When the adult animated series Paradise PD debuted on Netflix in August 2018, viewers were blown away with its wild stories and raunchy humor. They also might have noticed a slight resemblance to the recently canceled Comedy Central cartoon Brickleberry. There is a good reason for this. Both series come from the demented minds of Roger Black & Waco O'Guin, also known for their cult MTV2 series Stankervision.
Then there's the fact that pretty much every character on Paradise PD has a doppelganger on Brickleberry. You know how everyone on Josie and the Pussycats had a twin on Scooby Doo? It's way closer than that. The similarities are so eerie that fans clamored for a Paradise PD/Brickleberry crossover. Their prayers are answered with an episode this season on Paradise PD. While the shows are similar, one is clearly superior. We're just not sure which one. Let's compare:
10 KEVIN IS NO MATCH FOR STEVE
These fools may look alike and sound alike (both are voiced by Dave Herman), and both are terrible at their jobs. But scratch the surface, and Brickleberry's Steve Williams is a far more impressive character than Paradise PD's Kevin Crawford. Steve has won "Ranger of the Month" too many times to count. Kevin only got the job because his father was Chief of Police. And even then, his mom the mayor had to push dad to give him the gig.
Sure, Kevin has a better attitude. But Steve has tremendous life experience. He lived as an African-American in "Race Off," and experienced the plight of a sasquatch in "Steve's Bald." What has Kevin accomplished in life? He accidentally shot off his dad's testicles. ADVANTAGE: BRICKLEBERRY
9 BULLET IS MORE FUN TO PARTY WITH THAN MALLOY
Voiced by Daniel Tosh, Malloy just sits around and makes snide comments in between video games. Bullet (Kyle Kinane), on the other hand, is all action. A drug-sniffing police dog, Bullet's job has unfortunately caused him to develop addictions to cocaine, meth, booze, pot, and assorted pharmaceuticals. The one upside is that this dog sure knows how to party.
While Malloy was basically asexual, Bullet's got a tragic romantic history, with many dead girlfriends in his past. True, he threw one off a bridge. But Bullet is someone you'd want in your corner. Malloy's only advantage is that he can eat chocolate. Preferably with a high cacao rate. ADVANTAGE: PARADISE PD.
8 BATTLE OF THE BULGE: CONNIE CRUSHES DUSTY
One of the delights of Brickleberry was co-creator Roger Black's surprisingly sensitive portrayal of Forest Ranger Connie Cunaman. Connie is not only physically strong but mentally as well. Raised by religious parents, she challenged their homophobia in "Gay Bomb."
While the rangers rely on Connie's phenomenal strength, Dusty Marlowe (Dana Snyder) is useless. He's also an overgrown man-child who shows no interest in the advances of the stunning Gina Jabowski. Talk about White Whale Privilege! ADVANTAGE: BRICKLEBERRY
7 GERALD IS "SUPERFLY." DENZEL IS MORE LIKE "STUPID FLEA"
Gerald Fitzgerald (Cedric Yarbrough) is a supercop. He's also a master criminal. But Denzel Jackson (Jerry Minor) is just lazy. So Gerald gets the nod.
Denzel comes from a line of cops but became a forest ranger. Bad career choice, because the dude HATES nature. He prefers to say indoors and smoke marijuana while having sex with old ladies. What he really needs to do is open a pot dispensary in a nursing home.
"Fitz" Fitzgerald, on the other hand, is a veteran of the Chicago PD. He's got PTSD, which he manages with zen meditation. Or is that all just a diabolical ruse? Definitely the most complex character in either series. ADVANTAGE: PARADISE PD.
6 WOODY ENTHRALLS. RANDALL HAS NO BALLS.
Both mustachioed authority figures could lose a few pounds. And both are voiced by the legendary Tom Kenny. That's where the similarities end for Head Ranger Woody Johnson and Police Chief Randall Crawford.
Despite Woody's tough exterior, he does a have a tender side, caring for the orphaned cub Malloy. Randall is just bitter. He has good reason: his lack of testicles force him to wear costly testosterone patches. Woody also lost his testicles, briefly, when Malloy stole them. Yet somehow he got them back, and he never held a grudge against the little fella. That's a good dad. ADVANTAGE: BRICKLEBERRY.
5 GINA: WARRIOR PRINCESS, WHILE ETHEL IS A HOT MESS
These two are both strong, yet flawed multi-dimensional female characters. Ethel Anderson (played first by Kaitlin Olsen, then Natasha Leggero) was a top ranger at Yellowstone before getting transferred to Brickleberry. Although she cares for animals and is more competent than the other rangers, her failure to get a handle on her alcohol issues severely impedes her work. In addition, her low self-esteem causes her to needlessly toy with the affections of Connie and Steve. Clearly, this woman has a lot of work to do on herself.
Gina Jabowski (Sarah Chalke), on the other hand, is a savage. A tough-as-nails-cop, she's Paradise PD's finest. Sometimes she's too aggressive for her own good. This is a result of BBC ("bitch be crazy") disease, caused by a bullet lodged in her head. Yet, she deals with her burden admirably, as she does with some extreme childhood trauma. And she lets neither interfere with her vow to protect the good people of Paradise. ADVANTAGE: PARADISE PD.
4 RED NECK TAG TEAMS: BOBBY & BODEAN WIN THE BELTS
Let's face it: you wouldn't want any of these guys living in a trailer in your backyard. The first time we meet Bobby Possumcod (Waco O'Guin), he sodomizes a bear. Meanwhile, Delbert and Robby (Roger Black and Waco O'Guin) are major players in Paradise's "argyle meth" scene. Both Bobby and Robbie sport politically incorrect headwear: Bobby reps the Confederate Flag, while his PPD doppelganger promotes a rather rude epithet for a woman's mammary glands.
BoDean (Roger Black) and Delbert are even more alike: both are dim-witted followers with slow drawls and lazy eyes. The only real physical difference is BoDean's fashion-forward haircut. (At one point, he must have wandered into a Supercuts in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn.) BoDean is not without his surprises: despite his "red state" cred, he's a progressive liberal who's not afraid to challenge Bobby's bigoted views. He's definitely the most complex of these four characters. Plus, Robby looks way too much like Hulk Hogan. If it's him, the dude should have saved his money. ADVANTAGE: BRICKLEBERRY.
3 HEALTHCARE DEBATE: DR. FUDLICKER VS. DR. KUZNIAK
Not all healthcare plans are created equal. And if your HMO designates Brickleberry's Dr. Kuzniak (Tom Kenny) as your primary physician, you might want to hightail it over to Paradise. While some of Kuzniak's procedures would be downright groundbreaking under different circumstances, the way he employs them make him come off as a quack. In the episode "Race Off!" when Steve and Denzel suffered major burn injuries Kuzniak performed some revolutionary skin graft surgeries. However, he got his patients mixed up, and caused Steve to become black and Denzel white.
On the other end of the spectrum Paradise PD's Dr. Fudlicker (played by... wait for it... Tom Kenny) is surprisingly good at his job. This is probably due to his immigrant mentality. Originally from Nigeria, he bleached his skin so he could be accepted into Trump University. No matter what his ethnicity, he keeps the men and woman of Paradise is good shape. ADVANTAGE: PARADISE PD.
2 AND THE REST: HOPSON & THE MAYOR VS. .....................?
Okay, here's the thing. Paradise PD has more regular characters than Brickleberry. Stanley Hopson, the senile bi-sexual cop, has no counterpart. Neither does Mayor Karen Crawford. So Paradise PD gets the nod, right? Nah. Although these characters (played By Dana Snyder and Grey Griffen) are funny, the trees in the Brickleberry picture provide life-giving oxygen. ADVANTAGE: BRICKLEBERRY
1 STORYTELLING & SENSE OF HUMOR...
Both shows are absolutely hilarious and brilliant in their own ways. Actually, in the same way. Brickleberry was the pioneer, was often constrained by the good taste one has to exert when producing a show for basic cable. With their new show on Netflix, auteurs O'Guin and Black are able to indulge in any avenue their demented minds take them and are unshackled by time constraints. So PPD gets the nod here. ADVANTAGE: PARADISE PD.
So do the math, and you'll see we're at a 5-5 tie. You can't go wrong with either of these twisted confections.