Minimum Security Prison

Minimum Security Prison is an American animated mockumentary-comedy-drama series created by Vince Anderson for the Laugh Planet television network. The series originally premiered on July 19, 1998, and was an immediate success, with it being Laugh Planet’s highest rated show for 10 years. It originally ran for 10 seasons until June 5, 2008.

Series Overview
A total of 295 episodes have aired.

Season 1 (1998-1999)
In 1997 it was announced on LaughPlanet.com that Vince Anderson was working on a new animated series that would premiere the following year. In September of 1997 audit were held at a high school for the main cast members. The following month a July 19, 1998 premiere date was set.

The show was an immediate success, and was Laugh Planet’s highest rated show of 1998 and for the next 10 years afterward.

Season 2 (1999-2000)
In November 1998 the series was picked up for a second and third season, each containing 30 episodes.

Season 3 (2000-2001)
The third season premiered on September 2000.

Season 4 (2001-2002)
The 3rd season ended with no announcement of a 4th season. Some speculated that the 3rd season was to be the last, with the finale seeming like a decent way to end the series. The 4th season was announced on September 20, 2001, a day before the first episode aired. The reason for this was unknown until a 2009 interview, in which it was revealed that this was a marketing stunt to see how many people actually wanted the show to continue. The 4th season ran for 30 episodes, beginning with "Something Gained" on September 21, 2001, and ending with "The Winter of the Betrayed" on April 12, 2002. The latter is the series' first and only hour long episode (if the Finale is counted as two seperate episodes) and is often considered to be one of the best episodes of the series.

The 4th season is the most critically acclaimed season of the series, getting unanimous positive reviews from critics. LaughPlanetReviews.com gave it a 99%, the highest review of anything in the site's history (the previous record was 93%, held by MSP's 3rd season.) Each individual episode of the season received a rating of 97% or higher. The season was praised for its unmatched writing quality, as well as the improved animation in comparison to the previous seasons.

It was released on a 6-tape VHS set on August 16, 2002, and 4-disc deluxe DVD set on December 20, 2002. The DVD has sold over 2 million copies.

Season 8 (2005-2006)
The 8th season premiered on September 9, 2005 with the episode "The High School Dropout" and ended on March 31, 2006 with the episode "Excess". This season is the 2nd and final season to not be written by Vince Anderson, with the exception of "Excess".

The 8th season is considered to be the worst of the series, and is often ignored due to it not being necessary to the story (excluding "Excess"). The series received mixed to negative reviews from critics. It received a 52% on LaughPlanetReviews.com, with each individual episode receiving scores ranging from 38%-62% (except "Excess" which received a score of 85%). Due to the extreme negative reviews, two weeks before the series finale aired, Vince Anderson returned to the studio and fired every single writer that had worked on Season 7 and 8. He wrote a completely new finale in time for its scheduled air date.

Season 10 (2007-2008)
The 10th and final season began on September 26th, 2007 with "Two of a Kind" and ended on June 5, 2008 with "Graduation".