Æon Flux
An avant-garde dystopian spy drama with Gnostic themes.
Æon Flux is an American adult animated avant-garde science-fiction adventure television series that aired on MTV from 1991 to 1995. Created by Peter Chung, it blends social science fiction, biopunk, dystopian fiction, and Gnostic symbolism. The series is notable as the first American adult animated drama rather than a comedy.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Adventure
- Avant-garde
- Science fiction
- Creator
- Peter Chung
- Executive producers
- Japhet Asher; Abby Terkuhle
- Producer
- Catherine Winder
- Voices
- Denise Poirier
- John Rafter Lee
- Julia Fletcher
- Composer
- Drew Neumann
- Company
- Colossal Pictures; MTV Animation
- Country
- United States; Japan
Facts from the source article.
Development
Some authors consider the title a reference to the Gnostic notion of an Aeon, noting the influence of a demiurge in one episode and a parallel between the main characters and the Valentinian syzygy. Peter Chung stated that the character's name began as the cartoon's title and later became her name. Æon Flux was not originally intended to be a recurring character, but MTV insisted on keeping her despite her death at the end of the first batch of shorts. Chung intended the cartoon as a reaction to heroic Hollywood action films, aiming to make audiences ponder the wider context of action heroes. The early shorts are notable for Æon's violent death in each installment; Chung explained on the 2005 DVD commentary that she dies in every short after the initial six-part pilot because he never planned to make more episodes and found killing her the best solution. In the half-hour series, she dies only once. In "A Last Time for Everything", the original Æon is killed and replaced by an identical clone. Chung described the show's style as "academic," experimenting with visual narrative and storytelling without dialogue, influenced by Hergé, ligne claire, Egon Schiele, and Moebius. The series depicts graphic violence and sexuality, including fetishism and domination. Chung had worked on Rugrats prior to Æon Flux and became frustrated by the limitations of those characters.
Broadcast history
MTV was the exclusive U.S. broadcaster. In Canada, the shorts aired on MuchMusic, and the third season aired on YTV in a late-night timeslot. In Australia and New Zealand, the Liquid Television shorts and first series aired on SBS's Eat Carpet. In Southeast Asia, the third season aired on MTV Southeast Asia in 1996. In the UK, MTV showed the shorts and half-hour episodes from 1992, and the BBC later aired the Liquid Television shorts. Locomotion played the third season in Spanish and Portuguese for Latin America between 1998–1999 and 2002–2003. The series aired on Norwegian channel NRK2 alongside The Maxx, Phantom 2040, and The Head. Teletoon Detour also aired it with The Maxx. In 2005, MTV UK replayed the third season from October to November at 2 a.m., and MTV Australia followed in December at 1 a.m., not in original order. As of 2009, MTV2 showed the shorts on MTV2 Legit. In 2011, VH1 in El Salvador aired the series with Spanish subtitles. The half-hour episodes resurfaced on MTV Classic in 2016.
Home media
The complete series of Æon Flux first appeared on three separate VHS tapes released from 1996 to 1998, which were later bundled as a box set. A few of the shorts were also included on a Best of Liquid Television compilation. The first VHS volume came out on DVD in 1997. On November 22, 2005, the entire series was collected in a three-disc DVD set. These discs offered new director's cuts for several episodes, adding special effects and, in some cases, fresh dialogue to improve character continuity. For the episode "Utopia or Deuteranopia," the voice of Clavius was re-recorded by executive producer Japhet Asher, replacing the original performance by Joseph Drelich. The DVD set includes two featurettes, audio commentary on several episodes, and a CGI promotional short for the movie's video game tie-in. This short, featuring Æon with Theron's likeness, ends with her accidental death. A UMD version for the PlayStation Portable followed in January 2008, but with fewer special features.
In other media
A live-action film adaptation starring Charlize Theron was released on December 2, 2005, provoking controversy among fans for bearing little resemblance to the original series, as no one from the television series was involved. The film took liberties, such as making Una Æon's sister and giving Trevor a brother, but incorporated characters, themes, gadgets, and specific scenes from the show, including a reenactment of Æon trapping a fly in her eyelashes. The film was a critical and box office flop. Peter Chung called the movie "a travesty," stating that its public screening made him feel "helpless, humiliated, and sad," and that "Ms. Flux does not actually appear in the movie." A graphic novel titled Æon Flux: The Herodotus File, consisting of false documents and a storyboard-style sequence, was published in 1995 by Mark Mars and Eric Singer, providing vague explanations of the setting and backstory, including that Æon augments her income by foot fetish modeling. The graphic novel fell out of print but was re-issued in 2005 with new cover art to tie in with the movie.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes of Æon Flux are there?
Æon Flux has 21 episodes across 3 seasons.
When did Æon Flux first air?
Æon Flux first aired on 30 November 1991.
When did Æon Flux end?
Æon Flux last aired on 10 October 1995.
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