CHRIS' QUARANTINE RECOMMENDATION OF THE DAY (3/23/20): BALLMASTRZ 9009

CHRIS' QUARANTINE RECOMMENDATION OF THE DAY (3/23/20):  BALLMASTRZ 9009

By Chris La Vigna (@Chris_LaVigna)

A promotional still for season 2, which really leans on the show's anime influences.

Okay, I know that right now, things are looking pretty bleak. The COVID-19 outbreak probably hasn't even hit its peak yet, and many of us are probably already starting to go a little nutty from being cooped up in our rooms, practicing all of that good social distancing stuff. Well, I'm right there with you, and the only way I can possibly think to be of use to my fellow man right now is by recommending some cool media to watch/listen to/read while we all wait out this particularly new  shitstorm (at least for those of us who weren't around for the Bubonic Plague or the Spanish Flu).

That brings me to today's recommended viewing: Adult Swim's BALLMASTRZ 9009.  Created by Christy Karacas, whose prior credits include creating another classic Adult Swim Show, SUPERJAIL, the show takes place in a post-apocalyptic world that has cobbled itself together after being ravaged by a cataclysmic event dubbed "The Rad Wars." The leader/omnipotent entity of this new world is a Goldust-inspired creature named Crayzar (voiced by Karacas himself), and he keeps the masses satisfied with a bloodsport he's invented, simply called "The Game." From what I can tell, and I say this as a huge fan of the show, the game is basically just a super intense version of ROLLERBALL with even fewer clear rules.

Crayzar (right, voiced by Christy Karacas) and Ace (left, voiced by Jessica DiCicco) have a heart-to-heart.

But the game itself is just the setup, a vague premise used to introduce us to our heroes: The Leptons, also known as The Worst Team In The League. The team consists of a rag tag group of misfits: There's Ace, A young orphan with boundless optimism, Babyball, a sentient ball with a foul mouth (voiced by Dana Snyder, best known as Master Shake from AQUA TEEN HUNEGR FORCE), Dee Dee, a girl who switches from being adorably twee and anime-like to full-on monstrous with no warning, Leto, her lethargic boyfriend (voiced by Dave Willis, co-creator of AQUA TEEN HUNGER FORCE and SQUIDBILLIES), Flip, a body stump who wears a crazy sensory deprivation helmet and uses a psychic umbilical cord to play in lieu of his missing limbs, Lulu, a giant green monster with a sensitive side, and Bob, a silent little grey alien who usually takes the brunt of the opposing team's violence.

Of course, the true star of the team is none of these aforementioned mutants. The real star is Gaz Digzy, voiced by the inimitable Natasha Lyonne. Doing her best brash New Yorker accent, Lyonne plays Digzy, a once great star of The Game who has fallen from grace and joins The Leptons in a last-ditch effort at a comeback, with a mixture of bold confidence, reckless hedonism, and just a smidge of genuine care and concern for the adoptive family she finds in The Leptons.

Gaz Digzy (Left, Natasha Lyonne) and Babyball (Right, Dana Snyder) are the best teammates/enablers you could ever ask for!

The show features a lot of anime-inspired imagery and minor characters, dropping references to everything from AKIRA and SAILOR MOON to VAMPIRE HUNTER D. It also features some gorgeous background design and animation, a true feast for the eyes for those of you who can dig some manic high-concept animation! Season Two also gives us a lot of character growth, and sees the relationships between characters like Gaz and Ace growing from a tolerated nuisance (Ace is Gaz's biggest fan, after all) into a real emotional bond between a hardened vet and a fresh-faced newbie.

Each episode of the show runs about 11 minutes, and season two just wrapped up last night. With 20 episodes altogether, you can binge the entire show to date in a few hours, and by the end, you'll be overstuffed with all the high energy and psychotic humor you could expect from a show with Karacas' name on it. Head on over to the show's page on AdultSwim.com to catch up. It's also available on Hulu, although it might be blocked depending on what package you have with Hulu, because they always love to find some new way to charge you an extra couple of bucks, those bastards.

Anywho, check out BALLMASTRZ 9009, and let me know what you think by dropping a comment, or just yelling at me on social media! See ya tomorrow with another rec!