God, the Devil and Bob
Encyclopedia
God, the Devil and Bob is an animated sitcom which premiered on NBC
on March 9, 2000 and ended on March 28, 2000, leaving nine episodes unaired. It was created by Matthew Carlson
. It is currently broadcast on the Philippine channel Maxxx
. The entire series was released on Region 1 DVD
in the United States on January 4, 2005. Reruns of the series began airing on Cartoon Network
's late night programming block, Adult Swim
, on January 1, 2011 with the network airing the nine remaining episodes of the series from January 8 to March 26, 2011.
Thirteen episodes were made, but only four were broadcast in the United States
before the series was canceled due to a combination of low ratings and pressure from religious activists.
The show, however, was well received in places such as the United Kingdom
, Ireland
, and Latin America
(including Brazil
), where BBC Two
, RTE
, and Fox
, respectively, aired the entire series.
God, the Devil and Bob was canceled in the United States
after the first four episodes aired on NBC (although the entire season of 13 episodes was shown overseas), after network executives received an alarming number of complaints about its potentially offensive religious material.
(voiced by James Garner
) and the Devil
(voiced by Alan Cumming
) making a bet over the fate of the world. God wants to wipe humanity off the face of the planet and start over, but He realizes that He's "not that kind of God." The devil gets to choose one person, and if that person does not prove they have made the world a better place, God will destroy the world. The devil chooses Bob Alman (voiced by French Stewart
), a beer
-drinking, porno
-watching auto plant worker from the suburbs of Detroit
who, when asked to save humanity from complete annihilation, asks "What's in it for me?" After saving humanity in the pilot episode
, the series revolves around Bob being God's "Go-To Guy" whenever He gets a great idea to help out the world.
has released the complete series on DVD in Region 1. The 2-disc set features an extensive array of special features including commentaries, interviews and audition tapes.
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
on March 9, 2000 and ended on March 28, 2000, leaving nine episodes unaired. It was created by Matthew Carlson
Matthew Carlson
Matthew Carlson is an American television producer and writer.He is best known for his work on the series Malcolm in the Middle and The Wonder Years...
. It is currently broadcast on the Philippine channel Maxxx
Maxxx
Maxxx was a general entertainment channel for men owned by Creative Programs, Inc., an ABS-CBN subsidiary. -Channel Information:Maxxx had a test broadcast together with Velvet and Balls since September 2007. Maxxx had an official launch on January 1, 2008. Maxxx has also aired selected shows over...
. The entire series was released on Region 1 DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
in the United States on January 4, 2005. Reruns of the series began airing on Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....
's late night programming block, Adult Swim
Adult Swim
Adult Swim is an adult-oriented Cable network that shares channel space with Cartoon Network from 9:00 pm until 6:00 am ET/PT in the United States, and broadcasts in countries such as Australia and New Zealand...
, on January 1, 2011 with the network airing the nine remaining episodes of the series from January 8 to March 26, 2011.
Thirteen episodes were made, but only four were broadcast in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
before the series was canceled due to a combination of low ratings and pressure from religious activists.
The show, however, was well received in places such as the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, and Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
(including Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
), where BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
, RTE
RTE
RTÉ is the abbreviation for Raidió Teilifís Éireann, the public broadcasting service of the Republic of Ireland.RTE may also refer to:* Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, 25th Prime Minister of Turkey...
, and Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
, respectively, aired the entire series.
God, the Devil and Bob was canceled in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
after the first four episodes aired on NBC (although the entire season of 13 episodes was shown overseas), after network executives received an alarming number of complaints about its potentially offensive religious material.
Synopsis
The series was based on GodGod
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
(voiced by James Garner
James Garner
James Garner is an American film and television actor, one of the first Hollywood actors to excel in both media. He has starred in several television series spanning a career of more than five decades...
) and the Devil
Devil
The Devil is believed in many religions and cultures to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly...
(voiced by Alan Cumming
Alan Cumming
Alan Cumming, OBE is a Scottish stage, television and film actor, singer, writer, director, producer and author. His roles have included the Emcee in Cabaret, Boris Grishenko in GoldenEye, Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler in X2: X-Men United, Mr. Elton in Emma, and Fegan Floop in the Spy Kids trilogy...
) making a bet over the fate of the world. God wants to wipe humanity off the face of the planet and start over, but He realizes that He's "not that kind of God." The devil gets to choose one person, and if that person does not prove they have made the world a better place, God will destroy the world. The devil chooses Bob Alman (voiced by French Stewart
French Stewart
Milton French Stewart , better known by his stage name French Stewart, is an American actor, best known for his role as Harry Solomon on the 1990s sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun.-Early life:...
), a beer
Beer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
-drinking, porno
Pornography
Pornography or porn is the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction.Pornography may use any of a variety of media, ranging from books, magazines, postcards, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video,...
-watching auto plant worker from the suburbs of Detroit
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
who, when asked to save humanity from complete annihilation, asks "What's in it for me?" After saving humanity in the pilot episode
Television pilot
A "television pilot" is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell the show to a television network. At the time of its inception, the pilot is meant to be the "testing ground" to see if a series will be possibly desired and successful and therefore a test episode of an...
, the series revolves around Bob being God's "Go-To Guy" whenever He gets a great idea to help out the world.
Characters
- God (voiced by James GarnerJames GarnerJames Garner is an American film and television actor, one of the first Hollywood actors to excel in both media. He has starred in several television series spanning a career of more than five decades...
) - The laid-back, beer-drinking deity, whose human appearance is visually styled on Jerry GarciaJerry GarciaJerome John "Jerry" Garcia was an American musician best known for his lead guitar work, singing and songwriting with the band the Grateful Dead...
of The Grateful Dead. Though He is distressed with the state of the world and is considering destroying it and starting over, even going so far as to design a new universe where marsupials replace humanity and humanity "is somewhere down the food chain". He wants to give humanity a sporting chance. Though He and the Devil appear to have put much of their differences behind them, and are frequently seen socializing, God has a habit of constantly forgetting the devil's birthday. He often wears sunglasses and drinks light beer. He enjoys poptarts and spacefood sticks because of their convenience. Though he is normally invisible to everyone but Bob, children can also see him; God indicates that this is not deliberate. He has control of people's souls until they are 12.
- The Devil (also known as Lucifer) (voiced by Alan CummingAlan CummingAlan Cumming, OBE is a Scottish stage, television and film actor, singer, writer, director, producer and author. His roles have included the Emcee in Cabaret, Boris Grishenko in GoldenEye, Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler in X2: X-Men United, Mr. Elton in Emma, and Fegan Floop in the Spy Kids trilogy...
) - The Devil is trying to persuade God to destroy the world, and is constantly trying to thwart Bob in his attempts to save it. He is a margaritaMargaritaThe margarita is a cocktail consisting of tequila mixed with orange-flavoured liqueur and lime or lemon juice, often served with salt on the glass rim. It is the most common tequila-based cocktail in the United States...
drinker and drives a purple Dodge ChargerDodge Charger (B-body)The Dodge Charger was a mid-size automobile produced by Dodge. The 1966-1974 Chargers were based on the Chrysler B platform. The 1975-1978 Chargers were based on the Chrysler Cordoba.-Origin of the Charger:...
described by Bob as the "coolest car [he's] ever seen". Despite appearances, the devil is needy and co-dependent, often reduced to tears when God ignores or forgets about him to the point he planned to go to war with Heaven when God forgot their golf outing. He also goes into vicious rants when he loses a game (i.e. bowling with God). He has influence over peoples souls from the ages of 12-20. Robert Downey, Jr. was originally cast to voice the Devil, but was forced to pull out because of his relapse into drug addiction.
- Bob Alman (voiced by French StewartFrench StewartMilton French Stewart , better known by his stage name French Stewart, is an American actor, best known for his role as Harry Solomon on the 1990s sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun.-Early life:...
) - The pornographyPornographyPornography or porn is the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction.Pornography may use any of a variety of media, ranging from books, magazines, postcards, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video,...
-watching, under-educated prophet/messenger of God. He is an auto plant worker from Detroit, and is a huge fan of the Red WingsDetroit Red WingsThe Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League , and are one of the Original Six teams of the NHL, along with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, New York...
. Despite his numerous failings, God has faith in him and Bob eventually pulls through. He is very unsure of being qualified or capable to save the world. He clearly loves his family and goes to extreme lengths to keep them safe. As the series progresses, Bob appears to start to be on friendly terms with both God and the Devil, though the latter is still frequently antagonistic towards Bob.
- Donna Alman (voiced by Laurie MetcalfLaurie MetcalfLauren Elizabeth "Laurie" Metcalf is an American actress. She is widely known for her performance as Jackie Harris on the ABC sitcom Roseanne, Mary Cooper on The Big Bang Theory, the voice of Mrs. Davis in the Toy Story film series and as Debbie Salt in Scream 2...
) - Bob's wife who is constantly trying her best to be a good mother. She doesn't believe Bob's claims that he is working for God, and thinks he must be delusional. She has recently returned to college after fourteen years of parenting.
- Megan Alman (voiced by Nancy CartwrightNancy CartwrightNancy Campbell Cartwright is an American film and television actress, comedian and voice artist. She is best known for her long-running role as Bart Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons...
) - Bob and Donna's eldest child. She is thirteen, overly rebellious, insistent, very stubborn, bad-tempered and unruly, yet still loves her family, very deep down. She also a bit of a hypocrite, as just after stating their family doesn't do anything, she blows off family dinner to phone a friend.
- Andy Alman (voiced by Kath SoucieKath SoucieKatherine Elaine Soucie is an American voice actress. She is sometimes credited as Kath Soucie, Katherine Soucie, Kath Souci, Kath E...
) - Bob and Donna's six-year-old son. He is a sweet and good-natured boy who looks up to his father. He is the only person that really believes Bob talks to God and the Devil. At one point in the beginning of the show, he actually sees God.
- Smeck (voiced by Jeff DoucetteJeff DoucetteJeff Doucette is an American television and film actor. Doucette has appeared in over 92 films and television series which include Bedazzled, That '70s Show, Malcolm in the Middle, Murphy Brown, Invasion, "Gilmore Girls", Desperate Housewives, Newhart, Little House on the Prairie, Highway To...
) - An impImpAn imp is a mythological being similar to a fairy or demon, frequently described in folklore and superstition. The word may perhaps derive from the term ympe, used to denote a young grafted tree.-Folklore:...
-like demon who is the devil's put-upon henchman apprentice. In spite of the abuse he suffers at the devil's hands, he remains loyal to his master. It is suggested in the an early episode that he is among the oldest demons in hell. In episode seven, we learn the devil would fire him were it not for his union and would kill him if he did not promise Smeck's mother on her deathbed.
Episodes
| # | Title | Original airdate | Prod. code |
|---|
DVD release
20th Century Fox20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment is the home video distribution arm of the 20th Century Fox film studio. It was established in 1976 as Magnetic Video Corporation, and later as 20th Century Fox Video, CBS/Fox Video and FoxVideo, Inc....
has released the complete series on DVD in Region 1. The 2-disc set features an extensive array of special features including commentaries, interviews and audition tapes.
| Cover | DVD Name | Ep # |
Release Date (region 1) |
Special features |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Complete Series | 13 | January 4, 2005 |
|
External links
- the Devil, And Bob at Keyframe
- God, the Devil and Bob at Adultswim.com