Good vs Evil (1999–2000) User Reviews (17)

Hip, funny, dramatic, and brilliant.

[Cleya · 13 August 1999]

The Pate brothers have created a brilliantly entertaining show in GvsE.

Chandler Smythe is a reporter who gets killed after witnessing a murder. He is apparently too bad for Heaven, but too good for Hell so he's given a chance to work for the Almighty as an agent in the Corps. As an agent, Chandler helps the Corps to save people who have made deals with the devil via the devil's agents, which are called Morlocks. He is placed back on Earth as a mortal with no special powers. If he does good work, he'll have a shot at Heaven the next time he dies.

The writing is clever, not patronizing. Their amusing use of celebrity guest-stars along with Deacon Jones' "Morlock Killin' Tips" shows an irreverent sense of humour. The camera and direction are very unusual and add greatly to the atmosphere of the show.

Highlighted by stellar acting and a hip/funky/pseudo-retro soundtrack, this show is one of the best I've seen on television.

Fighting Evil with the Mod Squad

[raegan_butcher · 10/10 · 16 April 2006]

Retro 70's hipness, ten years too early.

Hard to describe the charms of this excellent series. Shame it didn't catch on. Considering the rather bent sense of humor, perhaps not so surprising. But I loved it. Clayton Rohner and Richard Brooks had great chemistry and the whole wacky dead-pan tone was like The Mod Squad mixed with I-Spy and The X-files. Marshall Bell and Googie Gress were hilarious. The numerous celebrity cameos were very well-handled. (Never thought I'd see Emmanuel Lewis unmasked as a demon) I recall the show premiered on USA and then switched to SCi Fi channel. After the change there was a noticeable drop in quality. It was as if someone had given the decree to make is less edgy and more mainstream. But for the first ten episodes, there was nothing quite like it.

A homage to Morlock fighters everywhere and the good work they do every day

[LeoMumford · 10/10 · 22 November 2014]

G vs E! That's what it is!

The thing I love about Good vs Evil is that you feel like you're watching a mixture of genuine 1970s pulp garbage mixed with some great whimsical comedy, based on the inadequacy of the characters and the head of operations, the "core". What's more, it's carried off perfectly via a pact made by all cast members to be bizarre, unsentimental and wooden.

The lack luster performance of the main actors is something to lust after, in a show that gives it to you slow!, and sometimes doesn't give it to you at all! ACTUALLY In all seriousness the actors do a great job and are intentionally bizarre, which is hugely comical. I love this show because it's a parody and it never takes self seriously at all, so it really succeeds in its mission to parody. I mean if you stopped watching they probably wouldn't care! Now tell me, how long has it been since a show's been that refreshing? In these modern times of TV treachery, every show has to stake its claim, its divine right to stay on air. Good vs Evil made no such fuss and it went down with dignity, it fell on its sward. I mean I can't even buy this s**t on DVD, I had to look online, but it hides effectively in the shadows like a Morlock. Anyway I realise that I got to explain the premise of the show but it's almost 3pm and I haven't brushed my teeth – something's take priority even over the age old rivalry of Good vs Evil!

Hasn't aged so great.

[vonnoosh · 6/10 · 22 February 2022]

This was one of the best shows and one of the few on (the then named) )SciFi channel I never missed. I still vaguely remember when the reruns stopped and we are going back a ways. But time moves on and so do trends. This show borrows A LOT from Quentin Tarantino and his obsession with 70s entertainment and glib portrayals of violence. The entire show feels like a buddy buddy cop show from the 70s but modernized like Tarantino did with Jackie Brown. The show borrows A LOT from popular movies from the 90s too. The first episode is a HEAVY nod to Usual Suspects, another was a HEAVY nod to the movie The Vanishing, another was a HEAVY nod to Run Lola Run, there was even a scene of someone getting tortured by a sex perv similar to the scene in Pulp Fiction. I remember thinking Big Lebowski (the part where one of the characters dumbly destroys a car) but those are the ones I easily remember. Others who saw more movies back then would spot more, I am sure. The better episodes reflected 90s culture without going too far into borrowing like the wrestling episode (why wrestling became such a national past time again like during the peak of WWF in the 80s, i will never know, it isnt nearly as big now as it was when GvsE was made with wrestlers writing national best selling autobiographies, Mankind's book sold millions and he is in one of these episodes) and my favorite episode, Cougar Pines which was a reference to Tiger Woods (that episode borrows a bit from Happy Gilmore too)

This show was clever at the time but now it makes me cringe and feel ashamed like fans of disco probably did 10 years after that craze of polyester leisure suits, overly blown dried hair, blow, pina coladas and gawdy gold chains died out. When these 90s trends inevitably become popular again (hopefully that doesn't include nu-metal next time) this show will get a new life but until then, it can stay a memory.

Horrid execution of interesting preimice

[bgrubb · 1/10 · 15 May 2012]

The premise that people too good for Hell but too bad for Heaven are returned to the world of the living to help save other souls was interesting...until you got to HOW they went about it.

==SPOILERS== It is basically the same Machiavellian approach used by the Inquisitions--no price is too high, no deed or method too vile as long as a soul is saved. As a result you have this undercurrent that the brutal methods of torture used by the Inquisitions against heretics and more importantly witches were JUSTIFIED running through every episode. The problem is this moral issue NEVER really comes up.

In terms of poor taste the execution is right down there with the concept of the infamous "Heil Honey I'm Home!" (The real world "Springtime for Hitler") In fact in one episode it was revealed that the relative of a Corp member saw an operation and tried to report what she saw--she was committed to an insane asylum and drugged up to the eyeballs for her troubles. The Corp is perfectly fine with leaving her to rot until surprise surprise an operation involves her and you can see the supposed "happy" resolution at the end a mile away...and it is as disgustingly Machiavellian with a coating of sugar as you'd expect.

I suspect (or at least hope) the low ratings were the result of the audience realizing just what message was being preached to them by this show and turning it off in disgust.

A Devil of a show (wince)

[Critch22 · 29 July 2003]

I've only seen G vs E on SciFi Channel (UK), and they only have about ten episodes to cycle through, but I haven't laughed so hard since I stumbled over MST3K in '97 (also ten eps cycling, sadly). Horror/SciFi spoof of cheap 70's cop shows, ripping off any number of film and TV forms to perfection (the Rear Window ep is beautiful), it's a tragedy that genuinely original programming goes unwatched, and falls by the wayside. If any series deserves to become immortalised on DVD, this is the one.

This Show Kicked Serious ASS!!!

[Mrcheeks · 25 September 2004]

This show was awesome. It was about ppl who had sold their souls to demons and the guys who were recruited to save them. Only thing was though, these guys were dead and brought back by a special agency. PPL who knew them weren't able to recognise them so they were free to roam the streets.

It was ORIGINAL, funny and well made. I hate it when shows like this get cancelled yet garbage like MTV's "Real World" will still be on when I'm dead!

The storyline was great and each episode had us begging for more. I really hated when this show would end and I had to wait a week for another one.

RELEASE THIS BABY ON DVD!!!!!

They don't make 'em like this anymore

[Matt_In_The_Hat · 24 November 2002]

***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS*** And regrettably probably never will. This show was pure brilliance, and, like a number of innovative shows, gets subjected to inaccurate comparisons and also gets cancelled.

You can't compare this show to The X-Files, Brimstone, or, well, anything on TV except re-runs from 70s cop shows. And even then it's a poor comparison because I haven't seen a single one that has so many *quality* gags. It not only pokes fun at the afore-mentioned 70s cop shows (McNeill's afro, their constant screw ups, their assumptions that everything should go their way for no apparent reason, not to mention the appalling back projections whenever they're driving) but at Hollywood, vanity, religion and humanity in general.

This show not only works as an action/adventure show with it's great fight sequences and fairly good plots but also as a comedy show. Take for example **SPOILERS** "Roses are red, violets are blue. Have sex in the corps and I'll break your neck!" - Deacon Jones, or when Decker accidently detonates a morlock wrapped in explosives during a prisoner exchange, or Deacon Jones beating up four or five guys in a row whilst demonstrating morlock killing techniques. **END OF SPOILERS**

This show rocks. It is criminal they didn't make more. Watch any repeats you can find.

Fascinating Stuff

[ctrabs74 · 12 August 1999]

I am not usually a fan of this type of genre, but I have to say that "G vs E" is one of the most interesting shows I have seen in a long time. I'd go so far as to say it's better than "The X Files," which has really gone stale in recent years. I was actually interested in seeing the show after I learned Richard Brooks (Paul Robinette on "Law & Order") was one of the stars. Brooks (Henry McNeil) and Clayton Rohner (Chandler Smythe) seem to have chemistry that is seen only in the great "detective teams" - such as Joe Friday and his partner from "Dragnet", Lennie Briscoe and Mike Logan from "Law & Order, and so on and so forth.

At first I thought there would be a lot of gratuitous and needless violence. But, after watching the first 2-3 episodes, I thought that wasn't the case. "G vs E" comes off as a cross between "The X Files" and "Touched By An Angel". It has it's moments where the lead characters almost make serious mistakes, but there seem to be some lighter sides (read: dark humor) to the show.

The premise of the series gives a new twist to the battle between the "Good Guys" and the "Bad Guys." I like the fact that they set the show in Los Angeles, where the ironies of how evil the entertainment industry can be fly out at you.

The only other "G vs E" character that really stands out is Deacon Jones (Narrator/Himself), who brings that toughness that made him famous in American professional football during the 1970's.

Overall, I have a feeling that this will be another of the USA Cable Network's crown jewels in its programming. So far, after seeing the first four episodes, I have no reason to think otherwise.

It ain't art, but it's great pop culture!

[Fish-39 · 4 August 1999]

I checked this show out it's first week, just on a whim. I haven't missed an episode since. Very odd, but very entertaining. Kind of a cross between any cop show from the seventies and I don't know what. A twisted version of "Touched By an Angel" (which, I might add is in the same time slot, I know what I'll be watching every week). These days I crave something even a little bit different. "G vs. E" is really different. I hope it lasts

Different, funny, & fun!

[*Prometheus* · 15 August 1999]

GvsE is doing a great job at becoming a pop culture icon. The series takes a new and refreshing twist at television. I hope USA keeps it going. The actors fit the characters style very well. If you are a hard-core sci-fi fan take the time to see a couple of episodes. Remember, the show is a satire.

Hip-hop rockin' show that proves that the USA Network is totally cool.

[missm-2 · 26 August 1999]

GvsE is the most original, well written, action packed, hilarious show now on television. This is the type of program that will keep me glued to my TV set waiting to see what's next. Both the Pate Brothers and the USA Network are to be congratulated in this wonderful collaboration of having the brains and the guts to present this wonderfully entertaining original show on television. If you haven't tuned in yet, do so as this is the type of television that will keep you coming back for more. I hope the ratings on this clever, clever show grow and grow because we, the audience want MORE. Keep up the great work. GvsE rocks!!!!! - Miss Monroe

Good sci-fi like show

[Op_Prime · 26 May 2000]

GvsE was a great show. It first started out on the USA Network but ratings dropped off and the show vanished. After Sliders ended, GvsE (now renamed good vs evil) took it's place in Sci-Fi Channel's Sci-Fi Prime line up, in between the awesome Farscape and the idiotic Lexx. But ratings were still low and the show has again been cancelled. The show had a very original concept and was very creative. Hopefully, Sci-Fi will reconsider it's decision on cancelling.

A good x-filesesque show...

[Ashmore · 25 July 1999]

I came into this show thinking it would be really out of wack...but when I started watching the first episode "orange volvo" I was hooked!!! This is a very good sci-fi crime drama...It follows a man (Marshall Bell) who was killed when he witnessed a murder and then brought into the company of deceased people, who are brought back to Earth to get rid of Morlocks, that invade the lives of others...they can't see their families, or "gulp" have sexual relations...but to get rid of the seamy realm of the darkside...(Richard Brooks plays the soul-digging partner to Bell) who drives an ORANGE VOLVO because "no one in their right mind would steal an Orange Volvo in L.A." to his consideration Bells son steals the dang volvo!!! Overall, this is a great television series that will blow your mind...oh yeah and the direction of it is really neat too... check this show out!!!

"Pulp Fiction" meets "The Exorcist"

[Vice-5 · 14 October 1999]

"G Vs E" is one of the best prime-time shows I've seen so far. It's got witty humor and cool action blended together. What more can you ask for a crime-drama show? Clayton Rohner and Richard Brooks make an awesome team, kicking morlock butt and making it an art form. Visuals and atmospheric material is the major player here, where dark colors are the only fashionable preferences. "G Vs E" is to the 90's how "Sledge Hammer" was like in the 80's: ahead of its time!! I've only got 2 pet peeves about this show: our main heroes' hairstyles! What's with Brooks' afro?? Ain't it a bit out of style now that its the 90's? I thought the disco era was dead! And I think that Rohner's hair is REALLY weird 'cause it's always sloppy and unkept! Because it keeps going in different directions, Rohner's hair make his head look like a paintbrush!!

An Awesome Show

[Fenster-7 · 18 July 1999]

I was extremely disappointed when "Brimstone" was cancelled, but this show is actually kind of like it. It has some black humor, plot twists, and deals with supernatural stuff. I think it might be as good as "Brimstone". Maybe.