| Saul of the Mole Men | |
|---|---|
title card |
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| Genre | Live action comedy |
| Created by | Craig Lewis |
| Directed by | Tom Stern |
| Starring | Josh Gardner |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 20 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 11 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Adult Swim |
| Picture format | 4:3 SDTV |
| Original run | February 11, 2007 – July 15, 2007 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | Young Person's Guide to History |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Saul of the Mole Men is a live action show created by Craig Lewis, writer on The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy and Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends. The series first aired February 11, 2007 on Adult Swim. Described as "an ultra-patriotic Land of the Lost set in the center of the Earth", the series is directed by Tom Stern and stars Josh Gardner. Gardner is known for his previous collaboration with Stern on the television series, Gerhard Reinke's Wanderlust. The show's theme song is performed by South Park creator Trey Parker.
Lewis' primary inspirations behind this homage to 1970s-era Saturday morning live-action television were Sid and Marty Krofft (Land of the Lost), Doctor Who (Tom Baker-era), and the Planet of the Apes franchise. On October 31, 2008 Adult Swim ran a special Halloween marathon.[1]
Contents |
A series promo featured brief introductions for the crew on the use of a subterranean drill module. The team, known as STRATA, included Captain Jim J. James, Lieutenant Jen E. James, Robot, Kiko the Mute Wildboy, and the "rest" of the STRATA action team (which included Saul Malone (Gardner) and Don Rogers, a man with a shovel). The main character, Saul, is seen in the background in many of these scenes. All of the characters are killed within the first few seconds of the first episode, except Saul, Robot, and a revived Johnny Tambourine.
In the season 1 finale, Saul, Clancy, and Stromulus Guandor team up to defeat the Rock Assassins, which are actually Jim J. James and Jen. E. James' bodies combined to make a rock monster. With the combined talents of the "Scream of the Birdbats","Moleman Burrowing", and "Rockmaster Tumbling", they defeat the rocks, and Saul's old captains die in peace—only for Saul to confront Nathaniel Baltimore—his arch rival from the Tallahassee Geological License Review Board—who mysteriously appears. Suddenly, they find a spaceship, and everybody, including the floating pancake, clamber on. Clancy even lets his brother, Bertrum, on the ship, while it is still not known how he survived the rock attack in the previous episode. Once the team clambers on, Otnip stops their ship, and Clancy goes out in an apparent suicide mission to blow up Otnip and free the ship. The episode ends as they go into outer space, and the team, led by Saul and Fallopia, with Bertrum, Stromulus, Mrs. Burrows, Li'l Burrows, Nathaniel Baltimore, the floating pancake, and Chinacula the Chinese vampire is re-named Strata-Team Space. Thus ends the season.
Advertisements began airing on Adult Swim advertising the show as STRATA instead of the original title, making the series appear much like Electric Shock!! Strada 5 (電撃!! ストラダ5 Dengeki!! Sutorada Faibu). Subsequent advertisements, however, focus more on Saul and reveal the actual title of the show.
Saul often refers to his hometown of Buffalo, NY and reveals that he studied geology. Saul's presence is largely funny because of his endearing use of Buffalo English. His love interest is introduced as a creature perceived by locals as hideous and nearly beaten to death by the Mole Men. The beating is interrupted and the creature is revealed to be the lovely Fallopia. The Mole Men's perception of Fallopia's appearance is not unlike the Twilight Zone episode "The Eye of the Beholder".
| Actor | Character(s) |
|---|---|
| Josh Gardner | Saul Malone Johnny Tambourine |
| Frank Potenza | Robot (voice) |
| Hugh Davidson | Bertrum Burrows (voice) |
| Jeff Bennett | Clancy Burrows (voice) |
| Irina Voronina | Fallopia |
| Dana Snyder | STRATA Operator #1 |
| Gary Anthony Williams | STRATA Operator #2 |
| Arturo Gil | Lil' Lil Burrows |
| Carlos Alazraqui | Stromulus Guandor the Birdbat Leader (voice) |