Fone Bone
Matt Zimmer
Seriously? On an entire board dedicated to Adult Swim there isn't a single talkback dedicated to the single best original show they have ever created? Arguably the ONLY worthwhile thing that unfunny stoner network created themselves? Seriously?! I do not understand the internet at all.
If this talkback get fewer responses than Mike Tyson Mysteries' talkback, I'm hopping on Professor Farnsworth's spaceship. I don't want to live on this planet anymore.
Feel good and ashamed yet? All right then. Time to review the episode. It was a gem.
Black Jesus "The Compton Carter"
Finally! The return of the only decent original series on Adult Swim! The schedule is basically cluttered with reruns of Fox Toons and utter crap (although Final Space is pretty spiffy) and this show is a breath of fresh air.
It's been awhile since I've reviewed this, so let me briefly go over why this show is so great.
On the surface, it's offensive to Christians. Jesus is profane, He's often a criminal, and He smokes weed. But if you look past those specific things, the character of Jesus is every bit as wonderful and accurate to the Bible as He should be. He's loving, He's friendly, He's forgiving, and He's an occasional total badass, which are all traits from the Bible. And the show has Jesus preach morals that are relevant to today such as how bad the senseless incarceration of black men has gotten. In fact, the judge is so moved by His pleas that she drops all charges against him. At least until He curses and is given six months in prison for contempt. If the real Jesus turned out to be exactly like this, I don't think there would be any wars. I could totally see an entire religion being founded upon this specific lovable guy, but I'd find the idea of wars in His name absolutely ludicrous. The main irony of show to me is aptly demonstrated in the teaser where Jesus is running from the cops because He's black. If Jesus came back preaching the things He did in the Bible He'd be strung up by the people who currently claim to love Him. And if He were black? It's like the show delivers the perfect version of Jesus and conservatives lose their crap for surface reasons. And that's part of the subversion of the show. Aaron McGruder is proving once and for all that the same people who claim to love Jesus's message would reject it if it didn't conform to what their ideas of propriety entailed. If you are religious you can learn something from this show. If you aren't religious, you can learn something too. It's amazing on every level.
Do you know what amuses me about the complaint that Jesus smokes weed? The so-called fundamentalists seem to believe Jesus operates under man's laws. Aren't we supposed to be a nation under God according to them? If Jesus smokes weed on this show, it means smoking weed is okay, at least on this show. It doesn't mean people who don't like weed get to act like they know better than Jesus if he came back and decided to partake. It is SO weird the things that upset fundamentalists. They claim to love Jesus, but they sure seem to believe they know better than him.
I adore the idea that Vic is in Heaven. Because although he rejected Jesus, he never rejected the idea of God. What a great tribute to Charlie Murphy at end for Vic who was one of the few characters on the show you were supposed to outright dislike. But Jesus never did, and it's wonderful He's happy Vic is in Heaven.
"Jesus Christ! Just give me the effing weed!" "My love for you is infinite, but eff you, man." How can anyone hate that? It's beautiful.
What I especially love about the show is that there are people on the show who correctly lecture Jesus when He is failing the people, or not living up to God's standards. Jesus is 2000 years old and doesn't have a job? Why doesn't He lead the criminals He hangs out with by example instead of just chilling with them? Jesus does not make judgments on people, which is nice. But He could set a better example if He wanted to. Jesus on this show is human, and I relate to Him and believe in Him more because of it. My Christianity has sort of lapsed for real-world political reasons. For a half-hour a week, it comes back as I watch this show and then review it. Jesus on this show is everything He should be, and everything we should want Him to be. McGruder is very clever to make such a wonderful person be so objectionable to conservatives in the audience. He's getting people to reject the very thing they claim they value, and showing the hypocrisy. And that will make people uncomfortable. You know what? Back in the day, JESUS made people uncomfortable. And He made the correct people uncomfortable. It's only fitting a fictionalized version of Him is doing the exact same thing 2000 years later.
This show is amazing and I'm glad it's back. I think The Boondocks cartoon wound up a disappointment, even before McGruder left, but Black Jesus is the real deal. It is the only worthwhile thing on Adult Swim. And it's not even a cartoon! *****.
If this talkback get fewer responses than Mike Tyson Mysteries' talkback, I'm hopping on Professor Farnsworth's spaceship. I don't want to live on this planet anymore.
Feel good and ashamed yet? All right then. Time to review the episode. It was a gem.
Black Jesus "The Compton Carter"
Finally! The return of the only decent original series on Adult Swim! The schedule is basically cluttered with reruns of Fox Toons and utter crap (although Final Space is pretty spiffy) and this show is a breath of fresh air.
It's been awhile since I've reviewed this, so let me briefly go over why this show is so great.
On the surface, it's offensive to Christians. Jesus is profane, He's often a criminal, and He smokes weed. But if you look past those specific things, the character of Jesus is every bit as wonderful and accurate to the Bible as He should be. He's loving, He's friendly, He's forgiving, and He's an occasional total badass, which are all traits from the Bible. And the show has Jesus preach morals that are relevant to today such as how bad the senseless incarceration of black men has gotten. In fact, the judge is so moved by His pleas that she drops all charges against him. At least until He curses and is given six months in prison for contempt. If the real Jesus turned out to be exactly like this, I don't think there would be any wars. I could totally see an entire religion being founded upon this specific lovable guy, but I'd find the idea of wars in His name absolutely ludicrous. The main irony of show to me is aptly demonstrated in the teaser where Jesus is running from the cops because He's black. If Jesus came back preaching the things He did in the Bible He'd be strung up by the people who currently claim to love Him. And if He were black? It's like the show delivers the perfect version of Jesus and conservatives lose their crap for surface reasons. And that's part of the subversion of the show. Aaron McGruder is proving once and for all that the same people who claim to love Jesus's message would reject it if it didn't conform to what their ideas of propriety entailed. If you are religious you can learn something from this show. If you aren't religious, you can learn something too. It's amazing on every level.
Do you know what amuses me about the complaint that Jesus smokes weed? The so-called fundamentalists seem to believe Jesus operates under man's laws. Aren't we supposed to be a nation under God according to them? If Jesus smokes weed on this show, it means smoking weed is okay, at least on this show. It doesn't mean people who don't like weed get to act like they know better than Jesus if he came back and decided to partake. It is SO weird the things that upset fundamentalists. They claim to love Jesus, but they sure seem to believe they know better than him.
I adore the idea that Vic is in Heaven. Because although he rejected Jesus, he never rejected the idea of God. What a great tribute to Charlie Murphy at end for Vic who was one of the few characters on the show you were supposed to outright dislike. But Jesus never did, and it's wonderful He's happy Vic is in Heaven.
"Jesus Christ! Just give me the effing weed!" "My love for you is infinite, but eff you, man." How can anyone hate that? It's beautiful.
What I especially love about the show is that there are people on the show who correctly lecture Jesus when He is failing the people, or not living up to God's standards. Jesus is 2000 years old and doesn't have a job? Why doesn't He lead the criminals He hangs out with by example instead of just chilling with them? Jesus does not make judgments on people, which is nice. But He could set a better example if He wanted to. Jesus on this show is human, and I relate to Him and believe in Him more because of it. My Christianity has sort of lapsed for real-world political reasons. For a half-hour a week, it comes back as I watch this show and then review it. Jesus on this show is everything He should be, and everything we should want Him to be. McGruder is very clever to make such a wonderful person be so objectionable to conservatives in the audience. He's getting people to reject the very thing they claim they value, and showing the hypocrisy. And that will make people uncomfortable. You know what? Back in the day, JESUS made people uncomfortable. And He made the correct people uncomfortable. It's only fitting a fictionalized version of Him is doing the exact same thing 2000 years later.
This show is amazing and I'm glad it's back. I think The Boondocks cartoon wound up a disappointment, even before McGruder left, but Black Jesus is the real deal. It is the only worthwhile thing on Adult Swim. And it's not even a cartoon! *****.