The Oblongs...

Based on a series of thirteen short stories, compiled in Angus Oblong's "Creepy Susie: And 13 Other Tragic Tales for Troubled Children", the series should not have been WB primetime. It's not right, because there are too many moral, family matters, close minded and boring people allowed to tune in. I don't like having to say that, but it's the awful truth. The world is a vastly cultural place, and some people would rather have it stay in the dark ages, propagating the same things, year after year. The Oblong's is a step forwards.

It's funny how Angus Oblong's witty social commentary is mirrored by some of the more conservative comments achieved on this very message board. I also find it funny that if Angus had full control, the comments would be far more intense. That's of course, if it made it past 1 episode.

The show was funny. My problem with it is that Angus should have been put in charge of writing the whole thing, and be given no limits or interruptions. It's not fair that WB execs wouldn't allow him to express his vision (of children stabbing themselves and fat unpopular girls mass-murdering their friends) completely, so we could explore new and more open mediums in the future. Instead, we got a more moral feel from every character. All the characters from the valley, although grotesquely deformed (and very cute) are well rounded individuals.

It's this cowardice promulgated by every TV executive, fearing the watchful eye of concerned middle aged parents, that they might call in to whine about how their children are being exposed to their scurrilous programming. It must be so hard for them to actually parent their children, instead of letting them sit up until 9:00 to watch TV-14 programming, because "it's a cartoon".

The Oblongs was a worthwhile vigil, cut short, even in it's mild adult content reformatting. I pay great respect to Mr. Oblong, and hope he will triumph above adversity, and keep my fingers crossed that he gets paid to write more filth.

"The Oblongs" are so politically incorrect that the show never stood a chance of survival. People oft compare it to "The Simpsons," (same writers and exec producers), but the fact that most of the characters are disfigured was the bullet-in-the-head to the show. With rare exceptions (like the kid in the wheelchair on "Malcolm in the Middle") the US audience doesn't welcome the disabled with open arms. Which is a shame, since they missed out on a clever show -- which is now being prematurely canceled after only 8 of the 13 episodes have aired. The social commentary is subtle but scathing. And the signs that appear on everything are hysterical! Jean Smart is in top form, as always, portraying the "bald-but-beautifully-wigged mother," Pickles, an alcoholic, chain-smoking addict with slightly psychotic tendencies. And son Milo, who the creators wanted to be the new Bart Simpson, could have gotten that honor, had the rest of the clan not been so outlandish. One of only 3 shows that I've held in highest regards this season, I should have known it wouldn't last, since it was scheduled to start in January & was pushed back to April (and my other two favorite shows were already canned, as usual). . .

This cartoon was an adaptation of another wierd cartoon and they did a good job of making it into a TV series.

What I liked about this was the struggle between 'the haves' and the 'have nots'.

You have the Hills where everyone is rich, blonde and beautiful but they dumped their nuculear waste and trash on...the Valley, where everyone else lives.

Of course these Hill people didn't want anything to do with the deformed Valley people, except to do their "dirty work" while they look good. But alas, these deformed Valley people have to live too..and here we see such a thing though the Oblong Family.

There are quite a few episodes that are drop dead hilarious such as the wife "Pickles" being ordered to do community time so she heads the Valley Girl Scout troop, the son, "Milo" being groomed as a "Corporate Marketing Genius", One of the "Debbies" who live on the Hill getting in a freak accident and becoming deformed herself...and a few more.

This is not your typical un-PC Cartoon, it's not with your typical concept, its not even black comedy, it has warts and all and puts them out front. The Oblongs should have a sad existence,I mean, who wants to KNOW or even THINK about what a family of deformed and dysfunctional people DO... but they live their lives inspite of everything that has befallen on them..even in trying to compete with the blondes on the Hill.

Another animation series NOT for everyone, but it is for all of us without a shred of PC decency in our cartoons either.

Based around the lives of "the valley" kids, The Oblongs manages to show quite the range of human emotions behind their veil of crude, yet often very clever, jokes. If taken for just the face value, some may see the show as utterly atrocious. Of course, as with similar shows (alright, there's nothing that really comes close to this show, but there are some come within a few miles, such as Family Guy, or in a looser fashion, The Simpsons), taking the jokes at the surface level can leave many offended. These people just shouldn't watch. However, if you have somewhat thick skin, and can take a joke as it is meant, The Oblongs are quite worth it. Their presentation of all facets of life in a removed setting create an image of ourselves that we can laugh at without dwelling on the fact that it is ourselves. So sit back, relax, and prepare to cringe while laughing hysterically.

I really thought the Oblongs was a great show that was axed too soon but I can assume that if a show doesn't get the ratings that the network wants then it's more likely than not that the show is going to get cancelled. However I think that the show was canceled for all of the wrong reasons.

I especially enjoyed hearing the children go through all of the their particular issues. Biff and Chip going through their awkward stages of life being conjoined twins. Milo the marginally disturbed middle child who thinks that the world is out to get him and Beth who's socially challenged.

Then there's the parents Pickles the always drunk and chain smoking old hag and Bob the limbless head of the household. Then there's Milo's friends, Jawless Peggy, Neckless Helga and Mikey the kid with the huge butt.

If this is offensive to some people then it's quite possible that the people say this aren't really getting the message of this cartoon. The whole Oblong family is different and that's what makes them special.