The Oblongs...

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.

"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.

"The Oblongs" is a wonderfully done series about a screwed up deformed family. We're not laughing at them, but with them. The characters recognize that they are not perfect and make the most of it. Last nights episode saw Milo striving to fit in and be "cool". Every kid in America has gone through that. Why not make fun of it by using buckets with ham labels on them? This series makes my stomach hurt from laughing for thirty minutes straight! True, the jokes are crude, but that's what makes them funny! I recommend it to anyone who can put aside reality for half an hour and realize that life is hilarious and meant to be laughed at!

The Oblongs takes a little while to get used to, but once you do, you can see past the "horror and cruelty" and "tastelessness" and appreciate it for the humor. The Oblongs pushed the Simpsons envelope in much the same way the Family Guy did, and should not have been cancelled. Critics of the show call it "awful", "gross" and "disgusting", although by the time the show hit the airwaves the network censors had watered it down from Angus Oblong's original concept. I wonder what their reaction would have been had there been no censorship.

What bothers me most about the cancellation of shows like this is that moronic pablum such as King of the Hill is everlasting while the Oblongs, Futurama, The Critic and the Family Guy get cancelled (although the Family Guy has re-emerged on cable with new episodes.)

To those critics who slam the show: if you don't like it, don't watch it. Don't get it thrown off the air by complaining about it. To those who love the show: you can still catch episodes on Adult Swim on Cartoon Network at 12:30AM & 3:30AM Mondays, and according to Angus Oblong's website, in Canada on "TeleToon". There are only 13 episodes in existence (and only 6 were ever broadcast on network television). There should be more. Shame on the critics! And shame on the Nielsen viewers!