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Adult animated sitcom From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Oblongs is an American adult animated sitcom created by Angus Oblong and Jace Richdale. It was Mohawk Productions' first venture into animation. The series premiered on April 1, 2001, on The WB, and cancelled due to low ratings on May 20, leaving the last five episodes unaired.[1] The remaining episodes were later aired on Cartoon Network's late-night programming block Adult Swim in August 2002, with the series premiering on the network in production order. The series is loosely based on a series of characters introduced in a picture book entitled Creepy Susie and 13 Other Tragic Tales for Troubled Children.[2]
| The Oblongs | |
|---|---|
The Oblongs title card | |
| Genre | |
| Created by | |
| Based on | Creepy Susie and 13 Other Tragic Tales for Troubled Children by Angus Oblong |
| Voices of | |
| Opening theme | "Oblongs" by They Might Be Giants |
| Composers |
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| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 13 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Running time | 22 minutes |
| Production companies |
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| Original release | |
| Network | The WB |
| Release | April 1 – May 20, 2001 |
| Network | Adult Swim |
| Release | August 25 – October 20, 2002 |
Three networks had a bidding war to win the rights to turn Angus Oblong's characters into a series: Fox, the WB, and ABC. Warner Bros. won the bidding to turn Oblong's characters into a series; and thus, the series was submitted to the WB. The show was produced by Film Roman, Oblong Productions, Jobsite Productions and Mohawk Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television, and the theme song for the series was composed and performed by They Might Be Giants. This was the only animated series to date to have been produced by Bruce Helford under Mohawk.
A total of 13 episodes were produced. All thirteen episodes of The Oblongs were released on DVD on October 4, 2005.
The series focuses on the antics of a mutant family who live in a poor valley community. As a result of pollution and radiation exposure, they are all either disabled, deformed, or mutated. The pollution is the direct result of the lavish lifestyle of the rich community known as "The Hills", whose residents exploit and harm the valley residents with absolutely no regard for their safety or well-being.
Many reviewers and fans see the series as a commentary on social stratification.[3]
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code | U.S. viewers (millions) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Misfit Love" | Vincent Waller | Jace Richdale | April 1, 2001 (The WB) August 4, 2002 (Adult Swim)[5] | 236-001 | 2.16[6] | ||||||
|
Milo Oblong gets transferred to public school after his father Bob is taken off his job's insurance for filing too many claims and falls for a beautiful, popular girl named Yvette who's really an alien. Meanwhile, Bob tries to find a second job to pay the medical bills. | ||||||||||||
| 2 | "Narcoleptic Scottie" | Bob Jaques | Scott Buck | April 8, 2001 (The WB) August 18, 2002 (Adult Swim)[7] | 236-003 | 3.34[8] | ||||||
|
In an attempt to calm his hyperactivity, Bob and Pickles let Milo care for an injured Scottish terrier, but when the dog proves to be a bad influence on Milo, he's forced to give the dog up for adoption. | ||||||||||||
| 3 | "Milo Interrupted" | Kelly Armstrong | Ben Kull | April 15, 2001 (The WB) September 29, 2002 (Adult Swim)[9] | 236-009 | 2.49[10] | ||||||
|
After a Hill kid chucks a rock at the window of Mr. Bergstein's house, the mayor hires a Bible-thumping, gun nut named Mrs. Hubbard to investigate the Valley for dysfunctional families and juvenile delinquents when the Valley kids are accused of the incident. Meanwhile, Milo discovers that Helga's parents are missing and must care for her, making Bob suspect that Milo is abusing drugs. | ||||||||||||
| 4 | "Bucketheads" | Joe Horne | Scott Buck | April 22, 2001 (The WB) October 13, 2002 (Adult Swim)[11] | 236-011 | 1.90[12] | ||||||
|
Milo becomes an unlikely trendsetter for the Hill kids after Pickles sends him to school with a bucket on his head, but the fame goes to Milo's head when Milo sets out to create his own line of offbeat attire. | ||||||||||||
| 5 | "Heroine Addict" | Monte Young | Joey Soloway and Scott Buck | April 29, 2001 (The WB) October 27, 2002 (Adult Swim)[13] | 236-013 | 2.16[14] | ||||||
|
Pickles wins the chance at a shopping spree from a cigarette company, but when she passes out after smoking one too many cigarettes, Pickles decides to quit smoking (and drinking alcohol after inadvertently setting her finger on fire) and becomes a thrill-seeker after knocking out a woman during Tae-Bo class. | ||||||||||||
| 6 | "The Golden Child" | Linda Miller | Leonard Dick | May 6, 2001 (The WB) September 22, 2002 (Adult Swim)[15] | 236-008 | 2.71[16] | ||||||
|
Bob Oblong becomes depressed after learning all his suggestions to make Globocide better have been used as kindling for the factory's furnace. Meanwhile, Milo creates an energy drink called "Manic", and is named "The Corporate Messiah" by the higher-ups at Globocide. | ||||||||||||
| 7 | "Flush, Flush, Sweet Helga" | Monte Young | Jace Richdale | May 13, 2001 (The WB) September 1, 2002 (Adult Swim)[17] | 236-005 | 1.98[18] | ||||||
|
When Milo and his friends get caught crashing a Debbie birthday party, Helga ends up losing Debbie's locket and goes in the sewers to retrieve it, only to be stuck in the Valley's sewer pipes, and the Hill people don't see it as a problem -- until a failed attempt to get Helga out results in the Hill people annexing The Oblongs' house (which isn't affected by Helga being stuck in the pipes) for water. | ||||||||||||
| 8 | "Disfigured Debbie" | Joe Horne | Joey Soloway | May 20, 2001 (The WB) August 11, 2002 (Adult Swim)[19] | 236-002 | 2.40[20] | ||||||
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Milo runs for class president, but loses to Debbie, who ends up an outcast after falling in a thresher. | ||||||||||||
| Adult Swim | ||||||||||||
| 9 | "Pickles' Little Amazons" | Skip Jones | Ben Kull | August 25, 2002[21] | 236-004 | N/A | ||||||
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Pickles gets arrested for neglecting Beth after trying to rescue her from a giant Venus flytrap and is sentenced community service by working as a den mother for a vaguely lesbian Girl Scout-esque troop called "The Little Amazons." | ||||||||||||
| 10 | "Get Off My Back" | Jack Dyer | Eric Friedman | September 8, 2002[22] | 236-006 | N/A | ||||||
|
An accident involving Insani-Glue and Milo getting chased by Biff and Chip results in Milo getting stuck to Biff and Chip's back, which cuts into their training for the two-man triathlon against Hill kids Jared and Blaine. Meanwhile, Beth feels left out and begins sticking herself to others. | ||||||||||||
| 11 | "Please Be Genital" | Gary McCarver | Leonard Dick | September 15, 2002[23] | 236-007 | N/A | ||||||
|
Bob gets his genitals crushed by a stripper wearing clogs during his best friend's bachelor party. When he confesses to Pickles that they can't have sex for two weeks, Pickles begins wondering whether or not her marriage to Bob is real. Meanwhile, Milo becomes an insomniac when Pickles and Bob stop having sex. | ||||||||||||
| 12 | "My Name is Robbie" | Vincent Waller | Joey Soloway | October 6, 2002[24] | 236-010 | N/A | ||||||
|
Bob gets his jaw injured at his company's theme park, and at the advice of company attorneys, is given a robotic body with the arms and legs he never had, which gives him the confidence to quit his job and become a lifeguard. | ||||||||||||
| 13 | "Father of the Bribe" | Michael Kim and Bob Jaques | Eric Friedman | October 20, 2002[25] | 236-012 | N/A | ||||||
|
Biff and Chip get their driver's licenses and crash Bob's car during a drag race. Biff and Chip then buy Bob a new car at a police auction, and come across the Mayor's bribe money, which they spend on themselves, despite nightmarish harassment from city officials. | ||||||||||||
The show premiered on April 1, 2001, on The WB but failed to find an audience. On May 20, 2001, The WB aired "Disfigured Debbie", the second episode produced, as the season finale, leaving five episodes unaired. Reruns of the first eight episodes, and the five remaining episodes, premiered on Cartoon Network's late-night programming block, Adult Swim, from August 4 to October 27, 2002. Reruns of the series continued to air on Adult Swim until December 26, 2015.
In Canada, the series aired on Teletoon as part of "Teletoon Unleashed". In Australia, the show premiered on the Nine Network on December 8, 2001,[26] however due to insufficient ratings, it was withdrawn after one episode,[27] but was eventually shown in a late-night/early morning time slot. The series aired from November 5, 2004, to September 29, 2006, on TBS's late-night programming block, Too Funny to Sleep, and aired on the channel again from April 15, 2013, to February 20, 2015.
The entire series was released on two-disc DVD set in the United States on October 4, 2005.
| DVD name | Release date | Ep # | Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Complete Twisted Series | October 4, 2005[28] | 13 | "It's an Oblong World" – The show's concept, characters and casting, "The Art of the Oblongs" Angus Oblong-guided tour of his original artwork for the series, and "An Oblong Picture Book" – Angus Oblong drawings gallery.[29] |
The Oblongs won the Artios award in 2001 for Best Casting for Animated Voiceover – Television Mary V. Buck Susan Edelman.[30]
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