Stock Footage from old Hanna-Barbera cartoons (as per usual for Williams Street early shows), such as the street seen in "Rabbot", the black hole in "Balloonenstein", and the passing helicopter in "The Cubing", all were recycled from SWAT Kats. This stopped happening after Season 2, leaving recurring places and elements that were introduced earlier in the show that used this kind of stock footage (like the Powerpuff Mall, which was taken from The Powerpuff Girls pilot "Meat Fuzzy Lumpkins" in What A Cartoon) as Artifacts.
- In the first four episodes, Meatwad's default shape was inconsistent, as it changed every episode (justified since he is a shapeshifting meatball). Starting with the episode "Space Conflict from Beyond Pluto", his default shape has remained consistent.
- For the first two seasons, curse words were censored with the standard bleep. Afterwards, they were replaced with random sound effects (most prominently fart noises).
- Season 1 is notoriously Kinder and Cleaner compared to the rest of the series, as jokes weren't offensive enough to the point of crossing the line twice, it lacked Vulgar Humor, it didn't have many sexual over- and undertones as in later seasons, swearing was rare (although it still used mild to moderate profanity), and violence wasn't as graphic as it is in later seasons as blood was also rare.
- Season 1 is also the only season that doesn't feature the Running Gag of objects exploding after being thrown.
