After the Aqua Teen Hunger Force feature film bombed at the box office in 2007, many ardent fans felt like the show was headed in a downward spiral. A few months later, a video game based on the franchise hit the shelves and was given even worse reviews, prompting those same fans to wonder what the next disaster for the series was going to be.

Those conspiracy theorists will have to wait a little longer for the show to produce another failure however, as a new DVD, which compiles the entire fifth season, is a return to the roots of the series and is exactly what the ailing franchise needs. Featuring cameos from porn star Tera Patrick [who ironically spends most of the time with a corndog in her mouth] and former New York Giants center Bart Oates, the fifth season of Aqua Teen is as raucous as it has ever been and will easily quench the laughter of the show’s hardcore fans. Almost every villain is also back for the DVD, while a few new characters are introduced that will catch your attention along the way.

For those that are unfamiliar with the show, unlike the average animated sitcom, which clocks in at about 22 minutes, Aqua Teen Hunger is usually anywhere from 12-15 minutes long. The production value isn’t quite up to the level of “The Simpsons” and the writing isn’t exactly the caliber of “American Dad,” but it is nonetheless a wild and entertaining show that plays off of human nature, stereotypes and pop culture for most of its laughs. Following the day to day lives of Fry Lock, Meat Wad, Master Shake and their neighbor Carl, the quartet find themselves in all types of wild situations that will either leave you speechless or gasping for air.

The dilemmas in the fifth season of the show are no different, as Shake is forced to tackle fatherhood head on, while Meat Wad gets a job at a local car wash, run by enormous brains trying to take over the world. Carl is also forced to surrender one of his more sensitive body parts to a Chinese restaurant owner after unknowingly signing a binding contract after eating there. While the story arc’s themselves aren’t exactly enthralling and may seem a bit too far fetched and disjointed for some, it’s the dialogue and improvised lines by the talented voice actors that really bring the show alive. Dana Snyder and Carey Means, who voice Shake and Fry Lock, are at their comedic best on this DVD and have several one-liners that you’ll be repeating for weeks after watching.

What also makes the fifth season and the show in general so much fun is that anyone can just jump right into it and laugh. All you have to do is understand a few quick things. Carl is your prototypical over-40, politically incorrect single man from New Jersey, Shake is the comic relief, Fry Lock is the voice of reason and Meat Wad is the clumsy youngster. Once you understand everyone’s role on the show, everything falls together and the show becomes extremely enjoyable.

With that being said, anyone who has never watched the show before will find season five a great place to start viewing, while hardcore fans of the series will forget about how bad the groups last few forays into the public spotlight were. Aqua Teen Hunger Force’s star may have been dim for a while, but this DVD definitely captures the brightness that has entranced millions of fans for the past half decade.

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