51 of 61 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best show I ever worked on ..., December 5, 2004
This review is from: God, the Devil and Bob - The Complete Series (DVD)
Back in 1999, the producer of 'God, the Devil and Bob' rescued me, and a bevy of artists from Klasky-Csupo's 'Rocket Power' by calling to ask if we would be interested in working on this show. We lept at it, and began serious careers.
While I directed on this show I was amazed to meet a person who still stands out to me as the most professional and gifted writer/creator I ever had the pleasure to work with; Matthew Carlson. While the show suffered from a number of problems, it was held together by a core of very dedicated people like Matthew, Carsey & Warner, Margot Pipkin and Jeff DeGrandis. By the end of the series, everyone believed we had made a very good family sitcom, with a core of excellent writing and acting. Unfortunately it was met with middle of the road ratings, legal troubles and finally, religious activists. 4 episodes were shown on NBC in 2000 before it was torn off the channel.
The crew, from producer down, always felt the design choice for the characters was a mistake, seriously hindering the ability to animate and express fully. But, there is a kind of scratchy charm at the best of times. My favorite episode was 'Bobs Father'. Pity it was never shown on prime time.
As GDB ended, I was asked to direct and produce 'Invader Zim' where I took a good number of the GDB crew in order to do something very different with far more technical aspects. But, GDB still stands as the best experience with writer/creators, writing, and producers in the business.
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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Thank God this is finally on DVD, January 5, 2005
This review is from: God, the Devil and Bob - The Complete Series (DVD)
I actually saw this show when it originally aired on NBC (well, the 4 episodes that aired). I was very disapointed that the show got cancelled, but I did tape 3 of the 4 episodes, and later obtained a tape of the first episode that I didn't record.
Now I have bought this DVD set of all 13 episodes, and I am thrilled to have it. It is sad that this show didn't make it. I think it is just as funny, if not more so, than The Simpsons and Family Guy.
In a nut shell, the plot is that God if tired of the direction that man kind is heading in, and is thinking about destorying the universe and starting over. But he decided that if one man could prove it is worth saving, he would spare it. He lets the Devil choose that man, who ends up being Bob. It is a very entertaining show. I particularly recommend the 4th episode in which the Devil hires Martha Stewart to redecorate his place of origin, and she ends up taking the place over.
Not that it really matters, but there is a sticker on the outside of the shrinkwrap that says it contains 10 unaried episodes, when in reality 9 of them didn't air (4 episodes aired, 13-4=9). Either way, all 13 episodes that were made are on it, so it makes mo real difference.
The only real negative, in my opinion, is that the theme music is different than when it originally aired. If you get this dvd set, you will notice that the various parts of the title "God, the Devil, and Bob" are bouncing around during the opening title sequence to some instrumental music. Originally, there were lyrics to that music in which they would sing the title of the show (i.e. when the word "God" is in the middle of the screen, they would be singing that part of the title, etc). I know its not a big deal, but that opening theme really sort of set the mood of the show, and for someone who hasn't seen it before, the words bouncing around seem kind of random and pointless without the lyrics to go with it.
***EDIT: Prior to writing this review, I had not watched the second disc in its entirety, and discovered that the original theme song is on the 12th episode.***
Sorry about the little rant about the theme, just something I noticed that was disapointing. But the episodes themselves are intact, and that is what really matters. I highly recommend checking this out.
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9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Funny, but gets repetitive pretty quick, March 7, 2005
This review is from: God, the Devil and Bob - The Complete Series (DVD)
It's the age old story. God's tired and ready to give up on us, but just at the last minute decides he'll give the world a break. He says if one human can convince Him the world is worth saving, he'll not destroy us. Being a sporting God, he decides to let the Devil pick who the one human is. So, Satan picks Bob: inconsiderate, beer drinking, porn watching Bob. The show is pretty funny starting out, but it slides downhill pretty quickly. God is generally hard to understand and obtuse in his meanings. The Devil is petulent and constantly wanting God's attention. In the middle, Bob tries to do right when his instincts so much want wrong things. The first DVD is a hoot, but the episodes get old and stale pretty quickly. Acting is for the most part reading the lines. There's not a whole lot of variation in James Garner's delivery of God. The Devil comes off as just being kind of spoiled and not particularly evil at all. I'm glad I rented this one rather than buying.
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