'90s sci-fi action series 'Paramount' more than decades ahead of its time

The author Jonathan Klotz
| Published 19 hours ago

Back in 1991, when MTV was still known for music videos and not endless replays of them Ridiculousnessit was a haven for experimental, weird and boundary-pushing series Liquid TV. The 30-minute show showcased animated shorts from a variety of genres and animation styles, ranging from Beavis and Butt-Head to the history-making science fiction series Æon Flux. One of the most creative works of animation of the 90s, the extraordinary series won countless awards, influenced decades of future sci-fi, and has been streamed thanks to Paramount+.

The cartoon that changed everything

Æon Flux doesn't look like any other animated piece from 1991, which included Nickeldeon's debut in perspective. Doug and Rugrats, Darkwing Duckand Pirates of the Dark Waterbut in its short two-minute episodes, it left a lasting impression. Shorts for Liquid TV Created by Peter Chung, they featured what would become his signature style, forgoing fine detail and often background art to enhance the visual expression of each character. They often featured tall, slender figures who moved like marionettes. Assuming that six, two-minute episodes would be the end of the series, Chun killed off Æon, but it proved so popular that the shorts were brought back for a second season, this time extended to five minutes.

With more screen time to flesh out the futuristic science fiction dystopia for Æon FluxChung kept with tradition and had Æon, a talented assassin working for Monica's city-state, die in a variety of ways, ranging from gruesome and random to comical, in each five-minute episode. Eon's relationship with Trevor Goodchild, the gifted scientist who leads the nation of Bregna, was shown to be a love-hate relationship as they tried to kill each other with their doomed love and were major parts of Season 2. Æon keeps dying and each episode taking place in a separate continuity sounds like a gag from Rick and Mortybut in 1991 it was especially strange because no cartoon had ever done anything like that before, but it was just one way the series stood out.

Æon Flux Season 3

during the 1st and 2nd seasons of the year Æon Fluxno one spoke. Each short featured no dialogue and was mostly silent, yet Chung's animation managed to tell complete stories in each episode, aided in large part by the expressive faces of his characters. That changed with season 3, when instead of shorts, the cartoon got a full season with 30-minute episodes, which are now available for streaming. The most important thing+. Finally, Æon stopped dying every episode and the addition of dialogue further fleshed out the characters, with Trevor in particular emerging as an amazing villain you'll love to hate.

Although not as beloved as the original silent shorts, Æon Flux Season 3 maintains the high quality of the animation while also telling a dark story that makes you question who is right, Æon or Trevor. You won't have an answer by the end of episode 10, but you'll have plenty to think about and debate with the rest of the fans going forward 30 years later. Adult cartoons that explore dark and mature themes are quite common these days, especially thanks to greater access animebut in 1995 it was surprising.

Influence of Æon Flux American animation cannot be understated, as this series inspired a generation of animators to experiment with bold, cheeky designs and use animation as a different kind of storytelling medium beyond Saturday morning cartoons. Unfortunately, the first thing most people think of today is the 2005 live-action movie starring the lead Charlize Theronwhich has very little to do with the groundbreaking cartoon and would be one of the biggest box office disasters of the year. If you've seen the movie, you know that the original animation is much better.

Æon Flux Season 3, the only one with “normal” length episodes and dialogue, is currently streaming on Paramount+.