Moral Orel

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How did I miss this gem before? Wow, this is a great piece of work that has sadly ended its production of new episodes. It's a nicely done satirical piece chock full of good direction, good music, and well-thought-out dialogue. The voice actors are spot-on. You really feel for Orel, and even in some ways, his dad. The episode "Sacrifices" is really well written, as an example. It's a shame it's gone.

 

[Chazwozel]

How did I miss this gem before? Wow, this is a great piece of work that has sadly ended its production of new episodes. It's a nicely done satirical piece chock full of good direction, good music, and well-thought-out dialogue. The voice actors are spot-on. You really feel for Orel, and even in some ways, his dad. The episode "Sacrifices" is really well written, as an example. It's a shame it's gone.

The best is when his dad calls him over to the study for beatings.

 

[Cajungal]

It's a great show. Most of the episodes are downright heartbreaking, but it's very clever, and I liked the way they ended it.

 

[GasBandit]

I'm a huge Morel Orel fan. I especially liked the episode Maturity.

"Behaving like a grown-up is many things. First and foremost, it's doing things that you hate doing. Like dealing with people that make you unhappy, being stressed about things you have no control over, and working soul numbing jobs. Then, gradually, as we endure these hardships and accept them as normal, that's when we've finally earned the right to get drunk and be emotionally distant from our families."

 

[Vagabond]

The last season really ramped up the anguish for all the characters, it almost became another show entirely.

It went from sort of lightheartedly lampooning that kind of lifestyle, to moments like this



And it was brilliant.

 

[Oddbot]

Never seen this show before, but I just watched that clip and was very pleased at the song selection. The Mountain Goats is one of my all time favorite bands. Perhaps I'll give this show a try.

 

[AshburnerX]

The last season really ramped up the anguish for all the characters, it almost became another show entirely.

It went from sort of lightheartedly lampooning that kind of lifestyle, to moments like this

And it was brilliant .

And at the same time, it also gave some of the characters somewhat happier endings. For instance the Preacher reconciles with his Daughter (the punk girl who seems like the only decent person in town other than him) and the nurse finally connects with her illegitimate son in a meaningful way. The final season is very dark, but it has it's moments of hope that the previous seasons never really had.

 

[Bowielee]

I absolutely LOVED this show. For all the shit that [Adult Swim] shovels out (I'm looking at YOU Tim and Erik) it really has some real gems in there.

 

[WolfOfOdin]

THe Preacher was an interesting character....

Spoiler

while he said and did a lot of...questionable things, you could really tell that underneath it, he was a very decent man in a horribly oppressive and nihilistic, soulless town. Moralton would crush the God and Good out of saint.

On the reverse, Clay...well.....

Spoiler

Clay is a horrible, vile, disgusting person.

 

[fade]

No way! Clay does terrible things, but

Spoiler

I think the whole point is that he's not bad or evil inherently, just completely crushed. Hence the drinking and the complaining. He's Orel's father and his future. Most of his actions tie to some perversion to the extreme of whatever good lesson Orel is trying to learn. He's bitter and angry because life didn't turn out like a Norman Rockwell painting despite doing the things society told him he was supposed to. He achieved everything he was supposed to, but it's not fulfilling in the least. I thought that was the whole point of the reveal that he was in fact the highest ranking official in the town. He was crushed under his own moral obligation and weight, like Orel is becoming. He's not a robot citizen like most of the townspeople, but his ideals haven't created his utopia either.

 

[WolfOfOdin]

No way! Clay does terrible things, but

Spoiler

I think the whole point is that he's not bad or evil inherently, just completely crushed. Hence the drinking and the complaining. He's Orel's father and his future. Most of his actions tie to some perversion to the extreme of whatever good lesson Orel is trying to learn. He's bitter and angry because life didn't turn out like a Norman Rockwell painting despite doing the things society told him he was supposed to. He achieved everything he was supposed to, but it's not fulfilling in the least. I thought that was the whole point of the reveal that he was in fact the highest ranking official in the town. He was crushed under his own moral obligation and weight, like Orel is becoming. He's not a robot citizen like most of the townspeople, but his ideals haven't created his utopia either.

I'll have to disagree with you on two points...

First with Orel...

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He actually becomes a better man than his father ever was, showing that his horrific and traumatic childhood would not inevitably corrupt and doom him to the same life as Clay. He marries Christina and lives with her happily.

With Clay...

Spoiler

I can agree with you, to a point. Clay had an awful, awful and crushing life. He was trapped in a loveless marriage by a deranged woman. But instead of rising above it and being a better father to his son than he had, he sunk into the same kind of passive-aggressive, bitter hatred of everything that came from the marriage till he was just an empty shell of a man. The lesson was that Orel was able to find his inner goodness and spark it to life despite his tragic upbringing and life, where Clay became so apathetic that the only emotion he could really feel was base hatred.

 

[fade]

Those are both basically what I'm saying. I'm not sure what the disagreement is.

Spoiler

Maybe I left out that I think the point of Orel is that he's not beholden to this vision of his future.

 

[CynicismKills]

I didn't get to finish this series but what I have seen I loved. In an age of 12 Oz. Mouse, Tim and Eric and Aqua Teen still not being funny (or in ATHF's case was funny but now is not), it's nice to see something not only good, but actually pretty intelligent on the channel.

 

[Cajungal]

It's hard to hate anyone on that show completely because of the incredible amount of baggage they carry.

Spoiler

For example, Bloberta, yeah, shoved Clay into a terrible marriage, but it was only because no one in her family ever made her feel wanted. She was so desperate to be wanted that she jumped on the first half-interested guy she could manipulate.

and

Spoiler

Clay is pretty disgusting at times, especially on their hunting trip. I don't think I despised him more than when he drank Orel's alcohol for his injury. But when you find out what his life was like as a child and a younger man, it's no wonder he's so unhappy.

Overall, the show makes me happy despite all the depressing stuff, because the ending pretty much states that we're not slaves to our upbringings--even really terrible ones.

---------- Post added at 11:59 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:57 PM ----------

The episode with the nurse and the teacher which they dubbed "the final nail in the show's coffin" was horrifying.

 

[CynicismKills]

I need to find these and watch them.

 

[Cajungal]

Yes, do, but if really depressing things hit you hard, be sure to have something lighthearted to watch or listen to afterwards. I don't normally listen to the polyphonic spree, but I'll put on "Hold me now" and dance with the closest human being to help me remember what happiness feels like.