A plethora of adult-oriented animated sitcoms popped-up all over television in the wake of The Simpsons , and with the exception of King of the Hill , all of them have fallen by the wayside, either because they were garbage, or the concepts of the shows simply didn't lend themselves very well to a TV series. God, The Devil and Bob was one of those shows, briefly airing on NBC during the 2000 season. Only 13 episodes were produced (I'm not even sure if all of them aired) before it was unceremoniously cancelled. This 2-disc set contains those episodes, along with a few extras fans of the show should enjoy.

God (James Garner) is disappointed in the way the world has turned out, and is thinking of destroying it and starting over. Because he believes in being diplomatic about it, he lets The Devil (Alan Cumming) choose one person to demonstrate the world is worth saving. Since he'd love nothing more than to see the world destroyed, The Devil randomly picks Bob (French Stewart), a self-centered, beer-drinking Detroit auto-worker. Bob, of course, has no idea how to save humanity, and has a lot of problems of his own, such as a semi-dysfunctional family (including a neurotic teenage daughter). Though God frequently pops up in Bob's life, he isn't much help...most of the advice his gives Bob is pretty ambiguous. Meanwhile, The Devil (along with his minion, Smeck) does what he can to thwart Bob's efforts, either through temptation or screwing with his family. The characters of God and The Devil are fun creations, making one wish the show's focus was more on them than Bob and his family. God is portrayed as a laid-back Jerry Garcia type, voiced by an equally laid-back Garner, while The Devil seems to deal with insecurity issues and needs constant reassurance from those around him that he's evil & vile. I also like the way the show often portrays these two as buddies when they aren't "on the job," attending auto shows, going on trips together, etc. These two characters are far more amusing than Bob, who seems patterned after every working class slacker dad in every sitcom since The Simpsons . Eventually, the show starts to drag, coming to life only during scenes involving the interaction between God and The Devil (as well as the segments showing The Devil dealing with his insecurities while trying to manage Hell). Though occasionally amusing, it's seldom laugh-out-loud funny, with most of the biggest laughs coming from the occasional throw-away line that has nothing to do with the story.

The show is presented in its original 1.33:1 fullscreen aspect ratio, and looks pretty good, though there are some noticeable artifacts visible from time to time. The audio transfer is pretty much equal to what it was during the show's television run, rendered in 2.0 Dolby Stereo.

Several episodes include commentaries, mostly by people involved in the show's production. Fans will enjoy what they have to say, as they provide a lot of interesting background info. Also included is a 20 minute making-of featurette, mostly featuring creator Matthew Carlson, who discusses his love for the show in a lot of detail. He's also fairly candid about how "controversial" the show was, which led to its demise. On a personal note, I think the show's demise was based on low ratings (since when did controversy deter a network from broadcasting a program that was a cash cow?). Finally, the characters themselves are "interviewed" in a short, five-minute piece...it's sort of fun, but nothing you would watch more than once. Similar Programs: The Simpsons; King Of The Hill

God, The Devil and Bob is far from the worst attempt at an adult animated series ( Family Guy still holds that title), and its premise is fairly interesting for an episode or two, but not a full-season series. I think the overall concept of the show would have been better suited to short 10 minute segments (like Beavis and Butthead ) rather than padded-out 30 minute episodes