"The Oblongs" [Oblong, 2001] Season 1 [Apr. 2001] [TV-14-DLSV]

This "transparently pseudo-Simpsonian" A.C. has been described by TV Guide as "crude." That is most likely the case, but I think that that TV Guide writer was missing the point here. For what Angus Oblong hath wrought here is very distinctive, far more so than any other AC popular at the time or today, and, proceeding upward from a base level of about B, it has its moments, by all means. But Angus Oblong, who based this show on the illustrated kiddie-scary stories he previously wrote and from which he developed a sense for the grotesque (the residents of the Valley are all horribly mutated from nuclear waste dumped into their city by the affluent residents of the Hills), is clearly trying to imitate Matt Groening. So, basically, how is this show different from the Simpsons? Well, for one, Oblong is probably even more intelligent, and this show's humor has been, from the Simpsons, simplified and made, although it often resorts to complex, even arcane, verbiage. It is also less acerbically satirical than either the Simpsons or Futurama, dealing far softer blows in that regard. However, the show is by no means a very big victory, and is held back, specifically, because Angus Oblong has clearly missed what Groening has always known-- how to amalgamate knowledgeability in certain technical-scientific areas with comedy. But it gets by on its moments, which are unfortunately portrayed as such. Grade: B PLUS