“Korgoth of Barbaria” was the brainchild of Aaron Springer, the creator and star of the 2017 Disney XD series “Billy Dilley’s Super-Duper Subterranean Summer.” Springer is a long-time veteran of the American animation industry, having come up through Spümcø (“The Ren & Stimpy Show”), and who went on to write for “SpongeBob SquarePants.” In the early 2000s, he started working as a writer and storyboard artists on shows like “Dexter’s Laboratory” and “Samurai Jack,” both created by animation superstar Genndy Tartakovsky. He also had a stint on “The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy,” so he was clearly used to working with style and a great deal of visual wit.
In 2006, Springer had his biggest job to date, creating a crass, violent fantasy series called “Korgoth of Barbaria,” a show on which he served as creator, producer, writer, director, storyboard artist, character designer, and probably caterer. The hilarious Diedrich Bader played the title character, a grunting, hard-drinking, over-muscled beefcake a-hole who was, in the show’s pilot episode, tasked with stealing something called Golden Goblin of the Fourth Age. Tom “SpongeBob” Kenny also appeared, as did John DiMaggio, star of “Futurama” and “Adventure Time.”
“Korgoth of Barbaria” was sloppy and bloody and gross, by design. The first joke in the pilot was a peasant complaining that his local tavern, The Dragon’s Kneecap, had a notable misspelling on its sign. The sign read “The Whore’s Nipple.” The series, despite the medieval trappings, actually took place in a very distant post-apocalyptic future, and all the characters had been turned gray and leprous by, presumably, lingering radiation.
Only one episode ever aired, sadly, presented as a TV movie. It’s a pity, as “Korgoth” had the makings of a long-running cult classic. It was just gloriously gross enough.
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