There's Too Much Sex on Television

The best show I ever worked on ...
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...

Thank God this is finally on 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...

Funny, but gets repetitive pretty quick
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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