Hot Press was fortunate enough to enjoy an audience with Simpsons producer Al Jean while he was in Dublin for the show’s special St. Patrick’s Day episode. As well as discussing his work on the series, he also talked about other projects he’s been involved with. One such venture was the online show Jesus And His Brothers, which – as the title indicates – followed the adventures of the Messiah and his siblings.

Though new installments are no longer being produced, the extant episodes have been archived online at Icebox (www.icebox.com/index.php?id=show&showid=s6). The animated series introduces us to the lesser known members of Jesus’ family – Chuck, Marty and Vinny Christ. The opening episode finds Marty –who, naturally, is jealous of the literally God-like esteem in which his brother is held – invoking the word “weener” to describe Jesus, who responds by getting his cheeky sibling in a headlock and playfully teasing him with the words “Who’s your saviour?” All episodes of the show are short and sharp, and well worth checking out. And, of course, you will be able to read the full interview with Mr. Jean in an upcoming issue of HP.
Elsewhere on the religious front, we can thank – who else? – God for the Passion for Christ movement, who are doing their utmost to save the youth of America from eternal damnation. As well as battling the evils of hip-hop, porn, homosexuality and bi-sexuality, P4CM (check out that uber-hip abbreviation) are also leading the campaign against – Caught In The Net is pretty sure it’s coining a new term here – monosexuality. That’s right kids – masturbation = bad. That’s one equation they don’t teach in school, probably because they’re too busy talking about evolution and other such nonsense.
What’s more, people who have conquered their masturbation addiction and become masters of their domain can now wear the official P4CM t-shirt, which bears the legend “Ex-Masturbator”. You can see a variety of individuals modelling the fetching garment at www.p4cm.com/p4cm/store/launch. You might also want to check out the poem on the subject, subtly entitled ‘The Madness, The Misery of Masturbation’ (complete with graphic depicting hands in chains), which features such wracked lines as, “Like a crack addict addicted to crack, I am addicted to myself.”
Returning swiftly to the subject of animated comedy, one of the most anticipated shows of 2009 has to be Family Guy spin-off The Cleveland Show. Kanye West has already signed up to cameo in the series, which will follow Cleveland – unattached following the Loretta-Quagmire debacle – back to Virginia, where he settles down with high school sweetheart Donna and her kids, attitudinal Roberta and libidinous Rallo. Other characters in the neighbourhood, meanwhile, include loudmouth redneck Lester, wannabe hipster Holt, and a family of talking bears, including Tim (voiced by Seth McFarlane) and Arianna (voiced by Arianna Huffington).
We haven’t been this excited since, ooh, the last Seth MacFarlane series. Read up on the programme and check out a preview clip at www.fox.com/cleveland. Incidentally, you might also want to pop over to Fox’s sister network, FX, and get acquainted with one of Caught In The Net’s favourite TV shows, gritty cop drama The Shield (www.fxnetworks.com/shows/originals/the_shield)