Customer Reviews

God, the Devil and Bob - The Complete Series

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

I had never heard of this series before but saw an advertisement for it with my King of the Hill DVD set. I like animated shows, and this one sounded intriguing, so I decided to try it out. The premise of the series is that God (voiced by James Garner) is tired of the poor state of the world and contemplates destroying it and starting anew. The devil (voiced by Alan Cumming) is excited by the news but is disappointed when God begins to reconsider. God decides to make a wager with the devil. If the person of the devil's choosing cannot prove to God that the world is worth saving, he'll destroy it. The devil chooses Detroit factory worker Bob Alman (I guess, he is to represent ALL of MANkind) voiced by Third Rock's French Stewart. On the surface, it seems like a good choice from the devil's standpoint, as Alman is a beer guzzling, self-centered, porno-watching jokester. As we get to know Bob better, however, he turns out to be a devoted family man. His wife (Rosanne's Laurie Metcalf) is self-centered and his bratty daughter (Lisa Simpson's Nancy Cartwright) is impossible but he does have a warm, caring son who believes in him.

The series starts off very slow. It does not have the in-your-face humor of Family Guy, the endless jokes of The Simpsons and, despite its theme, does not cover as controversial of issues as South Park. Many of the topics are rather mundane. The acting also seems a bit flat. Although, for the most part, this show is tame, religious groups did not like it (probably not even watching it) and it was canceled after airing only a handful of its shows. The show, however, does improve as the series evolves. The characters who, at first, seemed stale to me become more interesting in the later episodes. God is presented as a laid back, hippy, professor type who never gives his pupils a straight answer. The devil's sidekick Smeck (who reminds me of Bill in King of the Hill) seemed annoying to me at first but later provides fresh and genuine comedy to the show. Briefly, here are the episodes:

1. In the Beginning: The premise is established and Bob, unintentionally, stumbles upon what God is looking for.
2. Andy Runs Away: Bob's son runs away after Bob embarrasses him in front of his friends. Not much profound in this episode.
3. Date from Hell: Bob becomes chums with his daughter's first boyfriend, until he discovers who he really is. One of the best God lines: "Girls are tough, that's why I never had a daughter."
4. The devil's Birthday: Martha Stewart helps the devil reorganize hell while Bob discovers how overrated a world without evil is. The devil being hurt that God forgot his birthday is just silly.
5. Neighbor's Keeper: God's new mission for Bob is to save his neighbor's marriage, while the devil tries to get Bob to commit adultery. At the bowling alley, we discover that the devil's team is sponsored by Microsoft.
6. God's Favorite: Thinking he is God's "special guy" has gone to Bob's head.
7. Bob Get Committed: Bob is put in an asylum while the devil takes his place, and then falls in love with Bob's wife.

The show starts improving on disc 2:
8. Lonely at the Top: God decides to find out what it is like to live in the real world and joins Bob's factory crew and softball team. This show is very funny, especially the devil's attempt to create his first flower.
9. Bob Gets Greedy: Bob's mission to do charity work gets put on the back burner when the devil leaves his palm pilot at Bob's house that reveals future sports scores. The ending is over-the-top, though.
10. There's Too Much Sex on TV: The title tells you what Bob's mission is, and he inadvertently succeeds beyond his wildest dreams. This episode may be a little edgy for the kids.
11. Bob's Father: Definitely the best of the bunch. Bob's bullying father dies and Bob is shocked where his father ends up. The idea about a father giving a "softer punch" is interesting. If there is one GD&B episode that can promote enlightening tabletalk, this is it.
12. God's Girlfriend: Elizabeth Taylor voices a woman who God almost considers dating. The most controversial of the episodes, theological consultant Father Kieser chose not to advise this one.
13. Bob Gets Involved: Bob puts together a group to fight society's ills but butts heads with his wife when he gets her play canceled. Smeck in drag is hilarious. The ending is terrible, but here's another source for your 6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon games. The moral: progress begins at home.

The extras include a few commentaries that are insightful (we're shown that photographs were used in the animation), a "Making Of" special covering the art, voices, and controversy with remarks by creator Matthew Carlson and executive producer Harvey Myman, plus some silly interviews with God, the devil, and Bob. While this series was a bit slow, in the end, it showed that it had potential. Too little too late, I'm afraid. If you like animation and want to see something less in-your-face, I recommend giving it a shot but don't expect any divine revelation.

One of the most underrated tv shows of all time. Still stands up after elapsed time. Voices by James Garner (Rockford Files), French Stewart (3rd Rock from the Sun), Alan Cummings (Spy Kids), and many more marvelous voices.The episode with Martha Stewart alone is worth the price. Many subtle jokes and insights that take more than one watching to catch. I especially liked the true-to-life teenage girl character. Laugh out loud funny!

What can i say I remember watching it in my teen years. Im am trying to get everything that Ive watched on dvd this was one of them. I started watching that night It was verryyy funny.

I think the title of my review describes it well. It's unfortunate that there were only 13 episodes created. This animated series is a very novel way of presenting an old theme. It's cute, funny, sometimes spiritually inspiring, but mainly, purely entertaining. The humor leans more towards the sophisticated, rather than the 'random (and too often disgusting) humor' that prevails the comedy world of our day. One of the nice things... there aren't many potty jokes. Bravo!

i love the dvd the show should have never been pulled... family guy says and does worse than this show

From creator Matthew Carlson comes this divine NBC primetime animated series. A short-lived series, to be sure, but "God, The Devil and Bob" was a well-written, keenly animated series nonetheless, featuring the voice talents of James Garner ("The Rockford Files") as God, Alan Cumming ("X2: X-Men United") as The Devil, French Stewart ("3rd Rock From the Sun") as our "savior" Bob Alman, Laurie Metcalf ("Roseanne") as his wife Donna, Nancy Cartwright ("The Simpsons") as daughter Megan, and Kath Soucie ("Rugrats") as son Andy.

Fans of the show will be pleased with this two-disc collector's edition which comes with great extras. Chief among them is "Let There Be God, The Devil and Bob!" Making of God, The Devil and Bob featurette (23:00). Here the creators discuss everything you'd want to know about the show, from the pitch to NBC, the production schedule, how the voices were cast, to their final thoughts about the show's cancelation. Very informative and insightful, as are the audio commentaries on select episodes.

"God, The Devil and Bob Revealed" Character Interview featurette (4:00) is a humorous Q&A with the title characters. The menu is nicely designed with all 13 episodes set up with a sub-menu screen for smooth, problem-free navigation. First-rate treatment all around for this DVD collection.

Disc 1:
1. In the Beginning
2. Andy Runs Away
3. Date From Hell
4. The Devil's Birthday
5. Neighbor's Keeper
6. God's Favorite
7. Committed

Disc 2:
8. Lonely at the Top
9. Bob Gets Greedy'
10. There's Too Much Sex on Television
11. Bob's Father
12. God's Girlfriend
13. Bob Gets Involved

My first and favourite series.
Have never been a fan of any series, but this one is hilarious, a really great plot with funny details and good humour.

Not just simply very stupid, like South Park, etc... but a bit more sophisticated.
These guys really have some humour.