The eighth and final season of the American animated comedy television series Regular Show (promoted as Regular Show in Space), created by J. G. Quintel, originally aired on Cartoon Network in the United States. Quintel created the series' pilot using characters from his comedy shorts for the canceled anthology series The Cartoonstitute. He developed Regular Show from his own experiences in college. Simultaneously, several of the show's main characters originated from his animated shorts The Naïve Man from Lolliland and 2 in the AM PM. The series was renewed for an eighth and final season on July 7, 2015. The season ran from September 26, 2016, to January 16, 2017, and was produced by Cartoon Network Studios.
Taking place shortly after the seventh season finale, Mordecai and Rigby along with rest of the park itself eventually find themselves in space, where they must learn to adapt to their newfound surroundings all while getting into the same comedic antics as with the previous seasons. The season later progresses to being narrative-driven once the crew ends up confronting Pops’s brother Anti-Pops, a cataclysmic being, forcing them to uncover the truth behind Pops’s past.
The series finale included a reference to Quintel's original short “The Naive Man from Lolliland,” in which Pops's original design is created. The episodes "Can You Ear Me Now?" and "The Ice Tape" feature the final voice performances of both John Cygan, who died on May 13, 2017, and David Ogden Stiers, who died on March 3, 2018.
Development
Production
The series was renewed for an eighth season on July 7, 2015, along with many other Cartoon Network shows.[2]Regular Show is one of two Cartoon Network series ever to get an eighth season, the other being Adventure Time. The release date was announced at San Diego Comic-Con, and the season premiered on September 26, 2016. The writers and storyboard artists for season 8 are Benton Connor, Madeline Queripel, Casey Crowe, Owen Dennis, Minty Lewis, Ryan Pequin, Sam Spina, Gideon Chase, Alex Cline, and newcomer Sean Glaze. In March 2016, Kacie Hermanson was announced as the new main character designer for the season,[3] replacing long-time designer Ben Adams, who left the show after the sixth episode of the season to work on Billy Dilley's Super-Duper Subterranean Summer for Disney XD. Calvin Wong served as supervising director for the season. The story writers for the season are Quintel, Sean Szeles, Gina Ippolito, Patrick Baker, and Matt Price, who is also the story editor, while being produced by Cartoon Network Studios. Szeles also served as supervising producer, while Ryan Slater served as producer. A former writer and storyboard artist Andres Salaff briefly returned to work on the final episode.
After production on the series wrapped up, several crew members continued to work with Quintel on his next series, Close Enough.
Chance Sureshot loses his wallet and is enclosed in a robot's bubble until he can pay for his food. To free him, Mordecai, Rigby, Toothpick Sally, and Recap Robot must travel to the Mantis Planet to get it back.
When Pops continues to have nightmares of an extraterrestrial creature asking for his address, the gang tries to help him. Guest voices: Armin Shimerman as The Nightmare Alien, Robert Englund as Anti-Pops
Mordecai and Rigby try to avoid spoilers of their favorite show, but Benson wants to spoil it to get revenge on them for forgetting to vacuum the house.
Mordecai and Rigby's butts get swapped after playing with a teleportation machine. Over time, the swapping spreads to other features, so they enlist Muscle Man for help.
The Park crew encounters the Alpha Dome, the first dome sent into space. When the crew goes to investigate, they find that its inhabitants believe that it is 1690.
The Park crew encounter a black hole whilst telling stories on Halloween. • "Fear Planet" - The gang make a quick stop on a planet that brings their greatest fears to life. • "King-Sized Candy Bars" - While Trick or Treating on the Space Tree Station, the gang encounter a house full of vampires. • "Alien Roommate" - In a parody of the Alien franchise, the crew must deal with an obnoxious new roommate. Note: This episode was first released online on October 15, 2016. Guest voices: Neil deGrasse Tyson as himself
Earl begins training Pops through the technique of the training montage which allows trainers to bend space and time while leveling up. Mordecai and Rigby use one of their songs to help Pops and end up trapping the Park crew in a montage. Song: "Through the Fire and Flames" by DragonForce
The gang celebrate Christmas in space and decide to tell stories while opening presents, but Benson keeps trying to insert his love for hand bells. • "Skips' Story" - In a parody of Pitch Black, the crew stop by an ice planet to have fun in the snow, but get attacked by large yeti creatures. • "Benson's Story" - A supernatural, guitar-playing caroler terrorizes the crew by attacking them with the twelve days of Christmas. • "Mordecai and Rigby's Story" - Mordecai and Rigby forget to get a gift for Pops, so they need to go to the "Theoretical Mall" which is located in another dimension. • "Benson's Second Story" - The crew get a visit from the Krampus. Song: "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24" by Savatage (later re-released by Trans-Siberian Orchestra)
Despite all of his training, Pops still does not want to fight, so he sets up a meeting with Anti-Pops to settle things peacefully. Note: This episode was first released online on December 19, 2016.
Before arriving at Lolliland, Pops becomes despondent due to his impending battle. The crew then tries to cheer him up by recording their memories. Guest Voices: Trevor Devall as HD DVD and Gillian Jacobs as Blu-ray
The crew arrive at Lolliland early, so they set up traps for Anti-Pops. Things seem to go off smoothly, but Anti-Pops is unfazed by their futile attempts. Allies from both sides rally together for the epic fight. However, Pops and Anti-Pops are once again at a stalemate. Mordecai and Rigby are forced to jump between the two factions after time resets. They relive the first episode, but soon realize that they need to help Pops, so they use the Power to go back. Pops realizes that he must reach out to Anti-Pops and finally saves the universe at the cost of his life. The entire park crew returns home to their friends and family. After erecting a memorial statue of Pops, a montage shows what happened to the park crew after their adventure in space: Mordecai quits his job at the park, becomes a painter, and meets a woman (a female bat); Rigby marries and has children with Eileen; Muscle Man and Starla move into a nicer trailer and have more children; Benson reunites with Pam the scientist, the two raise four cats and a pig, and Benson becomes park owner after Mr. Maellard's death; High Five Ghost reunites with his human girlfriend, Celia, and the two become popular party DJs in Prague; and Skips is still single and working at the park, only now, he wears shorts instead of jeans. Twenty-five years later, the entire crew return and Mordecai and Rigby reflect on Pops' sacrifice and how immature they used to be before deciding to play some old arcade games. The scene pans out with Pops watching his friends' lives from Heaven. He ejects a VHS tape labeled "Regular Show". He says "Jolly good show" for one last time and the series concludes. Song: "'Heroes'" by David Bowie
