Description:

Brett Merhar just recently stepped into the Hollywood realm, as creator/executive producer and one of the lead voice actors in Showtime's new adult-oriented animated series, Free for All.

The series is based on Merhar's comic strip of the same name, which has been nationally syndicated by King Features since April 27, 1998.

Based on the syndicated comic strip of the same name, Free for All marks Showtime's first attempt at an animated series. With slick animation by veteran company Film Roman (The Simpsons, King of the Hill, X-Men: Evolution) and writing by Merriwether Williams (Spongebob Squarepants) and the comic's creator, Brett Merhar, Free for All is an above-average entry into the world of adult-oriented animation.

Free for All features community college student Johnny G. Jenkins (Jonathan Silverman) and his best friend, cool guy Clay Zeeman (Merhar). Johnny's a nice guy who lives with his verbally abusive alcoholic father (Sam McMurray) and his sex-crazed grandmother (Mitzi McCall Brill). Clay's an overnight multimillionaire living off money he gained from suing Taco Hell when he slipped on a chalupa. Clay has a pet ferret, named Angus D. Khan, who's obsessed with Vicodin and other drugs and Johnny's a little obsessed with his next door neighbor, Paula (Juliette Lewis).

The Free for All pilot episode definitely has the feel of a comic strip, with various short storylines in the beginning as we're introduced to each character. But where some animated series adapted from comic strips consist solely of just that – short little stories that have no effect on or relation to anything else in the episode – FfA starts up a couple episode-long storylines and follows through on them. When Angus steals some Vicodin from Clay's medicine cabinet, the ferret needs to be detoxed. And when Johnny is being tormented by his crazy grandmother who wants him out of the house, Clay says he'll take care of Johnny's situation if Johnny detoxes Angus. What follows are some bizarre sequences involving Johnny trying to help the ferret with the aid of The Robert Downey Jr. Guide to Cold Turkey and Johnny's grandma getting busy with Eminem and Dr. Dre.

Showtime/Film Roman Angus D. Khan, Johnny's Grandma, Johnny's Dad, Johnny G. Jenkins, Clay Zeeman, & Paula

The pop culture references strewn throughout the episode are reminiscent of Family Guy– though not always laugh-out-loud funny, at the very least they make you think, "I can't believe they just showed that." From old lady nudity to Eminem blissfully cuddling with another man, Free for All goes places you just normally don't see in an animated world.

Overall, FfA is off to an enjoyable start; it'll be interesting to see where this bizarre group of characters go from here.