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FishCenter Live

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FishCenter Live
The words "fish" and "center" in yellow capital letters, along with the word "live" in white capital letters, with a cartoon depiction of a white-spotted puffer fish above the words, all centered with a fish tank in the background, with five cartoon depictions of the program's human hosts near the bottom right of the image.
The logo from an episode broadcast Thursday, 19 November 2020, featuring cartoon depictions of the five hosts and the 2019 "Galaxy King" Th'Lump
GenreComedy
Talk show
Fish Entertainment
Presented by
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No.of episodes1400+
Production
Running time
  • 60 minutes(web, 2014 – 2020)
  • 120 minutes(web, 2020)
  • 11 minutes(television)
Production companyWilliams Street
Original release
Networkadultswim(online)
Adult Swim(television)
ReleaseSeptember 16, 2014(2014-09-16)–
November 25, 2020(2020-11-25)

FishCenter Live(also shortened toFishCenterorFC Live[1]or justFCL) is a discontinued Americantalk showcreated byMike Lazzoand hosted byDave Bonawits,Andrew Choe,Matt Harrigan,Christina Loranger, andMax Simonet.It premiered on the official website ofAdult Swimin September 2014 and started airing on television in February 2015. The series ended on November 25, 2020, following the shutdown of Adult Swim's livestream division.

Summary and production

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FishCenter Livewas presented as a weekday call-intalk shownarrating over footage oftropicalfish swimming around in afish tank.[2][1][3][4][5][6]The fish are ranked according to their points, which are awarded when the fish complete a number of challenges.[5][7]These challenges include "Coin Quest," floating over coins that are superimposed on the video feed.[8][9]

The show was hosted byDave Bonawits,[1][10]Andrew Choe,[1][10]Matt Harrigan,[1][a][10]Christina Loranger (since 2019),[12]andMax Simonet,[1][13][10]employees from the digital department room ofAdult Swim.An original incarnation of the show involved a straight video feed of the fish tank, without narration. Commentary and a phone number for call-in segments were later added. Initially, callers were mostly other Adult Swim employees; when the competition portion was added, the hosts saw an increase of outside callers.[14]

Starting in 2015, both Dave Bonawits and Max Simonet began hosting another show for the streams, aNew York Times crosswordsolving show initially calledCrossword.The series was re-titledBloodfeastin 2016, and later received two television spin-offs:Tender Touches[15]andGēmusetto Machu Picchu.

Due to theCOVID-19 pandemic,the show was done remotely starting in March 2020, with the hosts talking throughZoom.During this time, two hosts left for extended hiatuses: Dave Bonawits left from late April to early June forparental leave,while Andrew Choe left in late July after feeling burnt out,[16]returning for the show's final two weeks in November. The show was reduced to just three days a week in September, running two hours every Tuesday through Thursday, while also being simulcasted to YouTube and Twitch.

On November 10, 2020, parent companyWarnerMediaannounced a large round of layoffs, with Adult Swim being affected.[17]Among the laid off staff were all of theFishCenter Livehosts, except for Max Simonet, and the layoffs ultimately resulted in the cancellation of the Adult Swim streams. Following two more weeks of programming,FishCenter Live,and the Adult Swim streams as a whole, ended on November 25, 2020, with a two-part finale declaring TZ2 as the last Galaxy King. The live stream then became a silent feed of the fish tank until its eventual removal in January 2021.

Final animal cast

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Name Species Tank
Bijou Marine betta grouper One tank
Green Chickenformerly Midoritori or Gunboat Diplomat Bird wrasse
Hamburger[18][19]or Eel Hamburger[10] Zebra moray[10]
Hot Steve[2][20]formerlyLupin the Third[20] Foxface rabbitfish
Mimosa[2][10] Queen coris
Promises Wolf eel
Slider Sailfin tang
Tabitha Pillows Short-nosed unicornfish
Th'Lump[2][20][19][10] White-spotted puffer
Wei Emperor angelfish
Ed Keshem Bird wrasse Quarantine tank
TZ2 Pinktail triggerfish
[unnamed] Crayfish Crawfish tank

Former animal cast

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Name Species Reason for departure
Dottie[10][13] Clown triggerfish Death[13](February 19, 2016)
Long Donovan Yellow-brown wrasse Death (August 26, 2016)
Mammoth[10] Harlequin tuskfish Death (September 6, 2016)
Ronside Majestic angelfish Death (September 21, 2016)
Sir Squirt[14][10] Lagoon triggerfish Death (October 3, 2016)
"Yo Hal Look At That Tang" Tang[14][10] Sohal surgeonfish Removed from tank due to size and aggression
Ol' Blue[10] King angelfish Removed from tank due to size and aggression, sold at fish store
David Anderson[10] Crayfish Death (May 15, 2015)Live foodfed to Hamburger[10]
Hoagie Kush[21] Sea urchin Death (June 28, 2016) eaten by Th'lump
Ale Squirrelfish Death (July 16, 2018)
Styletoy Flame angelfish Death (October 29, 2018)
Mom[20][19][22] Arothron meleagris[22](or "Golden Puffer" ) Death (February 3, 2019)
Greenbird (or "Greenberg"[10]) Bird wrasse Death (February 11, 2019)
Tan Fake plant Removed due to aggression (August 26, 2019)
Top Xander Cupper Pinktail triggerfish Death (September 3, 2019)
Lady White Cloud Mountain minnow Death (March 30, 2020)
Lucky White Cloud Mountain minnow Death (May 18, 2020)
Jeremy Legg Cuban hogfish Declared missing (October 2020)

Super and Galaxy Kings

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Year Winter Spring Summer Fall Galaxy King
2015 Tang Hamburger Mammoth Sir Squirt Mammoth
2016 Sir Squirt* Hamburger Greenbird Mimosa Greenbird
2017 Th'Lump TX Cupper Greenbird Greenbird Greenbird
2018 Hot Steve Ale† Mimosa Hamburger TX Cupper
2019 Th'Lump Mimosa Bijou Hamburger Th'Lump
2020 Ed Keshem Th'Lump TZ2 Tabitha Pillows TZ2

^*Sir Squirt was represented by Hamburger in the 2016 Galaxy series. Due to Sir Squirt's death the second place fish for the Winter season, being Hamburger, was declared the Super King representative.
^†Ale was represented by TX Cupper in the 2018 Galaxy series due to Ale's untimely death earlier in the year.

Games

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The callers, fish, and guests compete for points in various games:

Games created for guests have included:

Guests

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100 gecs,Alvvays,George Clinton,Carach Angren,Consider the Source,Dinosaur Jr.,John Maus,Dying Fetus,Billie Eilish,Yung Lean,Daughters,Hard Working Americans(HWA),Colin Hay,Le Butcherettes,Los Lobos,Morbid Angel,Pigeons Playing Ping Pong,Rainbow Kitten Surprise,David Sedaris,Tower of Power,Trampled by Turtles,and Turkuaz played onFishCenter Live.[2][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][23][32]Alvvays' played the song "Not My Baby" from their sophomore albumAntisocialites.HWA played the songs "Burn Out Shoes" and "Half Ass Moses".[6]HWA was on tour promoting theirlive albumWe're All In This Together.[6]Post Malonewas also a guest[2]twice and did Trivia on frequent FishCenter guestKelvin Taylor (actor),[33]along with being bitten by Mom after drinking 9 beers on his first appearance.[34]Waka Flocka FlameandDJ Whoo Kidplayed onFCLas well.[19]Fish-themedJoy Divisioncover band,Koi Division, said their dream is to appear onFishCenter Live.[7]George ClantonandNick Hexumplayed the song "Aurora Summer".[35]100 Gecs later included their performances on the show in the digital version of1000 Gecs and the Tree of Clues,released on July 10, 2020. The final band to play on the show wasDawes,who appeared on the November 12, 2020 episode.

Collaboration

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On 24 October 2019, AmericanrockbandCage the Elephant's released amusic videofor the song "Social Cues" from their albumSocial Cues.It was shot atFishCenter Livewith additional direction fromMatt Shultz.[32][36]

Homages

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In the episode broadcast Thursday, 13 December 2018, a parody of theoriginalStar Trek'sUSSEnterprisewas featured called the "USSFishCenterpriseNCC-1065. "1065 is a reference to the street number forWilliams Street,which produces content forAdult Swim.[37]

Broadcast and reception

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What is our version of a sports show? What is our version of a relationship Q&A show? You can test these things out, just as we did withFishCenter,in an office with a couple microphones.

—Mike Lazzo,Adult Swimexecutive[14]

FishCenter Livewas originally released in September 2014 on Adult Swim's official website.[38]The show came about when staff decided to film the tropical fish swimming around their aquarium as an idea for developing content for the website's online streaming channels. New episodes were presented on weekdays. The show was added to the network proper in February 2015, broadcast at 4 a.m. These airings are condensed versions of the live version, consisting of 11-minute highlights from each day.[14][b]

In the first week of its televised broadcast, the show garnered 2.6 million viewers in total.[14]In a press release, the network ranked the program first place across all targeted demographics in its time slot during the second week of March 2015.[39]The network observed some of these viewers as confusedTwitterusers, wondering if the show was a prank. After these airings, live viewership rose from 120 to 5,000. The success led to the creation of a separate live stream dedicated to the network'sToonamiblock.[14]

In August 2017, a premiere of aRick and Mortyepisode was delayed due to an episode ofFishCenter Liveon the samelive stream.[22]

Critical reception has been positive.Adweek's Jason Lynch calledFishCenter Live"its flagship livestreaming show."[9]The Comedy Bureaureceived the series favorably with "you'll find, while giggling the whole way through, that you do get sort of invested in the individual fish."[40]Decider's Kayla Cobb said "[i]t's weird, but it works."[20]Ranked sixth in their list of best "unknown" television series of2015,Newsday's Verne Gay reviewed "" FC Live "is insane — as such, a perfect distillation of all that is Adult Swim."[1]The Outline's Samuel Argyle said "FishCenterborder[s] on the avant-garde.[2]JamBase's Andy Kahn called it "wacky."[27]The Guardian's Mark Lawson critiqued "Ambitiously, this is a phone-in show, although disappointingly, the fish don't take the calls, but swim in tanks that surround the presenters."[41]The A.V. Club's Erik Lindvall saidFishCenter"the latest weird thing" to come from the network "in a streak of really weird things", describing it as a "wonderful, web-based world of piscine sports".[5]

Live for Live Music's Ming Lee Newcomb describedFishCenter Liveas "eccentric" and "bizarre."[6]Ranked fourth in their list of "[t]he 26 Weirdest Adult Swim Shows Ever,"Deadspin's Sheldon Pearce commented "Adult Swim employees came up with this one, which means it's definitely on-brand if nothing else."[42]In reviewingTender Touches,Geek's Jose Rodriguez said the pilot had "more in common withXavier: Renegade AngelorFishCenter."[43]Reviewing theirAlvvaysperformance,Uproxx's Derrick Rossignol declared "every band should be on it, because at the very least, it's one of the most bizarre live internet shows you can possibly watch."[23]Later, while reviewing thePost Maloneepisode, Rossignol followed-up with "a totally bizarre, daytime, aquatic, call-in web show that doesn't make much sense, and that's what makes it great."[18]In an interview with hostMax Simonet,Sonoma Index-Tribune's David Templeton remarked "[it's] a bizarrely simple cult-hit web-and-television show."[13]

Controversy

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In 2016, twoDragon Concosplayers,claiming an association withAdult SwimandCartoon Networkand wore "Make FishCenter Great Again"hats, dressed as theWorld Trade Centerduring theSeptember 11 attacks.[44][45][3][46]Images of the cosplay were widely shared onsocial mediasites asFacebook,Reddit,andTwitter.[44][46]Bleeding Cool'sRich Johnstonspeculated they were cosplaying as the gameRampage,[3]while Facebook commenters drew a connection with the animeTerror in Resonance.[45]

Australian Adaption

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Australian channel9Go!promoted their Australian adaption ofFishCenter(known asFishCentre) airing at 12:00 on the channel, along with the Adult Swim block they have on the channel.[citation needed]Unlike the American version ofFishCenter,FishCentrewas not live and consisted of scripted shorts no longer than 2 minutes in length, with voices super-imposed onto the fish. It ran for 12 episodes.[47]

Notes

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  1. ^Harrigan, a creative director at the network, was first hired atTurner Broadcasting Systemin 1994.The Wall Street Journalobserved this relationship as a rule of management to not "get hung up on hierarchy and protocol" at the studio.[11]
  2. ^These broadcast versions have also been uploaded to the network'sYouTubechannel.[5]

References

[edit]
  1. ^abcdefgGay, Verne (28 December 2015)."Best TV shows you didn't watch in 2015: Hulu's 'Difficult People,' more under-the-radar series".Newsday.Edward Bushey & Debby Krenek.Retrieved28 November2017.
  2. ^abcdefghijkArgyle, Samuel (29 March 2019)."A fantasy getaway in a fish tank".The Outline.theoutline.Retrieved30 March2019.
  3. ^abcJohnston, Rich (6 September 2016)."Cosplay Controversy At Dragon*Con – 9/11 Or Rampage?".Bleeding Cool.Avatar Press.Retrieved28 November2017.
  4. ^Lee, Christina (18 June 2015)."A day inside Adult Swim: the craziest TV network in America".The Guardian.Retrieved28 November2017.
  5. ^abcdLindvall, Eric (February 11, 2015)."Discover the Wonderful, Web-Based World of Piscine Sports with Adult Swim'sFishCenter Live".The A.V. Club.Onion Inc. Archived fromthe originalon February 11, 2015.RetrievedMarch 14,2015.
  6. ^abcdNewcomb, Ming Lee (6 October 2017)."Watch Hard Working Americans Play Adult Swim's Bizarre Fish-Tank Stream/Talk Show, 'FishCenter Live'".Live for Live Music.L4LM.Retrieved28 November2017.
  7. ^abRylah, Julliet Bennett (7 September 2017)."Koi Division Is the Fish-Themed Joy Division Cover Band the World Needs Right Now".LA Weekly.Voice Media Group.Retrieved28 November2017.
  8. ^Arnold, Eden (4 June 2020)."Adult Swim Live Stream a Wonderfully Weird World. And There's Fish".Bleeding Cool.Avatar Press.Retrieved5 June2020.
  9. ^abcLynch, Jason (20 July 2017)."How Adult Swim Cracked the Code on Livestreaming to Attract Massive Audiences".Adweek.Beringer Capital.Retrieved18 February2018.
  10. ^abcdefghijklmnopqKopcow, Chris (29 May 2015)."Adult Swim's 'FishCenter': A Beginner's Guide".Splitsider.The Awl.Archived fromthe originalon 31 August 2015.Retrieved28 November2017.
  11. ^Jurgensen, John (March 12, 2015)."Shop Rules at Adult Swim".The Wall Street Journal.Dow Jones & Company. Archived fromthe originalon March 13, 2015.RetrievedMarch 14,2015.
  12. ^LinkedIn staff."Christina Loranger - Production Assistant - Adult Swim".LinkedIn.LinkedIn Corporation.Retrieved29 January2020.
  13. ^abcdTempleton, David (23 February 2017)."Sonoma's Max Simonet making big splash on Adult Swim".Sonoma Index-Tribune.Sonoma Media Investments, LLC.Retrieved28 November2017.
  14. ^abcdefgJurgensen, John (March 12, 2015)."Adult Swim: How to Run a Creative Hothouse".The Wall Street Journal.Dow Jones & Company. Archived fromthe originalon March 13, 2015.RetrievedMarch 14,2015.
  15. ^Schwarz, John (17 December 2017)."Adult Swim To Premiere Five Nights Of" Tender Touches "– Bubbleblabber".Bubbleblabber.bubbleblabber.Retrieved19 December2017.
  16. ^"Fishcenter Live".Adult Swim.2020-07-23. Archived fromthe originalon 2020-08-04.Retrieved2020-08-30.
  17. ^Holloway, Daniel (2020-11-10)."WarnerMedia Begins New Round of Layoffs Amid Restructuring".Variety.Retrieved2021-03-27.
  18. ^abcdRossignol, Derrick (1 November 2017)."Post Malone Went On Adult Swim's Absurd 'FishCenter' Web Show And Got Bitten By A Fish".Uproxx.Uproxx Media Group.Retrieved28 November2017.
  19. ^abcdCortez, Kevin (17 April 2017)."Watch Waka Flocka's Fish Tank Play By Play".Mass Appeal.massappeal. Archived fromthe originalon 18 January 2018.Retrieved17 January2018.
  20. ^abcdeCobb, Kayla (10 May 2017)."Cult Corner: 'FishCenter Live' Is The Most Delightfully Pointless Show on TV".Decider.New York Post.Retrieved23 November2017.
  21. ^Adult Swim staff (7 July 2016)."Adult Swim - Posts".Facebook.facebook.Retrieved8 May2018.
  22. ^abcDwilson, Stephanie Rube (7 August 2017)."'Rick and Morty': What Is the Fishcenter Live Stream? ".Heavy.Heavy Inc.Retrieved23 November2017.
  23. ^abcRossignol, Derrick (11 October 2017)."Alvvays Can't Stop Laughing At The Absurdity Of Performing On Adult Swim's 'FishCenter'".Uproxx.Uproxx Media Group.Retrieved28 November2017.
  24. ^Hay, Colin (25 February 2017)."Colin appears on FishCenter".Colin Hay.Tumblr.Retrieved18 February2018.
  25. ^Jambands staff (19 April 2019)."Pigeons Playing Ping Pong to Appear on Adult Swim's 'FishCenter Live'".Jambands.Relix Media Group, LLC.Retrieved7 May2019.
  26. ^JamBands staff (23 January 2020)."Watch Turkuaz Perform" Make You Famous "on Adult Swim's 'FishCenter Live'".JamBands.Relix Media Group.Retrieved9 March2020.
  27. ^abKahn, Andy (6 October 2017)."Hard Working Americans Perform On Adult Swim's 'FishCenter Live'".JamBase.JamBase Inc.Retrieved28 November2017.
  28. ^Kennelty, Greg (19 October 2018)."DYING FETUS Were The Musical Guests On Adult Swim's FishCenter Live Talk Show".Metal Injection.Metal Injection LLC.Retrieved1 October2019.
  29. ^Kennelty, Greg (24 October 2018)."CARACH ANGREN Is The Latest Metal Artist To Guest On Adult Swim's FishCenter Live Talk Show".Metal Injection.Metal Injection LLC.Retrieved1 October2019.
  30. ^Kennelty, Greg (6 March 2019)."DAUGHTERS Is The Latest Metal Artist To Guest On Adult Swim's FishCenter Live Talk Show".Metal Injection.Metal Injection LLC.Retrieved1 October2019.
  31. ^Mason, Pete (10 February 2018)."Consider The Source Announce Coast-To-Coast Spring Tour".NYS Music.nysmusic.Retrieved18 February2018.
  32. ^abRossignol, Derrick (21 November 2019)."100 Gecs Is The Most Fittingly Bizarre Musical Guest In 'FishCenter' History".Uproxx.Uproxx Media Group.Retrieved22 November2019.
  33. ^"Kelvin Taylor - Post Malone Trivia on FishCenter".Vimeo.2019-10-21.
  34. ^Archived atGhostarchiveand theWayback Machine:"Post Malone | FishCenter | Adult Swim".YouTube.
  35. ^"George Clanton + Nick Hexum" Aurora Summer "| Fishcenter | adult swim".Youtube.2020-08-14.
  36. ^Rutherford, Kevin (24 October 2019)."Cage the Elephant Wants You to Text This Number After Watching the 'Social Cues' Video".Billboard.Billboard-Hollywood Reporter Media Group.Retrieved27 October2019.
  37. ^Hillebrand, Jörg; Schneider, Bernd (1 January 2020)."Ex Astris Scientia - Visual Crossovers with Other Series/Movies".Ex Astris Scientia.ex-astris-scientia.org.Retrieved3 January2020.
  38. ^Jurgensen, John (March 12, 2015)."Adult Swim: How to Run a Creative Hothouse".The Wall Street Journal.Dow Jones & Company. Archived fromthe originalon March 13, 2015.RetrievedMarch 14,2015.
    • For "September", see:Jurgensen, John (March 12, 2015)."Shop Rules at Adult Swim".The Wall Street Journal.Dow Jones & Company. Archived fromthe originalon March 13, 2015.RetrievedMarch 14,2015.
  39. ^Kondolojy, Amanda (March 10, 2015)."Monthly Ratings Notes for Adult Swim, Cartoon Network, TBS, TNT & NBA TV:Rizzoli & Isles,Cougar Town,NBA Basketball & More ".TV by the Numbers.Tribune Digital Ventures. Archived fromthe originalon March 14, 2015.RetrievedMarch 14,2015.
  40. ^The Comedy Bureau (10 February 2015)."Adult Swim Will Apparently Be Streaming a Daily..."The Comedy Bureau.Tumblr.Archived fromthe originalon 14 February 2015.Retrieved18 February2018.
  41. ^Lawson, Mark (25 July 2016)."Bring on the orphaned elephant: why TV's animal takeover is almost complete".The Guardian.Retrieved28 November2017.
  42. ^Pearce, Sheldon (19 November 2015)."The 26 Weirdest Adult Swim Shows Ever".Deadspin.Gizmodo Media Group.Retrieved28 November2017.
  43. ^Rodriguez, Josef (5 October 2017)."NYCC: Adult Swim's On the Green Tour".Geek.Geek Media Ventures/Source Interlink Media.Retrieved19 December2017.
  44. ^abBoult, Adam (5 September 2016)."Anger over 'Twin Towers' cosplayers".The Daily Telegraph.Retrieved28 November2017.
  45. ^abFrye, Patrick (6 September 2016)."2016 Dragoncon Twin Towers Cosplay Costume Takes NYC 9/11 Jokes Too Far, Cartoon Network Adult Swim-Inspired Costumes Had Flaming Barbie Dolls Jumping To Their Deaths From World Trade Center".The Inquistr.inquistr.Retrieved28 November2017.
  46. ^abSandle, Tim (5 September 2016)."Dragon Con sci-fi fans trigger 9/11 controversy".Digital Journal.digitaljournal.Retrieved28 November2017.
  47. ^"FishCentre Australia - YouTube".youtube.Retrieved2020-09-11.

Further reading

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[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=FishCenter_Live&oldid=1240266876"