Mr. Deity
Mr. Deity is a series of satirical short films that parody aspects of religion, created by Brian Keith Dalton and distributed by Lazy Eye Pictures. It stars Brian Keith Dalton, Jimbo Marshall, Sean Douglas, and Amy Rohren. It premiered on December 27, 2006. The show was hosted on YouTube, after a spell on Crackle and is currently available on the Mr. Deity channel on YouTube. In early 2012 Jimbo Marshall ended his participation to work in his own production company, "Your Video Solution."
History
In late 2006 director Brian Keith Dalton decided to make a series of short comedy films about God surveying the universe with his assistant. The first episode, called "Mr. Deity and the Evil," features only Dalton and his friend, cinematographer Jimbo Marshall, making decisions about what evils to allow. Jesus appears in the second episode, played by Sean Douglas. Amy Rohren rounded out the cast, portraying Lucifer later in the first season.After the last episode of the first season, Dalton signed a deal with Sony Pictures Entertainment to create a TV version of Mr. Deity for HBO. The deal also made the second season of the web series exclusive to Sony's comedy website, Crackle.com. The Sony deal eventually fell through, prompting Dalton to bring the series back to YouTube. In May 2009 a trailer parodying Frost/Nixon using the cast of Mr. Deity was released, inaugurating the third season of the show.
Theological views
Mr. Deity often expresses annoyance with organized religion or human beings who claim to speak in his name, although he often treats this as an issue of improper attribution rather than a theological problem. In "Mr. Deity and the Book" and "Mr. Deity and the Book, Part Deux," he becomes very irate over being attributed as the author of the Bible, due to not being included in the editorial process.Mormons are specifically named in "Mr. Deity and the Book" as being a source of irritation to Mr. Deity due to their scriptural canonization of the idea that certain non-African humans with dark skin were cursed by God to lose their whiteness due to wicked behavior. Notably, Dalton is himself a former Mormon or Formon, a term he coined in 1996.
Cast
- Brian Keith Dalton: Mr. Deity, a.k.a. El, "El? Oh, him." The creator. Has little interest in—or even full comprehension of—the lives of humans and admits creating humans "to pass the time, provide some entertainment." He proclaims he's not a "details guy," adding that "Lucy handles that" and generally takes the credit for Larry's ideas as well as delegating most tasks to him. He is in an on-again-off-again relationship with Lucy. His misunderstandings of humans, general confusion, self-absorption and pop-culture references are generally the basis of episodes.
- Jimbo Marshall: Larry, Mr. Deity's assistant. He often helps the Deity stay on task and reviews important details in the plan, clarifying his work, and recording that which is noteworthy; for instance, in putting together the Top Ten list. Despite popular thinking, he is not a version of the Holy Spirit.
- Sean Douglas: Jesus, Does Mr. Deity a "really big favor" by going to Earth, leading a sinless life, then being sacrificed in the original version of the script. In return he is made "full partner, 1/3 vote." However his own views are often at odds with the Deity's plan, either out of general confusion, misunderstanding, or moral objection. He contributed to the Top Ten list, tries to make sense out of the Deity's edicts, and attempts to get out of being crucified. In the first season Mr. Deity often forgets his name and has called him Jesse. Jesus also occasionally calls Mr. Deity "Dad." Notably, neither the Deity nor Jesus have a full grasp of the Trinity.
- Amy Rohren: Lucifer or "Lucy," was dumped by Mr. Deity prior to the show and was then appointed by him to run hell. At one point she hired Nietzsche to kill him in retaliation for dumping her. When introduced she requested to have her mascot changed to a "bunny" instead of a snake, and they compromised on a goat. She and Mr. Deity have an on-off relationship. He uses her to facilitate his plan and inflict suffering on others for his amusement.
- Jarrett Lennon Kaufman: Timmy, technical adviser to Mr. Deity.
Awards and recognition
Episodes
Season 1
| Title | Topic | Original Airdate | # |
| Mr. Deity and the Evil | After Mr. Deity creates the universe, Larry finds out what kinds of evil he'll allow. | December 27, 2006 | 1 |
| Mr. Deity and the Really Big Favor | Mr. Deity seeks help to save mankind while Larry oversees construction efforts. | December 29, 2006 | 2 |
| Mr. Deity and the Light | Mr. Deity and Larry have trouble with the lighting on their new world. | January 3, 2007 | 3 |
| Mr. Deity and the Messages | Mr. Deity explains prayer to Jesus while Larry gathers info on the evening's activities. | January 14, 2007 | 4 |
| Mr. Deity and Lucifer | Larry unforgivably forwards a call from Lucifer to Mr. Deity's personal phone. All Hell breaks loose. | January 29, 2007 | 5 |
| Mr. Deity Super Bowl Extra: The Press Conference | Mr. Deity holds a press conference on the eve of the Super Bowl in order to clear things up. | February 2, 2007 | 6 |
| Mr. Deity and the Tour de Hell | Lucy takes Mr. Deity on a tour of Hell. | February 20, 2007 | 7 |
| Mr. Deity and the Top Ten | Jesus, Larry, and Mr. Deity struggle to come up with a Top Ten list. | March 7, 2007 | 8 |
| Mr. Deity and the Book | Mr. Deity is outraged by a billboard which presumes his authorship of a certain book. | March 26, 2007 | 9 |
| Mr. Deity and the Seed | Mr. Deity and Lucy work through a problem while Larry copes with the on-again/off-again nature of their relationship. | April 15, 2007 | 10 |
Season 2
| Title | Topic | Original Airdate | # |
| Mr. Deity and the Intel | Mr. Deity, Lucy, and George W. Bush discuss the finer points on the War On Terror. | October 17, 2007 | 11 |
| Mr. Deity and the Meaning Game | Mr. Deity and Larry discuss the meaning and purpose of life. | November 3, 2007 | 12 |
| Mr. Deity and the Voicemail | A harmless prank phone call to Jesus gets Mr. Deity into a huge PR mess. | November 17, 2007 | 13 |
| Mr. Deity and the Notes | Jesus has a few script notes for Mr. Deity. | November 30, 2007 | 14 |
| Mr. Deity and the Really Cheap Meal | The group goes out for a heavenly night on the town. | December 14, 2007 | 15 |
| Mr. Deity and the Murder | Mr. Deity and Lucy play a little game with Cain and Abel. | January 9, 2008 | 16 |
| Mr. Deity and the Limbo | Mr. Deity gets rid of Limbo, the First Circle of Hell...not the game, and Lucy gets pissed. | January 23, 2008 | 17 |
| Mr. Deity and the Good | Mr. Deity and Larry discuss the finer points of religious fundamentalism and idealism. | February 8, 2008 | 18 |
| Mr. Deity and the Help Meet | Gender roles determined by Mr. Deity and Lucy. | February 22, 2008 | 19 |
| Mr Deity and the Dress Rehearsal | Mr. Deity experiences difficulty relaying his vision. | March 7, 2008 | 20 |
Season 3
| Title | Topic | Original Airdate | # |
| Mr. Deity and the Virgin | Larry is stunned by Mr. Deity's callous response to a grave crisis. | June 8, 2009 | 21 |
| Mr. Deity and the Book, Part Deux | Mr. Deity is outraged with the ideologies associated with him by the Christians in the Bible. He and Larry conceive various ways to punish them. | June 23, 2009 | 22 |
| Mr. Deity and the Magic | Lucy explains to Mr. Deity the difference between magic and magic tricks. They then argue over the virtue of knowledge. | July 6, 2009 | 23 |
| Mr. Deity and the Scripts | Jesus wants Mr. Deity to pare down the four scripts into one coherent narrative that he can act. | August 3, 2009 | 24 |
| Mr. Deity and the Really Unique Gift | Lucy finds out what Mr. Deity is giving his chosen people. | August 10, 2009 | 25 |
| Mr. Deity and the Planes | Larry tries to get Mr. Deity to do something about the upcoming attack on New York City. | September 3, 2009 | 26 |
| Mr. Deity and the Skeptic | Skeptic Michael Shermer pleads his case before Jesus and Mr. Deity. | September 15, 2009 | 27 |
| Mr. Deity and Da Man | Mr. Deity and Larry prepare Adam for a wife. | September 28, 2009 | 28 |
| Mr. Deity and the Science Advisor | Mr. Deity is told by his science advisor PZ Myers that his design for the humans leaves something to be desired. | October 12, 2009 | 29 |
| Mr. Deity and the Identity Crisis | Mr. Deity and Jesus try to figure out their relationship. | October 27, 2009 | 30 |
| Mr. Deity and Death | Mr. Deity has to deal with an angry Death, whose day goes from bad to worse. | November 10, 2009 | 31 |
| Mr. Deity and the Woman | Mr. Deity and Larry wake the Created Eve for her first look at the Garden. | November 23, 2009 | 32 |
| Mr. Deity and the Wrong Number | Attempting to show Larry his new "Speed Dial" app, Mr. Deity gets a wrong number. | December 16, 2009 | 33 |
| Mr. Deity and the Magic, Part Deux | Mr. Deity thinks he's finally proved the existence of other magical beings. | December 23, 2009 | 34 |
| Mr. Deity and the Hard Wire | The head of R&D explains the limitations of the human brain to Mr. Deity and Lucy. | January 11, 2010 | 35 |
| Mr. Deity and the Promised Land | Mr. Deity is questioned by Larry about his plans for the Promised Land. | January 24, 2010 | 36 |
| Mr. Deity and the Really Hard Time | Mr. Deity needs to find time to create time. | February 8, 2010 | 37 |
| Mr. Deity and the Baptist | Mr Deity and Larry in conversation with the head of John the Baptist. | February 22, 2010 | 38 |
| Mr. Deity and the Host | Jesus is eaten alive. | March 9, 2010 | 39 |
| Mr. Deity and the Equations | Mr. Deity frantically throws together his own version of science in an attempt to save his job. | March 23, 2010 | 40 |
| Mr. Deity and the Quitter | Jesus walks out on God's plan. | April 12, 2010 | 41 |