G vs E

Retro 70's hipness, ten years too early.

Hard to describe the charms of this excellent series. Shame it didn't catch on. Considering the rather bent sense of humor, perhaps not so surprising. But I loved it. Clayton Rohner and Richard Brooks had great chemistry and the whole wacky dead-pan tone was like The Mod Squad mixed with I-Spy and The X-files. Marshall Bell and Googie Gress were hilarious. The numerous celebrity cameos were very well-handled. (Never thought I'd see Emmanuel Lewis unmasked as a demon) I recall the show premiered on USA and then switched to SCi Fi channel. After the change there was a noticeable drop in quality. It was as if someone had given the decree to make is less edgy and more mainstream. But for the first ten episodes, there was nothing quite like it.

I've only seen G vs E on SciFi Channel (UK), and they only have about ten episodes to cycle through, but I haven't laughed so hard since I stumbled over MST3K in '97 (also ten eps cycling, sadly). Horror/SciFi spoof of cheap 70's cop shows, ripping off any number of film and TV forms to perfection (the Rear Window ep is beautiful), it's a tragedy that genuinely original programming goes unwatched, and falls by the wayside. If any series deserves to become immortalised on DVD, this is the one.

I am not usually a fan of this type of genre, but I have to say that "G vs E" is one of the most interesting shows I have seen in a long time. I'd go so far as to say it's better than "The X Files," which has really gone stale in recent years. I was actually interested in seeing the show after I learned Richard Brooks (Paul Robinette on "Law & Order") was one of the stars. Brooks (Henry McNeil) and Clayton Rohner (Chandler Smythe) seem to have chemistry that is seen only in the great "detective teams" - such as Joe Friday and his partner from "Dragnet", Lennie Briscoe and Mike Logan from "Law & Order, and so on and so forth.

At first I thought there would be a lot of gratuitous and needless violence. But, after watching the first 2-3 episodes, I thought that wasn't the case. "G vs E" comes off as a cross between "The X Files" and "Touched By An Angel". It has it's moments where the lead characters almost make serious mistakes, but there seem to be some lighter sides (read: dark humor) to the show.

The premise of the series gives a new twist to the battle between the "Good Guys" and the "Bad Guys." I like the fact that they set the show in Los Angeles, where the ironies of how evil the entertainment industry can be fly out at you.

The only other "G vs E" character that really stands out is Deacon Jones (Narrator/Himself), who brings that toughness that made him famous in American professional football during the 1970's.

Overall, I have a feeling that this will be another of the USA Cable Network's crown jewels in its programming. So far, after seeing the first four episodes, I have no reason to think otherwise.

GvsE was a great show. It first started out on the USA Network but ratings dropped off and the show vanished. After Sliders ended, GvsE (now renamed good vs evil) took it's place in Sci-Fi Channel's Sci-Fi Prime line up, in between the awesome Farscape and the idiotic Lexx. But ratings were still low and the show has again been cancelled. The show had a very original concept and was very creative. Hopefully, Sci-Fi will reconsider it's decision on cancelling.

The Pate brothers have created a brilliantly entertaining show in GvsE.

Chandler Smythe is a reporter who gets killed after witnessing a murder. He is apparently too bad for Heaven, but too good for Hell so he's given a chance to work for the Almighty as an agent in the Corps. As an agent, Chandler helps the Corps to save people who have made deals with the devil via the devil's agents, which are called Morlocks. He is placed back on Earth as a mortal with no special powers. If he does good work, he'll have a shot at Heaven the next time he dies.

The writing is clever, not patronizing. Their amusing use of celebrity guest-stars along with Deacon Jones' "Morlock Killin' Tips" shows an irreverent sense of humour. The camera and direction are very unusual and add greatly to the atmosphere of the show.

Highlighted by stellar acting and a hip/funky/pseudo-retro soundtrack, this show is one of the best I've seen on television.