Saul of the Mole Men

Saul of the Mole Men is an American live-action/puppet/animated hybrid comedy television series created by Craig Lewis, former writer on Cartoon Network's The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy and Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends. The series first aired on the channel's late night Adult Swim programming block on February 11, 2007. Described as "an ultra-patriotic Land of the Lost set in the center of the Earth", the series was directed by Tom Stern and stars Josh Gardner, who previously collaborated with Stern on the television series Gerhard Reinke's Wanderlust. Its theme song is performed by South Park co-creator Trey Parker. Lewis' primary inspirations behind this homage to 1970s-era Saturday morning live-action television were Sid and Marty Krofft (Land of the Lost), Doctor Who (Tom Baker-era), and the Planet of the Apes franchise. On October 31, 2008, Adult Swim ran a special Halloween marathon consisting only of cancelled shows, featuring Saul of the Mole Men, thus confirming its cancellation. Plot A series promo featured brief introductions for the crew on the use of a subterranean drill module. The team, known as STRATA, included Captain Jim J. James, Lieutenant Jen E. James, Robot, Kiko the Mute Wildboy, and the "rest" of the STRATA action team, which included Saul Malone (Gardner) – and Don Rogers. The main character, Saul, is seen in the background or blocked off by objects like a shovel or a flag during the promo. Following the promo, the crew is shown aboard STRATA's huge ship, which is burrowing deep under Earth's surface. Saul becomes the sole survivor of the main team when rocks begin pummeling the rest of the STRATA team, and crippling their ship; the only other survivors are a Robot controlled by a human brain, and the vapid pop musician Johnny Tambourine, who is conscious but trapped in a hibernation capsule. Saul soon finds himself in an underground world populated by "Mole Men" and "Bird Bats" as well as unexplained characters like "The Floating Pancake" and "Chinacula", a cape-wearing Chinese vampire. Though cut off from the surface world, Saul is elated, believing he will find evidence beneath the surface for his theory that there are sentient rocks descended from a huge "mother rock". Terrified by the Mole Men, Saul impulsively impales their king using the STRATA transmitter.