''Saul of the Mole Men'' is an American live-action/puppet/animated hybrid

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

television series created by Craig Lewis, former writer on

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, Car ...

's ''

The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy ''The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy'' is an American animated television series created by Maxwell Atoms for Cartoon Network and distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television. It follows Billy, an extremely dimwitted, happy-go-lucky boy, an ...

'' and ''

Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends ''Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends'' (also known as ''Foster's Home'', or simply ''Foster's'' for short) is an American animated television series created by Craig McCracken for Cartoon Network. It was produced by Cartoon Network Studios as ...

''. The series first aired on the channel's late night

Adult Swim Adult Swim (AS; stylized as

dult swim Dult is a village in Batala in Gurdaspur district of Punjab State, India. It is located from sub district headquarter, from district headquarter and from Sri Hargobindpur. The village is administrated by Sarpanch an elected representati ...

and often abbreviated as s is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television Television channel, channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programme ...

programming block on February 11, 2007. Described as "an ultra-patriotic ''

Land of the Lost Land of the Lost may refer to: * Land of the Lost (1974 TV series), ''Land of the Lost'' (1974 TV series), the original 1974 children's television series * Land of the Lost (1991 TV series), ''Land of the Lost'' (1991 TV series), the 1991 remake of ...

'' set in the center of the Earth", the series was directed by Tom Stern and stars Josh Gardner, who previously collaborated with Stern on the television series ''

Gerhard Reinke's Wanderlust ''Gerhard Reinke's Wanderlust'' is a mockumentary television comedy that was originally broadcast on the American basic cable channel Comedy Central in spring 2003. It stars writer-comedian Josh Gardner as Gerhard Reinke, a German backpacker wi ...

''. Its theme song is performed by ''

South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boys Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand th ...

'' co-creator

Trey Parker Randolph Severn "Trey" Parker III (born October 19, 1969) is an American actor, animator, filmmaker, and composer. He is known for co-creating ''South Park'' (since 1997) and ''The Book of Mormon'' (2011) with his creative partner Matt Stone. P ...

. Lewis' primary inspirations behind this homage to 1970s-era Saturday morning

live-action Live action (or live-action) is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live-action with animation to create a live-action animated film. Live-action is used to define film, video ga ...

television were

Sid and Marty Krofft Sid Krofft (born July 30, 1929) and Marty Krofft (born April 9, 1937) are a Canadian sibling team of television creators and puppeteers. Through their production company, Sid & Marty Krofft Pictures, they have made numerous children's television a ...

(''

''), ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

'' (

Tom Baker Thomas Stewart Baker (born 20 January 1934) is an English actor and writer. He is well known for his portrayal of the Fourth Doctor, fourth incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in the science fiction television series ''Doctor Wh ...

-era), and the ''

Planet of the Apes ''Planet of the Apes'' is an American science fiction media franchise consisting of films, books, television series, comics, and other media about a world in which humans and intelligent apes clash for control. The franchise is based on Frenc ...

'' franchise. On October 31, 2008, Adult Swim ran a special

Halloween Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observanc ...

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

consisting only of cancelled shows, featuring ''Saul of the Mole Men'', thus confirming its cancellation.

Plot

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. The main character, Saul, is seen in the background or blocked off by objects like a shovel or a flag during the promo. Following the promo, the crew is shown aboard STRATA's huge ship, which is burrowing deep under Earth's surface. Saul becomes the sole survivor of the main team when rocks begin pummeling the rest of the STRATA team, and crippling their ship; the only other survivors are a Robot controlled by a human brain, and the vapid pop musician Johnny Tambourine, who is conscious but trapped in a hibernation capsule. Saul soon finds himself in an underground world populated by "Mole Men" and "Bird Bats" as well as unexplained characters like "The Floating Pancake" and "Chinacula", a cape-wearing Chinese vampire. Though cut off from the surface world, Saul is elated, believing he will find evidence beneath the surface for his theory that there are sentient rocks descended from a huge "mother rock". Terrified by the Mole Men, Saul impulsively impales their king using the STRATA transmitter. The king eventually dies, touching off a power struggle between his two sons – the older (but corpulent and corrupt) Bertrum Burrows, and the noble Clancy Burrows. Saul fails to get a proper signal to STRATA before the transmitter is destroyed. However, he does meet a talking rock, one he believes to be the Mother Rock. The intelligent stone inspires Saul to lead the Mole Men, who themselves are turning to a popular vote in search of a new king. Saul is easily defeated by both of the Burrows brothers, who themselves lose to a clueless Johnny Tambourine. As the series progresses, Saul is alternately challenged and befriended by Mole Men. Saul meets Fallopia, a female and one of the most horribly mutated of the Mole Men (when revealed, she actually appears to be a beautiful human woman). Though Fallopia becomes Saul's love interest, she betrays him when found ''

in flagrante delicto ''In flagrante delicto'' (Latin for "in blazing offence") or sometimes simply ''in flagrante'' ("in blazing") is a legal term used to indicate that a criminal has been caught in the act of committing an offence (compare ). The colloquial "caught ...

'' with Johnny Tambourine. Eventually the plot links the Mother Rock, a war between mole men and bird bats and a prophecy involving magical gemstones, the end of the world and

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...

. 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 with rock heads, who then combine to form a giant rock monster. With the combined talents of Stromulus' "Sonar of the Bird-Bats", Bertrum's"Mole Man Burrowing", and Saul's "Rock Master Tumble", they defeat the rock monster, and Saul's old captains die in peace — only for Saul to confront Nathaniel Baltimore — his arch rival from the

Tallahassee Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2020, the population ...

Geological License Review Board — who inexplicably appears. Suddenly, they find a spaceship, and everybody, including the floating pancake, clambers on. Clancy even allows Bertrum aboard, though how he survived the rock attack in the previous episode is never explained. Before they take off, Otnip – the moss-covered devil of the Mole Men – stops their ship. Clancy goes out in an apparent suicide mission to blow up Otnip and free the ship. The episode ends as the ship flies 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 is renamed "Strata-Team Space". Thus ends the season. Advertisements began airing on

Adult Swim Adult Swim (AS; stylized as

advertising the show as STRATA instead of the original title, making the series appear much like . Subsequent advertisements, however, focus more on Saul and reveal the actual title of the show. Saul often refers to his home-town of

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

and reveals that he studied geology. Saul's presence is largely funny because of his endearing use of

Buffalo English Inland Northern (American) English, also known in American linguistics as the Inland North or Great Lakes dialect, is an American English dialect spoken primarily by White Americans in a geographic band reaching from the major urban areas of Up ...

. 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 " Eye of the Beholder".

Cast

* Josh Gardner as Saul Malone and Johnny Tambourine *

Frank Potenza Francis Potenza (November 11, 1933 – August 23, 2011) was an American police officer for the New York City Police Department and security guard. He later became a television actor for the late-night show ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!''. He appeared a ...

as Robot (voice) * Hugh Davidson as Bertrum Burrows (voice) *

Jeff Bennett Jeffrey Glenn Bennett (born October 2, 1962) is an American voice actor who voiced Johnny Bravo in the Johnny Bravo, eponymous television series, Dexter's Dad in ''Dexter's Laboratory'', Brooklyn in ''Gargoyles (TV series), Gargoyles'' and List o ...

as Clancy Burrows (voice) *

Irina Voronina Irina Vadimovna Voronina (russian: Ирина Вадимовна Воронина; born December 19, 1977) is a Russian stand-up comedian, actress, and model. As a model, she was also the Playboy Playmate for January 2001. Biography Voronina ...

as Fallopia *

Dana Snyder Dana Snyder is an American actor. He is known for his voice roles of Master Shake in ''Aqua Teen Hunger Force'', Granny Cuyler in ''Squidbillies'', Baby Ball on '' Ballmastrz: 9009'', and other roles in various Adult Swim television shows. His o ...

as STRATA Operator #1 *

Gary Anthony Williams Gary Anthony Williams (born March 14, 1966) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. He voiced the character of Uncle Ruckus on ''The Boondocks'', and a number of video game characters. He also appeared on the television series '' Weeds'', ...

as STRATA Operator #2 *Arturo Gil as Lil' Lil Burrows *

Carlos Alazraqui Carlos Jaime Alazraqui (born July 20, 1962) is an American actor, stand-up comedian, impressionist, producer, and screenwriter. He is best known for his role as Deputy James Garcia on ''Reno 911!'' and for his voice acting roles. His extensive ...

as Stromulus Guandor the Birdbat Leader (voice)

Episodes

Pilot

pilot episode A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie), in United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television network or other distri ...

for ''Saul of the Mole Men'' was produced in 2005 and it was never aired on television. The pilot was released on Adultswim.com, but it has been taken down since.

Season 1 (2007)

International broadcast

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, ''Saul of the Mole Men'' previously aired on

Teletoon Teletoon (stylized as TELETOON) is a Canadian English-language specialty channel owned by Teletoon Canada, Inc., a subsidiary of Corus Entertainment. Its name is a portmanteau of "television" and " cartoon". The channel primarily broadcasts ...

Teletoon at Night Teletoon at Night (stylized as TELEToON AT NiGHT and formerly known as Teletoon's Adult Block, The Detour On Teletoon and Teletoon Detour) was a Canadian English language late night programming block that aired on Teletoon, which is owned by Tel ...

block, and currently airs on the Canadian version of Adult Swim.

References

External links

* *
SuicideGirls – Tom Stern Interview (April 27, 2006)

SuicideGirls – Marty Krofft Interview (May 23, 2006)

WizardUniverse.com – ToyFare: Craig Lewis Interview (September 28, 2006)

{{Williams Street, state=collapsed 2007 American television series debuts 2007 American television series endings 2000s American comic science fiction television series Adult Swim original programming American television series with live action and animation American television shows featuring puppetry English-language television shows Television series by Williams Street