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Plot

" is the first episode of the fifth season of, and the 69th episode of the series overall. The episode parodies the 2007 Bomb scare. "Boston" was pulled by Turner Legal to avoid further controversy surrounding the incident. It was leaked online in 2015. It is the only episode of the series that was never formally released.

Shake is taking pictures of Meatwad for a bidding website, where he is attempting to sell Meatwad to the highest bidder. However, Shake hasn't received any bids at all, with only minutes left on his auction. A very angry Frylock comes into the room to find out about Shake's latest scheme. Even he is surprised to see zero bids. Shake decides that they need to get publicity for his auction, so the Aqua Teens head to Boston.

At the airport, Meatwad complains about going through customs, and Frylock states he's happy they didn't get his candy-shooter (which looks like a real firearm). The Aqua Teens arrive at their destination, and they put Meatwad in a crawl space under an overpass. Meatwad also has some batteries, wires, and lights around him, which mimic the real-life bomb scare. Master Shake and Frylock wait for someone to drive by to get some publicity.

Three weeks later, the Aqua Teens are still waiting for someone to pass by. Surprisingly enough, the ghost of Paul Revere appears and takes them to see Ben Franklin, who claims that Meatwad's display is worth quite a bit of money. Now rich, Frylock and Shake continue hanging out with the ghosts as Meatwad flies a kite in a thunderstorm. Meatwad's getting struck by lightning over and over causes people in Baltimore to mistake him for a bomb. A crowd of people from Baltimore come to investigate and even convince Paul Revere that Meatwad is a bomb.

Master Shake says they cannot make them leave, but they do indeed force the Aqua Teens out of the city. After stating that he spent all the money they earned, Master Shake then shows Frylock and Meatwad what he spent the money on. Shake shows off a very elaborate drawing he made with what appears to be a very large Lite Brite. Shake then becomes angry that it didn't blow up the city.

He takes the device, now with a large amount of TNT, to Carl's front door. Shake rings the doorbell and walks back over to Frylock. Carl answers and is rendered unconscious by the explosion. Shake says that he's glad that children weren't involved, and Frylock states that they have to make it bigger than it really is. Later, the bomb squad attempt to perform their job by blowing up Carl, who they believe is a bomb. Shake comes out of his house with a sandwich, which prompts them to try to blow up the sandwich, only to see Shake burst into a pool of blood.

The Mooninites, dressed as terrorists, have apparently been watching this display in a cave in the desert. Ignignokt states to his camera, which may or may not be on, that they are dangerous and that they have many more supposedly dangerous sandwiches. Ignignokt attempts to cut off his own head with a saw before he and Err realize what they're doing is stupid.

Deaths

Carl is shot to death by the SWAT Team. Master Shake blows up, presumably having a bomb inside of him.

Background

The 2007 Boston bomb scare occurred on January 31, 2007 when various LED displays resembling Aqua Teen Hunger Force characters Ignignokt and Err were placed in various locations in Boston, Massachusetts and were mistaken for explosive devices. As a result the entire city was shut down for security purposes. Cartoon Network manager Jim Samples resigned and the network's parent company Turner Broadcasting paid 2 million dollars in damages. Ultimately, Adult Swim was forced by the legal department at Turner Broadcasting to pull the episode completely. The second episode, "Robots Everywhere" served as the season premiere on January 20, 2008.

Production

During the production of "Boston" executives at Adult Swim were very nervous about the episode leading to further controversy, and forced Willis and Maiellaro to re-write the episode several times; ultimately three different versions were produced. When asked about the episode Maiellaro has stated it is relatively tame in comparison to what South Park creators would have done in a similar situation.[1] Maiellaro also stated the episode for the most part is written as if it was something that could actually happen in reality, unlike most episodes that mainly focus on surreal plot lines.

It has never been aired or formally released to the public legally; however, it was leaked online in 2015. This marks the first time an episode of Aqua Teen Hunger Force has been prevented from airing, no other episodes have been pulled since (although many had been censored prior to 2005).

According to Dana Snyder and Carey Means, the episode was slated for release in early 2015, and was a week away from being aired when it was wiped from the production server and uploaded to YouTube. The episode was pulled an hour later. Dana Snyder does not believe a member of the production crew was responsible. Purportedly, release of the episode was cancelled indefinitely as a direct result of the leak.

Retrieval attempt

In December 2012, RebelTaxi, a popular Cartoon Network fan commenter on YouTube, posted a video trying to get the episode released. The video encouraged fans to use Twitter to send the hash tag #AquaTeenBoston to the official Twitter pages for Cartoon Network and [adult swim]. The attempts to get "Boston" released, however, were later proven unsuccessful.

Trivia

The city of Baltimore is represented by Johnny Unitas, quarterback of the Baltimore Colts from 1956 to 1972; Earl Weaver, longtime coach for the Baltimore Orioles; and by the cast of the movie Hairspray, which is set in Baltimore.

Interestingly enough, the terrorist versions of The Mooninites and the wired up Meatwad can be seen on the artwork for the volume Five DVD Box Set.

The animation in this episode is unfinished and even in some shots uncolored, showing that it was pulled before being completed. Most of the unfinished shots are while the Aqua Teen are in Boston, but some unfinished shots are clearly while the Aqua Teen are in New Jersey. Also, in some shots of the characters there are no backgrounds.

This is Matt Maiellaro's favorite episode.[2]