I think the only truly shocking thing about this series is how tame it is. With the show's title and surrounding controversy, I was expecting it to have some edge, but I don't think this portrayl of God is really all that more blasphemous than Morgan Freeman in "Bruce Almighty." What this show is really about is Bob and his family with God and the Devil acting almost as Bob's 'wacky neighbours'. The whole thing almost feels kinda "Leave it to Beaver" with Bob running around helping his teenage daughter with her boy angst or his son with the kids who are picking on him at school because the kid says his Dad is God's prophet.

I've seen four episodes at this point... the first two were kind of weak, but the last two were better with some nice gags and even a couple salient points about good and evil.

I'll probably watch the rest of the episodes on the disc I rented, but I'll agree with whoever it was who said that it's probably best the series ended quickly. Simply from a story point of view, I'm not certain how long this concept could've held together and remained funny.

God, wearing his characteristic shades and sky blue T-shirt, holds the world in his hands. "Hi. God here", he says. "I was all set to destroy the world when I thought, ‘Hey, I’m not that kind of God.’ If just one soul could show me it’s worth saving, I’d spare it. And being a sporting deity, I let the Devil choose". A ray of light descends on the beer-drinking Bob, who floats off his sofa into the air. "Wow!" he exclaims. "This is good beer!"

So began God, the Devil and Bob. And, after four episodes, it promptly ended. Religious groups weren't pleased with the show airing in prime time and pushed for it to be moved to a late-night slot. NBC refused and the show was cancelled, not getting a DVD release until four years later (by which time its writers had gone on to work on "Malcolm in the Middle").

In the UK it was a different matter: the BBC's religious department approved of the show, and the complete series was shown in a 10 PM slot.

So, that's the controversy. But what about the actual show? Well, the visual style is unusual; the animation is really quite bad, with perspective gaffes and characters' heads occasionally changing size, but this gives a kind of grubby charm.

The series has plenty of sight gags. In one sequence, as the two walk through a shopping centre, Satan bursts a kid's balloon with his horn, claws an enormous gash along a car and knocks an old woman over; God, however, casually shunts a chair underneath her. When the two go bowling, God wears a shirt reading "Grace Lutheran, Temple Beth Shalom, St. Mary's, Royal Oaks Buddhists" and bowls a row of strikes; the Devil wears a Microsoft shirt and scores a row of sixes.

There are some great quotes, too. Take this one from an episode where the Devil disguises himself as a teenager and fates Bob's daughter:

"This isn't some father-daughter thing, and it's not about me being delusional - it's about Jordan being the dark lord of the universe!"

In the end, the Devil ends up dumping her. "I forgot how depressing thirteen year old girls can be", he tells his henchman Smeck. Another episode has him quitting his job after God forgets his birthday, leaving the world free of evil. Bob gets so fed up of everyone being so nice, however, that he sets out to get God and the Devil back together.

I can't help but wonder how long the premise would have sustained the series, though; there are only so many souls that Bob could help out before it got stale. Maybe it was best that was cancelled - the series never got a chance to jump the shark and, of course, the got a lot of publicity. A DVD release and afterlife on popart network Trio is enough for this above-average number.

Odd to think that this was banned in the US, as I didn't really see anything particularly offensive about it. Compared with the in-your-face religious satire of South Park, for example, James Garner's Jerry-Garcia type, laid back portrayal of God seemed quite harmless.

This was a quirky show, with some genuinely funny moments, and I'd watch it if it happened to be on, but wouldn't go out of my way to look for it. The animation was pretty weak, so it relied heavily on the situations and humour, which were often funny, but rarely side-splitting. An interesting show. 2.5 stars, but only just.