Network: NBC; Genre: Animated Comedy; Content Rating: TV-PG (for language and adult content); Available: DVD; Perspective: Contemporary (star range: 1 - 4);
Season Reviewed: Complete Series (1 season)
We hear a lot about great TV shows that get canceled before their time. Matthew Carlson's "God, The Devil & Bob" is a good old fashioned show that deserved its short life. NBC has not had the best luck with its animated efforts - this follows in the shadow of the "Stressed Eric" debacle.
God, the almighty himself (James Garner), has had it with the world and makes a deal with the devil (Alan Cumming) where by he will spare it if an average Joe can prove that it is all worth saving. Enter Bob Allman (a miscast French Stewart, "3rd Rock from the Sun") - a man-child husband, father and Detroit auto assembly-line worker with an affinity for soft-core porn and - you guessed it, TV's vice of choice - beer. Bob becomes the game ball between God and the Devil, persuaded to carry out their will on Earth.
God working his magic in human form on Earth, a buddy relationship with the Devil who connives for souls, a "Theological Consultant" on staff and the New Testament taken literally - all on prime-time TV in an animated sitcom. It's not a bad premise, one that in the right hands could be explosively creative as well as spark controversy from all sides (those that don't want God depicted with human problems and those that don't want God on TV period). Not since Matt Groening's "Futurama" has a show written itself such a license for limitless animated lunacy. But to say that "God" lacks the slick polish and crafting of a juggernaut like "Futurama" would be the understatement of the year. Not even Kevin Bacon in an appropriate "Footloose" parody can save it.
The show never seems to stop giggling over itself. Start a count of how often a joke is simply a cheeky reference back to the show's own premise. The favorite: God being God and yet allowing himself to be at the mercy of a candy machine, wobbly table or other little human annoyance. The show takes the idea that man was made in God's image, thus God must act like man, and runs with it. But what's the point of having God on your right shoulder if he talks and acts like another guy? In the true comic duo form the Devil is given an annoying little sidekick, Smeck, to take the brunt of his sadism.
"God" is a lame animated comedy doing an impression of an edgy one. It feels like a Saturday morning cartoon. That tone is so pervasive that the show's witty one-liners and celebrity name-dropping, some of which are amusing ("Can you believe it, Leno is still doing Lewinsky jokes"), feel like they belong somewhere else. It is hard to imagine that reputable actors like James Garner and Alan Cumming read this script and really felt it was good, or where just won over by the novelty of adding these iconic characters to their resume.
The show is also enamored with the eye-rolling antics of our generically named hero, but neither Bob or any of the other characters are ever fully established. The only way to relate to Bob is to realize that he is just like any other hapless but well-meaning sitcom dad and go from there. Bob's wife, Donna (Laurie Metcalf), might be more interesting if she wasn't a plug-in of the usual insufferable sitcom nag, perennially with her arms crossed and her eyes squinted. Their relationship is as caustic as it comes.
The root problem for all this is that it appears to be an animated show written and produced by sitcom people, not cartoonists. That simple concept goes a long way to explaining why, despite the possibilities, the series, never gets itself off the ground or reaches any comic boil. "God" is another show that feels like a parody of a show you would see or hear about inside another show. Example bit: God wants to play third base on Bob's baseball team, so he drops a tree on the third baseman. Bob goes "Was that you?" and God goes "How could you even ask that?" Wa, wa. Cue the slide whistle. It is moments like this, and the show's cornball intro, that push the bile to the tongue of the average prime-time viewer. "Bob's Father" is the show's best use of the premise, where God and the Devil provide a vehicle for the family story, but are kept well in the background.
An argument can be made that the show was ahead of its time. In retrospect, it was one of the first to use a primary voice cast of known celebrities to slog through its dialog - a style that has put a creative crutch on anything Dreamwork's PDI studio has done. It will also not be the last show where an Earthbound human is made into a divine tool, also done far better in "Joan of Arcadia" and "Wonderfalls".
There is nothing mean-spirited in the show; But it is dreary, uninspired and insufferably botched. While God does enough swearing to call for religious unrest, each episode ends with the most sappy pro-family, pro-faith message this side of "Touched by an Angel". Lastly, it is worth pointing out, how many TV shows have been canceled because of a mounting pressure from protesting religious groups?
That's right, none. Zero. It never happens. Shows get canceled for a lot of reasons, but never from the organized boycott of religious fundamentalists. They make simple, thoughtless, quick-fix scapegoats though, don't they? "God, the Devil & Bob" didn't make it because it was offensive, it didn't make it because it was lame, dismal and completely underdeveloped.
* ½ /4
Season Reviewed: Complete Series (1 season)
We hear a lot about great TV shows that get canceled before their time. Matthew Carlson's "God, The Devil & Bob" is a good old fashioned show that deserved its short life. NBC has not had the best luck with its animated efforts - this follows in the shadow of the "Stressed Eric" debacle.
God, the almighty himself (James Garner), has had it with the world and makes a deal with the devil (Alan Cumming) where by he will spare it if an average Joe can prove that it is all worth saving. Enter Bob Allman (a miscast French Stewart, "3rd Rock from the Sun") - a man-child husband, father and Detroit auto assembly-line worker with an affinity for soft-core porn and - you guessed it, TV's vice of choice - beer. Bob becomes the game ball between God and the Devil, persuaded to carry out their will on Earth.
God working his magic in human form on Earth, a buddy relationship with the Devil who connives for souls, a "Theological Consultant" on staff and the New Testament taken literally - all on prime-time TV in an animated sitcom. It's not a bad premise, one that in the right hands could be explosively creative as well as spark controversy from all sides (those that don't want God depicted with human problems and those that don't want God on TV period). Not since Matt Groening's "Futurama" has a show written itself such a license for limitless animated lunacy. But to say that "God" lacks the slick polish and crafting of a juggernaut like "Futurama" would be the understatement of the year. Not even Kevin Bacon in an appropriate "Footloose" parody can save it.
The show never seems to stop giggling over itself. Start a count of how often a joke is simply a cheeky reference back to the show's own premise. The favorite: God being God and yet allowing himself to be at the mercy of a candy machine, wobbly table or other little human annoyance. The show takes the idea that man was made in God's image, thus God must act like man, and runs with it. But what's the point of having God on your right shoulder if he talks and acts like another guy? In the true comic duo form the Devil is given an annoying little sidekick, Smeck, to take the brunt of his sadism.
"God" is a lame animated comedy doing an impression of an edgy one. It feels like a Saturday morning cartoon. That tone is so pervasive that the show's witty one-liners and celebrity name-dropping, some of which are amusing ("Can you believe it, Leno is still doing Lewinsky jokes"), feel like they belong somewhere else. It is hard to imagine that reputable actors like James Garner and Alan Cumming read this script and really felt it was good, or where just won over by the novelty of adding these iconic characters to their resume.
The show is also enamored with the eye-rolling antics of our generically named hero, but neither Bob or any of the other characters are ever fully established. The only way to relate to Bob is to realize that he is just like any other hapless but well-meaning sitcom dad and go from there. Bob's wife, Donna (Laurie Metcalf), might be more interesting if she wasn't a plug-in of the usual insufferable sitcom nag, perennially with her arms crossed and her eyes squinted. Their relationship is as caustic as it comes.
The root problem for all this is that it appears to be an animated show written and produced by sitcom people, not cartoonists. That simple concept goes a long way to explaining why, despite the possibilities, the series, never gets itself off the ground or reaches any comic boil. "God" is another show that feels like a parody of a show you would see or hear about inside another show. Example bit: God wants to play third base on Bob's baseball team, so he drops a tree on the third baseman. Bob goes "Was that you?" and God goes "How could you even ask that?" Wa, wa. Cue the slide whistle. It is moments like this, and the show's cornball intro, that push the bile to the tongue of the average prime-time viewer. "Bob's Father" is the show's best use of the premise, where God and the Devil provide a vehicle for the family story, but are kept well in the background.
An argument can be made that the show was ahead of its time. In retrospect, it was one of the first to use a primary voice cast of known celebrities to slog through its dialog - a style that has put a creative crutch on anything Dreamwork's PDI studio has done. It will also not be the last show where an Earthbound human is made into a divine tool, also done far better in "Joan of Arcadia" and "Wonderfalls".
There is nothing mean-spirited in the show; But it is dreary, uninspired and insufferably botched. While God does enough swearing to call for religious unrest, each episode ends with the most sappy pro-family, pro-faith message this side of "Touched by an Angel". Lastly, it is worth pointing out, how many TV shows have been canceled because of a mounting pressure from protesting religious groups?
That's right, none. Zero. It never happens. Shows get canceled for a lot of reasons, but never from the organized boycott of religious fundamentalists. They make simple, thoughtless, quick-fix scapegoats though, don't they? "God, the Devil & Bob" didn't make it because it was offensive, it didn't make it because it was lame, dismal and completely underdeveloped.
* ½ /4