Line #57 WesternAnimation/TheOblongs


1	[[quoteright:282:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/theoblongsfamily.jpg]]
2
3	->"''Oblongs! Oblongs!''\
4	''Down in the Valley where a chemical spill''\
5	''Came from the people living up on the Hill''\
6	''There's a family by the landfill with hazardous foam''\
7	''In their happy, glowing home''\
8	''Oblongs!''"
9	-->-- [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hd7dvfHxRtY Opening Theme]]
10
11	So the gist of ''The Oblongs'' is this: there's the eponymous family living in the extremely poor half of the town -- in this case, the [[EnvironmentalSymbolism Valley portion]] of Hill Valley -- where the air is toxic and the land befouled[[note]]This is the phrasing used verbatim by Mr. Klimer [[EstablishingSeriesMoment in the first episode]][[/note]]. There's Bob, the father, who has no arms or legs yet somehow hops his limbless torso around from place to place, handle things with his mouth, ''and'' drives a car; Marie Kay "Pickles" Oblong, the alcoholic, chain-smoking mother with a huge beehive wig who used to live in the Hills; Biff and Chip, the oldest and Siamese twin brothers; Milo, their heavily medicated little brother with a myriad of mental and social illnesses; and Beth, the youngest and only daughter, who is possibly the most "normal" of the family despite the large pinkish tumor growing out of her head.
12
13	The series covers the family's day-to-day lives, e.g. Bob working at [[EvilInc Globocide]], Milo, Biff and Chip getting mocked by the popular people, and Pickles stumbling in and out of intoxication and the occasional lusting over of her husband. It's intended to be [[BlackComedy a dark satire]] of class division in America, and caricatures the "Keeping up with the Joneses" mentality prevalent in society.
14
15	This show was originally part of Creator/TheWB's crop of shows back when the WB first started out and modeled itself after Creator/{{Fox}} Network (which explains why the network had that ''Series/MarriedWithChildren''-esque sitcom, ''Series/UnhappilyEverAfter''). This show, along with ''WesternAnimation/MissionHill'' and ''WesternAnimation/BabyBlues'' were also a part of the second wave of animated adult sitcoms [[DuelingShows dueling with]] ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' (and then-newcomers ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'', ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'', and ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}''). This show (and the other two) failed (mostly due to ExecutiveMeddling and low ratings), but have since attained cult classic status, thanks to Creator/AdultSwim airing the episodes and the entire series being released on DVD (though ''Mission Hill'' was [[ClumsyCopyrightCensorship edited to remove the copyrighted music on its soundtrack]] and ''Baby Blues'' [[KeepCirculatingTheTapes hasn't been released on home media due to rights issues and general audience apathy]]).
16
17	''The Oblongs'' was loosely based on characters from ''Creepy Susie and 13 Other Tragic Tales for Troubled Children'' by Angus Oblong. Despite rumors that he was frozen from the creative process and [[DisownedAdaptation hated the show]], Oblong himself thought the show was all right, but stressed that this show was an adaptation of his book rather than a direct retelling.
18
19	----
20	!!Tropes:
21
22	* AbhorrentAdmirer: Helga on "Milo, Interrupted"[[note]]The episode where Milo secretly takes care of Helga after Helga reveals that she's been abandoned by her parents and Hill Valley hires a Bible-thumping old lady named Mrs. Hubbard to act as the town's MoralGuardian following a minor act of vandalism[[/note]].
23	* AmbiguouslyBi: Biff is frequently implied to be attracted to men, but has on occasion been shown joining his brother Chip in lusting after women.
24	* AmbiguouslyGay: The bullies Jared and Blaine seem rather close. Milo says what everyone's thinking in "Get Off My Back": "Everyone says you have sex with each other!"
25	* AmbiguousSyntax: In "Disfigured Debbie", Milo shouts out to Debbie "You can't do it!" when she's about to [[DrivenToSuicide jump off a bridge in the Valley]]. It turns out he was being quite literal - she ''can't'' do it, as "we've all tried", but the pollution in the water is so thick that it just cushions the fall.
26	* AttentionDeficitOohShiny: Used in the first episode with Milo when his father asks him [[NotHelpingYourCase if he has really gotten over his ADD.]]
27	* AudienceMurmurs: Subverted in "Heroine Addict": Pickles keeps saying things that cause the audience to gasp. However, it's revealed that the gasps are actually coming from Milo's friend, Mikey, who has asthma.
28	* BallsOfSteel: Painfully subverted in "Father of the Bribe" when Mayor Bledsoe, whilst doing a number of macho exercises, dares Mr. Klimer to hit him in the testicles with his golf club. Once the blow is made, the mayor stands perfectly still before saying, in an even voice and with expression unchanged, "That hurts more than I thought it would."
29	* BathroomControl: In "Misfit Love", Milo [[CallingYourBathroomBreaks states to his teacher that he has to take a dump]]. She says he'll have to do that after class.
30	--->'''Milo:''' You may control my mind, but you'll never control my ass!
31	* BigScrewedUpFamily: Bob lacks limbs and is unbelievably naive, Pickles is an alcoholic, Biff and Chip are bickering conjoined twins, Milo has tons of mental disorders, and Beth has a growth on her head.
32	* BitchInSheepsClothing: Beth shows a nastier side in "The Golden Child" and "Father of The Bribe".
33	* BitingTheHandHumor: In "Flush, Flush, Sweet Helga", Helga encounters a frog with a top hat caught in a spider's web, which is clearly a jab at ''Franchise/LooneyTunes'' character Michigan J. Frog, who was at one point the mascot of The WB, the channel the show originally aired on.
34	* BlackComedy: The show features lots of dark humor, some of it including a parachuter in "Heroine Addict" gloating that he cheated death immediately before he crashes into power lines and is reduced to ashes, James learning that his MailOrderBride suffocated to death in her packaging in "Please Be Genital" and how the inhabitants of the Valley generally have to put up with undergoing grotesque mutations and nightmarish health problems because of the pollution caused by those living in the Hill region.
35	* BlackComedyRape: The apparent implication in "Pickles' Little Amazons" when Pristine Klimer is persuaded to take a ride from a trucker, the trucker joyfully yells "Party!" after letting her in his truck and Pristine is last seen banging on the door window with a look of terror on her face.
36	* BloodlessCarnage: In one episode, a man gets his head cut off with a jump rope, but there is absolutely no blood.
37	* BrainBleach: Two examples from "Bucketheads".
38	** Seems to be what people need when they witness Bob's method of playing the piano or organ, [[GagPenis considering that he has no arms or legs]].
39	** Also when the Hill kids saw Helga naked ("Please, God! Someone poke my eyes out!").
40	** And in a different episode, this was Biff and Chip's reaction to catching their parents [[PrimalScene in the kitchen]].
41	-->'''Biff:''' I CAN STILL SEE THEM!
42	-->'''Chip:''' SCRUB YOUR CORNEAS!
43	* BrickJoke: In "Heroine Addict", Milo decides that playing Velva with his sister Beth is lame and says that he'd rather drink brake fluid. Later, Bob crashes his car and states that he was certain he changed the brake fluid.
44	* BringMyBrownPants: In "Heroine Addict", the family is disturbed to discover Pickles wrecking the house late at night upon realizing how smelly everything is after she quit smoking. Bob subsequently comments on a smell, which Milo admits came from him and implies is because he soiled himself from being freaked out by his mother's behavior.
45	* ButtMonkey: Mikey Cheeks for one, but really all the Valley people.
46	** Bob and Helga usually get it much worse than any of the other characters in this show, whether they come from The Hills or The Valley, except for maybe Mikey.
47	* CastingGag: Biff and Chip are voiced by RealLife identical twins Jason and Randy Sklar, who are ironically more closely related than the characters they play (who are fraternal twins that are only conjoined because of the Valley).
48	* CatsAreMean: "Father of The Bribe" had the city unleash a shipment of cats in heat when Biff and Chip refused to give back the bribe money.
49	* ClusterFBomb: [[GoshDangItToHeck Wonderfully subverted]] in "The Golden Child".
50	-->'''Bob:''' How could I have been such a fiddly-faddly fool? ''[aside to Pickles]'' Excuse the string of F-words.
51	* ComicallyOversizedButt: [[MeaningfulName Mikey Butts]] has such a huge butt that he has to wear his grandmother's bras as underwear because it won't fit in any other underpants.
52	* CompanionCube:
53	** Beth's "doll", Chloe, which is actually a redecorated bondage whip.
54	** In "Narcoleptic Scottie", Creepy Susie reveals that she has a pet clam, only to be informed by Peggy that it is actually a coin purse.
55	* CompositeCharacter: Some of the characters are combinations of different characters from the book.
56	** Bob is Bean the legless and tailless dog (he has no limbs) combined with the owner of Scottie the dog (in addition to owning Scottie in the series, he smokes a pipe and has the same hairstyle).
57	** Pickles is Waldo's mom (she's an alcoholic) combined with Rosie's mom (beehive hairdo, though it's a wig).
58	** Biff and Chip are Jenny, Jenny, Jenny & Babette the Siamese quadruplets (conjoined siblings) combined with Waldo (Chip has his appearance).
59	* ConjoinedTwins: Biff and Chip, especially awkward because it's implied one of them is gay.
60	** It has to be Biff, since Chip had already fallen in love with a girl in one episode where he temporarly attached to Milo.
61	* CorruptCorporateExecutive: George Klimer runs a poison company called Globocide and, much like everyone else in the Hill part of Hill Valley, is a colossal dick.
62	* CrapsackWorld: The Valley is heavily polluted and pretty much everyone there gets the short end of the stick.
63	* CrazyPrepared: In "Father of The Bribe", Beth finds a switch and starts swinging it.
64	* CreepyChild: Beth can come off as rather creepy because of how sneaky and not-so-innocent she is.
65	* DeadpanSnarker: Pickles ''owns'' this trope (particularly when she's dealing with her old friend, Pristine, who hates her for marrying Bob and giving up her life of being rich, pretty, and popular). Milo has his moments too. Creepy Susie does it in her own morbid way.
66	* DidIJustSayThatOutLoud: Pristine [[EstablishingCharacterMoment in the first episode]] says to Pickles "Well, gotta run. I don't want my daughter and her friends exposed to a drunken hosebag. Oh my gosh! Did I say that out loud?"
67	* DistinctionWithoutADifference: In "My Name is Robbie", the Oblongs are told by two men representing Globocide while discussing the conditions of Bob's workman's compensation for his jaw getting injured that they shouldn't talk to any lawyers. When Pickles addresses that the men are lawyers themselves, they reply that they're actually attorneys.
68	* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Beth's growth caused a lot of speculation until the creator had to finally say on his website "It's not a penis, guys."
69	* DoggedNiceGuy: Milo's feelings for Yvette are never returned.
70	* DorkHorseCandidate: How the "Disfigured Debbie" episode kicks off. Needless to say, it does not end well.
71	* DrivenToSuicide: Attempted, and, thankfully averted, by one of the Debbies by jumping off of a bridge, but, as Milo put it, [[CrapsackWorld everyone in the Valley has tried]].
72	* DrJerk: Dr. Hofschneider is pretty condescending and insulting to his patients. Notable examples of his assholishness include callously asking Bob if he knows what an idiot he is after he misinterprets his suggestion to neuter Scottie as neutering Milo in "Narcoleptic Scottie" as well as photographing Bob's injured groin so he can use the picture to freak other people out in "Please Be Genital".
73	* DumbBlonde: The Debbies have blonde hair and are clearly not intelligent. In "Bucketheads", a background gag shows Debbie Klimer proudly showing off a D+.
74	* EdibleThemeClothing:
75	** In "Bucketheads", when Milo tries to make his own line of clothes, he has [[BigEater Helga]] wear a dress made of bacon. Naturally, Helga can't stop herself from eating it, resulting in her dress falling off in front of the Hill kids, much to their disgust.
76	-->'''Jared Climber:''' Someone poke my eyes out!
77
78	** If foods eaten by other animals count, in the same episode, Milo also makes Peggy wear a dress made from eucalyptus leaves, which gets her attacked by a koala that some Australian guy brought to the fashion show for some reason.
79	* EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette: Creepy Susie has pale skin and dark hair and pretty much lives up to her name.
80	* TheEeyore: Creepy Susie tends to be very pessimistic.
81	* ElephantInTheLivingRoom: Bob's lack of limbs is rarely pointed out.
82	* EvenNerdsHaveStandards: In the pilot episode, Peggy is explaining to Milo the social hierarchy at school and notes that not only are they behind the dorks, geeks, and dweebs, but the wild dogs on the soccer field and the boy who lactates as well.
83	* EvilInc: Globocide, Bob's employer, is a company that produces poisons and run by very corrupt people.
84	* EvilLawyerJoke: In "My Name is Robbie", the Oblongs are told not to talk to any lawyers when they're discussing the conditions of Bob's workman's compensation. Pickles points out that the men are lawyers themselves, to which they reply by insisting that [[DistinctionWithoutADifference they're actually attorneys]].
85	* ExpositoryThemeTune: The theme song mentions that the titular family live in the polluted part of town and infers that it is polluted because of the corrupt and rich people who live on the other side.
86	* FunWithAcronyms: In "The Golden Child", Biff mentions that he prefers the manly side of sports and gives "Heart, Obedience, Motivation, and Opportunity" as an example. Beth points out that the statement spells "homo", to which Biff replies by insisting that Beth can't spell.
87	* GaiasLament: The Valley is heavily polluted.
88	* GirlPosse: The Debbies have nothing better to do than pick on the Valley children.
89	* GoshDangItToHeck: Bob Oblong, constantly.
90	* {{Goth}}: Creepy Susie seems to be a parody of the Gloomy Goth subtrope.
91	** More like Existentialist French i.e. Sartre.
92	* GroinAttack:
93	** In "Please Be Genital", Bob went to a strip club to celebrate a co-worker's bachelor party, and wound up on stage with a dancer. Despite warnings that "My boys are on the ground floor", the dancer stomps on Bob's groin. As a result, Bob has to abstain from sex for the next two weeks in order to properly recover.
94	** Invoked with the Mayor in "Father of the Bribe", see BallsOfSteel above.
95	* HairballHumor: In the first episode Lucky literally coughs up a lung which is mistaken for a hairball.
96	* HappilyMarried: Bob and Pickles have to be if they've had sex every morning ''and'' night ever since they first got hitched.
97	* HereWeGoAgain: In "Flush, Flush, Sweet Helga," Helga causes one of the Debbies' lockets to fall into the sewer, and gets stuck attempting to retrieve it. Once she's freed at the end of the episode, she causes Debbie to drop the refurbished locket into the sewer again and dives in after it.
98	* HoistByHisOwnPetard: In the first episode, Bob encourages his daughter to tattle on others, only for her to tattle on him.
99	-->'''Pickles:''' Beth, honey, nobody likes a tattletale.
100	-->'''Bob:''' I do. They're an essential part of any family. You keep right on tattling, sweetie pie.
101	-->'''Beth:''' [[PornStash Daddy has a magazine with]] [[GirlOnGirlIsHot naked ladies hugging.]]
102	-->'''Bob:''' Ehh, criminy.
103	* HypocriticalHumor:
104	** In "Milo Interrupted", Bob and Pickles state that their son Milo knows better than to be a slave to an addictive substance. Shortly afterwards, they and Lucky all start smoking and exhale with glee.
105	** "Bucketheads" has a bit where Peggy complains about how disgusting it is for Jared and Blaine to be spitting at them, all while spitting into Mikey's face because of her lack of a jaw.
106	* ImAHumanitarian: Helga's parents were forced to eat the other passengers of their plane after it crashed and the food ran out. Her mom even made Helga a necklace from their teeth. Helga gets noticeably freaked out when her dad mentions she "looks good enough to eat".
107	* TheImmodestOrgasm: Pickles, to the point that her and Bob's son, Milo, [[ItMakesSenseInContext literally can't sleep without hearing it]].
108	* InformedAttractiveness:
109	-->'''Helga''': "I'm here to have tea with my friends, the Debbies." [beat] "[[BlatantLies I'm beautiful and popular.]]"
110	-->'''Mrs. Klimer''': "Come in, come in!"
111	** Not to mention the Hill people in general. If it weren't for Valley people being mutants with obvious deformities, you would not be able to tell.
112	* ItIsDehumanizing: In "Disfigured Debbie", Debbie Klimer refers to Milo as "it" while complaining to the teacher that Milo won't stop talking to her.
113	* {{Jerkass}}: Pretty much everyone from the Hill is a complete dick to those who live in the Valley.
114	* JerkJock: Jared Klimer, and his little friend Blaine.
115	* JokeOfTheButt: Mikey's shtick is that he has the unfortunate deformity of having a big, saggy rear end.
116	* KarmaHoudini: Due to the show's short run, we never really see those stuck-up Hill people get what they deserve, [[CrapsackWorld which may have been the point]].
117	** Though, in "Disfigured Debbie," one of the Debbies got shredded up in the thresher after beating Milo in student council elections. She did get what she deserved (even though she later [[spoiler: got plastic surgery to fix her face, returned to her circle of friends, and learned nothing from the experience]]).
118	** "Pickles' Little Amazons" has a Debbie mauled by a bear during a nature hike [[MisplacedWildlife through the city]].
119	** In addition, the Hill people occasionally get humiliated while trying to shove their success in the Valley people's faces.
120	* LadyDrunk: Pickles is an alcoholic.
121	* LittleMissSnarker: Beth is this on occasion.
122	* LivingProp: Granny Oblong, who according to Pickles hasn't spoken or moved in twelve years.
123	* LogicBomb: In the first episode, we get this fun exchange.
124	-->'''Jared:''' Stay ''away'' from Yvette, or we'll beat you crapless! Comprende?[[note]] Spanish for "understand"[[/note]]
125	-->'''Milo:''' Everything but "comprende".
126	-->'''Jared:''' ''{{beat}}'' If you don't know what... aw, screw it, push him down!
127	* ManOfAThousandVoices: Creator/BillyWest (of course).
128	* MayContainEvil: In "The Golden Child", Milo's Manic energy drink was popular because [[spoiler: it contained morphine from discarded medicine bottles found outside a hospital]].
129	* MeaningfulName: Hill Valley, which has the "hills" section and the "valley" section.
130	** Also, Helga Phugly = Hella' fugly. The other Valley kids look at least presentable when compared to her.
131	** Creepy Susie lives up to her name because of her obsession with death, among other things.
132	* MobileSuitHuman: Bob for the BeachEpisode "My Name Is Robbie", then a [[ThreateningShark shark]].
133	* {{Multiboobage}}: The Nurse. No, it's not sexy at all. Conversely, Peggy, who has one breast. It's still not sexy.
134	* {{Mutants}}: The Valley people are mutated by the chemical spill from the Hill.
135	* NakedPeopleAreFunny:
136	** "Narcoleptic Scottie" shows Milo running around naked with Scottie and some other dogs after Bob catches them eating from the garbage.
137	** "Bucketheads" has Helga unable to restrain herself from eating her own bacon dress during Milo's fashion show, resulting in the Hill kids being grossed out from getting an eyeful of her naked body.
138	* TheNapoleon: Sometimes Beth.
139	* NightmareFetishist: Creepy Susie, as befitting her name, has a fondness for what others are horrified by. In the first episode, she states that drowning is her third favorite way to die, "but they are all good".
140	* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Willy the exercise instructor in "Heroine Addict" is an obvious stand-in for Billy Blanks, founder of the then-trendy Tae Bo.
141	* NoMouth: Beth has no visible mouth, except when she's talking.
142	* NonNaturalNumberGag: When Pickles' youth group is one member short of the minimum, Pristine snidely comments that Beth being "at most one half" cancels out Helga being [[YouAreFat "at least one-and-a-half"]].
143	* NoodleIncident:
144	** In "Narcoleptic Scottie", Milo was suspended from school for doing something "unspeakable" with a fish stick. Pickles was about to spank him, but somehow it turned into a Hawaiian lu'au.
145	** Milo brings up in "Father of the Bribe" an incident involving panda bears getting into a Dairy Queen and that it is apparently why he needs a lawyer.
146	** In "The Golden Child", when Bob wakes up from a nightmare and declares "The truth must be told," Pickles freaks out assuming he's referring to her and abruptly confesses "I was the one who farted and ruined Christmas!"
147	** Whatever happened in "Pickles L'il Amazons" during the taxi ride to the jamboree. When the girls and Milo arrive, Pickles emerges out of the taxi on a ''massive'' wave of empty beer cans and announces "That was some road trip! Where's the crapper?" Milo immediately starts kissing the ground once he gets out of the vehicle.
148	* TheNoseless: Fitting with Angus Oblong's art style, none of the humans have noses, though ''some'' of them at least have nostrils.
149	* OminousPipeOrgan: Debbie Klimer plays one like the Phantom of the Opera after being disfigured in "Disfigured Debbie".
150	* OneSteveLimit: Averted with all six of the Debbies. All of them are referred to as "Debbie" and that somehow doesn't confuse anyone.
151	* [[OnlySaneMan OnlySaneWoman]]: Beth is the most normal of the Oblongs, both in personality and appearance.
152	* OurSloganIsTerrible: From "Bucketheads": "The Restaurant That's Too Cool For a Sign." <--- "That sign doesn't count."
153	* OpeningTheme: By Music/TheyMightBeGiants.
154	* PaperThinDisguise:
155	** All you need to do to infiltrate the Debbies is dress exactly like them. Helga is short, fat and ugly and she had them fooled completely -- until Helga [[BigEater scarfed down a platter of tea cakes and belched her wig clean off her head]].
156	** Same with Yvette, the alien girl, who was able to completely hide the fact that she was a Grey by wearing sunglasses.
157	* PassiveAggressiveCombat: Pickles and Pristine share a few barbs at a basketball game.
158	-->'''Pristine''': Pickles! Fabulous to see you! Love your hair - where'd you buy it?\
159	'''Pickles''': Off some whore - I think it was [[YourMom your mother]]!\
160	'''Pristine''': Well, gotta run. I don't want my daughter and her friends exposed to some drunken hosebag. Oh my gosh! DidISayThatOutLoud?
161	* ParentalAbandonment: Helga's parents went on vacation and were stranded on an ice floe for a year (until [[spoiler: Milo rescued them to save Helga from being adopted by Mrs. Hubbard]]).
162	* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain:
163	** Pretty much every Hills resident is this by default due to looking down on the denizens of the Valley region for having deformities and being lower class, though Pristine Klimer takes the cake by making racist statements peppered with pseudo-Spanish towards a maid who isn't even Hispanic.
164	-->'''Pristine''': Consuela, how do you say, "You're not cleaning mi casa bueno enough." There is el spot-o on el floor-o!\
165	'''Maid''': Mrs. Klimer, my name is ''Kathy''. I'm from ''Ohio''.
166	** One-shot character Miss Hubbard is a racist old woman whose book on parenting advice includes a prayer for the "white male God" to destroy the "mud races" and remarks to Pickles' snarking on her needing to wear a chastity belt by replying that there are a lot of immigrants around, implying that she believes all immigrants have a predilection for rape.
167	* PunnyName:
168	** Anita Bidet's name is a play on "I need a bidet", befitting the character's DragQueen qualities.
169	** Also, Bob -- namely the old joke about "What do you call a guy with no arms and no legs in the water?"
170	* QuietCryForHelp: In the episode "Milo Interrupted", when Helga is discovered to be living without parents, she is given to Ms. Hubbard to care for. She then appears at the Oblongs' door with Ms. Hubbard shilling bibles and acts outwardly upbeat and cheerful — but when she blinks, she has "HELP ME" written on her eyelids.
171	* RunningGag: At least OncePerEpisode Milo's friend Mikey ends up getting into a horrible accident.
172	* RacistGrandma: Miss Hubbard from "Milo Interrupted" is an old woman who demonstrates racism and xenophobia, as her book on parenting advice includes a prayer for the "mud races" to be destroyed by the "white male God" and she is shown to wear a chastity belt, replying to Pickles' snarking over whether anyone would want to have their way with her by stating that there are a lot of immigrants around.
173	* SadistShow: Pretty much everyone who lives in the Valley goes through all sorts of humiliation and hardship.
174	* SadistTeacher: Principal Davis.
175	* ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney: The credo of everyone living in the Hills.
176	* ShoutOut: [[Film/{{Heathers}} The Debbies]]
177	** Also, [[Franchise/BackToTheFuture Hill Valley.]]
178	** Milo dreams of his mother rapidly selling tickets to a screening of ''Film/OhGod'' to coincide with [[TheImmodestOrgasm her repeatedly moaning "Oh, god! from the other side of the wall]].
179	* ShowWithinAShow: ''Velva the Warrior'', a very MerchandiseDriven parody of ''Series/XenaWarriorPrincess''. With very... ''[[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything interesting]]'' names. ("Placentor, no!")
180	* StepfordSmiler: Pristine Klimer's smile often comes off as forced.
181	* SuicideAsComedy:
182	** In "Disfigured Debbie", Debbie Klimer tries to end it all by jumping off a bridge. Milo pleads that she can't do it, which turns out to be because the pollution in the water is so thick that it's impossible for the impact of the fall to be fatal. Milo even states that everyone in the Valley has tried.
183	** "Pickles' Little Amazons" has a bit where Bob is concerned about his son Milo crossdressing to impersonate a girl scout. When Milo demonstrates a passion for crocheting, Bob asks his son to crochet him a noose (though it's a complete mystery how it would be possible for Bob to hang himself when he doesn't have any limbs).
184	* SuperficialSuggestionBox: "The Golden Child" revealed that the company's suggestion box emptied right into the furnace. According to the boss, Bob had single-handily kept the plant warm for years.
185	* TagTeamTwins: Biff and Chip compete in the same sports at school.
186	** Although one episode had one of them competing in a wrestling tournament one-armed while another was bandaged up from injuries he incurred earlier in the episode (remember, they're conjoined...)
187	* TakeThat:
188	** Mayor Johnny "The Mayor" Bledsoe, a dig at pro-wrestlers-turned-elected-officials.
189	** In "Heroine Addict", the Oblongs are given a selection of backgrounds to pose for a family photo, one of which is described as a family trapped in the seven circles of Hell. They end up choosing that option and the family is shown dressed as ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', with Bob as Maggie, Milo as Bart, Pickles as Marge, Beth as Lisa, and Biff and Chip as Homer.
190	* ThickLineAnimation: Just about everyone and everything has a thick outline.
191	* ToiletDrinkingDogGag: "Narcoleptic Scottie" has one of the scenes of Milo bonding with his new dog Scottie consist of Bob walking in on the two drinking from the toilet.
192	* ToxicInc: Globocide is one. Their legitimate products are poisonous with the nasty byproducts thereof, including the chemical spill mentioned in the theme tune, being responsible for the deformities of the people down in the Valley.
193	** This is to such a degree that, in the episode where Milo makes his energy drink, Mr. Klimer and the other executives need to have it explained [[spoiler: that they can't keep selling it as-is because morphine's a controlled substance]].
194	* ToxicWasteCanDoAnything: Deconstructed. The residents of the Valley lived beneath the toxic waste produced from a bunch of factories in the Hills and were mutated in odd ways, but still acted more or less like everything was normal.
195	* UrbanSegregation: It is enforced at just about every corner that Valley people aren't allowed to go anywhere near the Hill section.
196	* ValleyGirl: The Debbies. [[OneSteveLimit All six of them.]]
197	* VanityPlate: Mohawk Productions, which is an ultrasound of a baby in the womb, giggling after an upbeat drum rhythm plays.
198	* VengefulVendingMachine: Plumbing issues leave the entire city save the Oblongs' house without water. In order to cut down on bathroom lines, a hundred-dollar cash slot is installed on the door. When Bob's boss tries to use it and his bill is rejected, another character quips "the great equalizer".
199	* VisualPun: Pickles escalating "Oh god, oh god, oh GOD!" as she and Bob have immodest sex next to Milo's room is visualized in his dream as his mother selling tickets to a screening of ''Film/OhGod'', with the bed squeaking becoming a rusty turnstile.
200	* VomitDiscretionShot: In "Disfigured Debbie" when the kids walk in on the disfigured Debbie making herself puke after binging on candy.
201	* WiseBeyondTheirYears: Beth is just a little girl, but at times makes it clear that she is aware of how terrible the world is.
202	* {{Workaholic}}: Bob Oblong enjoys his job even if it's not a good one.
203	* YankTheDogsChain: In "Father of the Bribe", Biff and Chip get in a drag race with the bullies Jared and Blaine. Biff and Chip manage to stop their car just before it careens off a cliff, and breathe a sigh of relief when they exit the car safely and the car's okay. But immediately after that, Jared and Blaine drive up and kick Biff and Chip's car off the cliff.
204	* YouAreTheNewTrend: The family's lack of funds in "Bucketheads" forces Milo to go to school on a rainy day wearing a bucket on his head and a trash bag as a raincoat. The hill kids make fun of him until the Fonzie [[CaptainErsatz stand in]] says he likes his bucket. Milo shows up at school the next day to find all of the hill kids wearing buckets and accusing ''him'' of copying ''them''. The rest of the plot focuses on his mother helping him stay one step ahead of them.

Context WesternAnimation / TheOblongs