This show is incredible- I came to it looking for a show that could actually expose people to Bible Stories in an engaging way instead of just reading them off of an emotionless text- Some of the most well known stories in the Bible, such as the Tower of Babel or Jacob's Ladder, are only a handful of verses long and if you zone out for even half a page you could miss those stories entirely.
Superbook delivered that, just- perhaps in a similar way to the Christian God- not quite in the way I expected. With the exception of Season 1, stories are told in a random order as this show is mostly episodic- Each episode contains 2 kids, Chris, Joy, and their robot friend who you're just supposed to accept is there, Gizmo, stumbling themselves into a relatable modern way problem. Just when they prove they don't know how to handle this problem, Superbook shows up to take them back in time to experience a bible story firsthand, that is in some way related to what they are going through. By the end of each episode, Chris and/or Joy learn a lesson (Gizmo is purely there for Comic Relief), and are taken back home to put their newfound wisdom to good use.
While this is definitely a kids show, a lot of the episodes actually deal with problems adults may come across, especially in the later seasons. The best introduction episode for the show I believe is Season 2, Episode 1, Jonah. Many people know about the story of Jonah and how he was in a fish for 3 days, but Not that many people seem to actually know why he was there. The point of the story isn't for him to be in a fish for three days. The story is actually about learning to forgive people even when you think they don't deserve it.
Similarly, it seems a lot of people know about Joseph's "coat of many colors" but don't seem to know anything else about the story, when the coat is basically the most insignificant part of that story- It represents the moment Joseph's brothers are pushed over the edge, but everything that happens after the coat is wrecked is what the story is really about and it gets pretty brutal.
My favorite episode though is from Season 5, when Joy is questioning if it's even right for her to hang around her non Christian friends, only for Superbook to show her that even Jesus hung around "sinners" to build relationships with them.
There are also plenty of episodes that shake up the status quo a bit which is good fun.
And while Gizmo can be annoying as the comic relief character, Chris and Joy rarely laugh at his quirks which can give you the feeling that it's okay if you don't find him funny- Maybe that doesn't make much sense but I feel it works.
If you're willing to embrace your child self and learn some valuable life lessons that are applicable to both children and adults, give this a watch!
