Adam Reed and Matt Thompson, the creators and writers of Sealab 2021, thought up the idea for the show in 1995 while they were production assistants for Cartoon Network. They stumbled on a tape of the show Sealab 2020, and wrote dialog to match the lips. Cartoon Network passed on the show because they believed that it wasn't funny. Five years after quitting Cartoon Network, the two went back to the original tape, this time making the characters do what they wanted. Cartoon Network bought the show, coincidentally around the same time that Adult Swim was created[1]. The original "pitch pilot" is available on the Season 1 DVD as a special feature.

The show is set one year after the time frame of Sealab 2020. During this year, the crew's professionalism and morals have slowly degraded, causing the crew to spend more time goofing off in various ways rather than doing any serious work. Continuity is frequently ignored; for instance, the entire installation is destroyed at the end of many episodes, and various cast members are often killed in horrible ways. While the show contains many references to the pop culture of the 1980s-2000s and appears to be set in the year 2021, John F. Kennedy is President and Robert Kennedy is his Attorney General, suggesting that it is in fact still the early 1960s. (Episode 29, "Red Dawn")

Fans and critics felt that the show fell into a decline following the death of Harry Goz, the voice of Captain Murphy.[2] After four seasons, the final episode aired on April 25, 2005. Despite rumors of Cartoon Network canceling the series, the show was in fact ended by decision of 70/30 who felt it was the right time to move on to new projects.

• Adultswim.com — Official Site
• AdultSwim.co.uk — Watch on Adult Swim UK
• POD-SIX.net — Wealth of information about Sealab 2021 (Internet Archive)

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