Neighbors from Hell was a short-lived Flash animated sitcom created by South Park veteran Pam Brady that premiered on June 7, 2010 on TBS. The plot basically concerns the adventures of a family of devils that must relocate to Texas in order to keep a powerful new drill with the ability to plow straight into Hell itself from becoming active, thereby destroying their underworld. ...Yeah.
TBS did not renewed the series for a second season, with no plans of a revival in the foreseeable future.
Although produced by DreamWorks Animation (through the very short-lived MoonBoy Animation banner), the series is produced by 20th Century Fox and owned by that company's current parent Disney, making it one of the very few shows that DreamWorks Animation's parent NBCUniversal does not own the rights to.
It should not be confused with a series of PC games by the same title.
Tropes:
- Aerith and Bob: Balthazar and his family ...Josh, Mandy, and his wife, Tina.
- Ambiguously Gay: Vlaartark often crossdresses, has...
intimate moments with Pazuzu, and has a tattoo of Taylor Lautner.- Ashley, the British boy from the episode "Guns for Mutts", appears to be this. He's actually a Sweet Polly Oliver, and not actually British.
- Ass Kicks You: Marjoe tends to do this to people after making a joke.
- Berserk Button: Don't EVER belittle Bal's parents.
- Bestiality Is Depraved:
- Marjoe has a thing for dogs...
- Lorelai also does "donkey shows"...
- Marjoe has a
- Creepy Family: The main cast is a family of devils.
- Cool and Unusual Punishment: In the pilot, a man in hell is tortured by being accused to listen to Britney Spears music.
- Death Seeker/Driven to Suicide: Marjoe's dog wants to die than live another moment with her. But many attempts end in failure or bad timing (usually thanks to Marjoe).
- Dissimile: Ashley from "Guns for Mutts" comes out with a few of these.Josh: (about a secret experiment facility) Woah! This place is weird.Ashley: You think this is weird? You should see my experiment shed at home. And by experiment shed I mean my underpants.
- Dumb Blonde: Tina is this at times, mostly due to her inebriation.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Tina is constantly repulsed by the disgusting and politically incorrect demeanor of her new neighbor Marjoe. Tina's daughter Mandy breaks up with Killbride's son because he's cruel to unpopular, or disabled kids. Even Satan himself is disconcerted by how amoral and evil Killbride can be.
- Everyone Meets Everyone: Hellmans, meet weirdos from Texas.
- Everything Is Big in Texas: Pretty much a constant parody of said trope. Also applies to most of the women on the show, as well.
- Exactly What It Says on the Tin: The main characters are demons from hell and live as everyone else's neighbors in the suburbs.
- Fartillery: In episode 1, Marjoe farts (purposely) in her suicidal dog's face just for laughs.
- Fire and Brimstone Hell: Hell depicted in this show is basically this, where there flames everywhere and
- Friend to All Living Things: Josh loves animals and animals seem to love him back, sardonic considering he's a devil.
- Guilty Pleasure: One of the triggers of the whole premise. Bal loved secretly watching Earth television, which is considered one of the most horrible things in existence in Hell. This leads to Bal knowing more about humans than any of the other devils, which makes him Satan's choice for the job up on earth.
- Hard-Drinking Party Girl: Tina is almost never seen without some kind of alcoholic beverage (usually, though not always, a martini) in hand.
- Hate Sink: Marjoe is meant to be the most revolting neighbor one can imagine: she has an annoying voice, pops up at every interval, delves deeply into TMI territory when discussing the "things" she does with her husband (and her poodle) (sometimes bringing them up with strangers), she's a racist (even naming her fancy goldfish N-Word Privileges because it's black). Even Tina (a demon) can't stand her.
- Humans Are the Real Monsters: So much so, they make DEVILS look good, especially Don Killbride.
- Idiot Hero: Balthazar. He's the hero of the show and isn't the brightest bulb in the book.
- Ink-Suit Actor: The female executive producer that sexually harasses Balthazar is voiced by Jane Lynch, and basically looks like a caricature of her to boot.
- Jerkass: Almost every human character is more or less extent a Jerkass in this series, but Don Killbride makes everyone else, including Satan, look like a holy saint in comparison.
- Lady in Red: Tina always wears a red dress when she's sent to Earth.
- Little Miss Snarker: Mandy, when she actually talks (not via cell phone/texting), is pretty much this.
- Mama Bear: Tina. She's incredibly protective of her children.
- Meaningful Name: Don Killbride has been married over six times and treats every one of his wives like utter crap.
- Mr. Exposition: Satan, in the pilot, as explains to
- Noble Demon: Even for literally being a devil, Balthazar's actually a pretty nice guy all things considered.
- Once an Episode: Tina and Bal making out.
- As well as Bal getting promoted/demoted, somehow always farther away from the drill.
- Satan checking up on the Hellmans at the end for a report of their progress, often resulting in a Spoof Aesop or Hard Truth Aesop.
- Only Sane Man: Balthazar is this several times, as he's the only one in his family that actually tries to act like a rational human being. Despite being a demon, he's more rational that every other human in the show.
- Our Demons Are Different: They treat sinful repentance as a punch-in-and-out day job and act seemingly human, with families.
- Parental Obliviousness: In "Guns for Mutts", even Ashley's own father didn't know she was a girl... somehow.
- Self-Deprecation:Satan: TV rots the mind. It's a fact.Balthazar: I did not know that!
- Speaks Fluent Animal: Josh talks to horses, and possibly other animals.
- Take That!: In the series finale.Satan: You've been on Earth for 10 weeks with no progress! Tell me why I shouldn't cancel you right now?Balthazar: Umm... because we're fun to watch?Satan: ... I'm going on vacation. When I come back I'm going to expect results, or I'll find another family! ... Guy. Family Guy...
- Temporary Bulk Change: In "Robert the Insult Weight Loss Robot", Tina puts on weight gain after eating too many cupcakes, though it's not noticeable except for one scene where she attempts to squeeze through the doggy door.
- This Loser Is You: Notice how the humans are either in the oil business, absurdly sympathetic, or batshit insane.
- Too Dumb to Live: In the pilot, Marjoe is oblivious that Tina is deliberately trying to strangle her to death. Even as she's having difficulty breathing. Perhaps she's Too Kinky to Torture.
- Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: Balthazar and Tina. Bal is fat and goofy looking, while his wife Tina is gorgeous and curvy.
- Unusually Uninteresting Sight: The Hellmans don't disguise themselves at all aside from wearing normal human clothes, and no one seems to care they have green skin, Pointy Ears and Cute Little Fangs. The Texans simply assume that they are Jews.
- Verbal Tic: Ashley from "Guns for Mutts" adds the cutesy suffix -sies to the ends of words.
