Here’s a cute cartoon: Moral Orel learns about the book of Geniusis. I hadn’t seen this series before, but it’s much, much better than the preachy Davey and Goliath shows I remember seeing all the time as a kid (which I have just learned was of Lutheran origin. Figures. It was so darned bland.)
Pharyngula
Evolution, development, and random biological ejaculations from a godless liberal
Whoa! Flesh-eating Catholics! That’s my favorite horror story. I hope they read that one in another installment.
You do know that it’s a spoof of Davey and Goliath?
I always liked the Simpson take on Davy and Goliath, with the younger of the Flanders boys giving up on the show because he thought that the idea of talking dog was blasphemous. (By religious logic, he has a point. Does the dog have a soul? Blah blah blah.)
wow, i’m stunned you hadn’t seen morel orel! great show, if sometimes overly depressing…which i suppose should happen with a show mocking religious themes. they’re BRUTAL sometimes, especially when exposing hypocrisy (as in, anything having to do with religion ever)
I’m stunned too. P.Z. you could have WRITTEN Moral Orel.
Oh, now I get it. A few months ago in Manhattan there was this big billboard featuring this clay figure of a young man praying, and a caption that read “Moral Orel pray for us all.” I was like, what the hell is that all about?
Make me sit through one adult content warning and TWO commercials, and then give me an error loading the main video?? Adult Swim, why do you hate me?
Ditto Jason.
The first Moral Orel, the christmas special, is officially the most depressing 15 minutes in history.
I love it. Greatest representation of blind faith ever.
Metalocalypse had an episode dealing with religion that has to be commented about especially the scene where the church of Agnostics was being protested against by a group of Atheists.
Moral Orel is probably the best satirical comedy, IMO. I absolutely love it.
Moral Oral has got to be the most blasphemous show I have ever seen. How it it possible that the AFA and Pat Roberson haven’t had a massive public conniption fit over it yet? Do they no know it exists, or did I just miss it?
Ditto KiwiInOz
This is one of the few episodes that didn’t end with Orel getting beaten by his father to teach him a lesson.
Another Adult Swim classic. On the down low.
They hardly promote it on the Channel itself because they want to build a fan base and not attract too much Godbot attention.
Moral Oral has got to be the most blasphemous show I have ever seen. How it it possible that the AFA and Pat Roberson haven’t had a massive public conniption fit over it yet? Do they no know it exists, or did I just miss it?
The thing is, and what makes it work, is that Moral Orel accurately parrots all of the fundamentalist talking points. In the episode PZ linked, there is nothing in the script that quoted could give offense to a conservative no-nothing.
In a way it blew my mind.
I tracked down the index of episodes. I love episode one where Moral Orel is furious with the folks in the cemetary for rejecting God’s greatest gift … life. I think I may have hurt myself laughing at that one.
http://www.adultswim.com/shows/moralorel/index.html
MO season one is out on DVD. Very recommended. Season 2 is still running, but available from iTunes. Also very recommended.
It’s on at 12:15 Sunday (actually Monday morning). A bit late for my tastes, but that’s why the iTunes season pass is so nice.
I have that episode waiting to be watched on my DVR.
The best episode of Moral Orel so far has been episode 12, “Love”, in which Orel finds a stray dog but is forced to give it up because he loves it more than God. The entire episode is a biblical allegory in which the dog is Jesus and the Christians are the crucifiers . It is a great and artful statement about religious hypocrisy.
WOW. Just wow.
How did we miss the squidbillies?
Squid Jesus?!
http://www.adultswim.com/video/?episodeID=8a25c39212b940680112b9bf31dd000d
I caught part of one episode of Davey & Goliath on TBN one time. I switched channels right before Davey and Black Friend started beating up New Kid for stealing their empty soda bottles. So yeah.
Squidbillies and Metalocalypse seem to me like bad ATHF clones. Twice the ‘WTF’ without any of the ‘enjoyable’. But I’ve never bothered to watch either, so…
sorry, but the Venture Bros. beats out all of the other Adult Swim satires.
Brock Sampson might be my favorite caricature of all time.
ichthyic: for dialogue and pure comedy, VB is definitely great. but as satire on real-world garbage, Moral Orel is hard to beat…the tremendous twists of logic they use to hoist these psychos on their own canards is wonderful.
and the best part? the target of these jabs will never understand what’s happening. it’s in their blind spot.
also, most depressing cartoon ever? The Dog Episode of Futurama. i’ve seen it 15 times and still bawl at the end.
Agreed, Garth. Also the Futurama where Fry actually digs up his brother’s grave. But the dog one makes me want to cry.
Moral Orel makes me sit slack jawed that it’s actually on TV. It bites harder than South Park.
FUTURAMA has had its own hilarious riffs on religion, too. “Robot Hell”, etc.
Bender-becomes-God(sort of)/Bender-Meets-God-Maybe…
“God doesn’t do Jack, we gotta save ourselves–God told me himself.” -Bender