I thought it was fairly well known back when it aired on adult swim, but people rarely seem to talk about it. And with the fame that Frisky Dingo and Archer had, I would've thought people would explore the creators' previous work...
cause this beats all their later stuff imo, even though Sealab basically dies around season 3.
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I think you hit the nail on the head. If they had stopped when Harry Goz died, it would have retained more of a cult status. Instead, they kept rolling and it really cheapened the cartoon and watered down for what it is remembered. Even some of the episodes with Harry Goz, it seemed like they were trying too hard and were out of ideas for complete episodes.
IMO, the best episodes were the ones where they kept it simple. Captain Murphy golfing around the place near empty, trying to find a pro shop, and ending up saying fork it let's go to a bar instead. Or the one where it's just Quinn having some hilarious acid trip dream while he's unconscious after being electrocuted in the pool. Those were sheer brilliance. It had this bizarre, slightly artsy je ne sais quoi.