Superjail! Season One

The eponymous jail of the title of this animated series from the Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block is located inside a live volcano and ruled by The Warden (voiced by David Wain), a cheerfully eccentric character in flamboyant purple duds and matching top hat (imagine the Willy Wonka of maximum-security penitentiaries) who treats the place like his own personal toy box. That laissez-faire approach extends to the facility's staff: ultra-butch and gruesomely hairy guard Alice, the terror of the cellblock (and object of the warden's unrequited affections); the warden's nervous accountant/assistant, Jared; the resident doctor who uses the prison population as his private stock of guinea pigs for medical experiments; and a pair of twins whose presence goes unexplained as they wreak havoc on the warden's plans. Strange, surreal, and blithely ultra-violent, Superjail unfortunately delivers little more than nonsensical stories in a deranged alternate reality for a young adult core audience with a taste for absurdist humor and outrageous visuals. Compiling all 10 episodes of the 2008 first season, DVD extras include the pilot episode “Bunny Love,” episode animatics, and a music video. Not a necessary purchase. (S. Axmaker)