The shows centers around the antics of a family who live in a poor valley community, and as a result of extreme pollution and radiation, are all severly handicapped and deformed. The pollution is the direct result of the lavish lifestyle of a rich community known as "the Hills", who continue to exploit and harm the valley residents, with little regard for their safety or well being.
The main characters include:
Bob Oblong, the father, who was born without any arms or legs and works at a poison factory.
Pickles Oblong, the chain-smoking, alcoholic mother, who was originally a Hill resident, but moved to the valley after meeting Bob. All her hair has since fallen out, and she is now regarded as an outcast by her former Hill friends.
Milo Oblong, the middle child, who is afflicted with numerous medial and social conditions, including everything from attention deficit disorder to diabetes.
Chip and Biff Oblong, twin teenage brothers who are attached at the waist.
Beth Oblong, the youngest child, who has an odd tumor growing out of her head.
Other characters include George Klimer, Bob's rich Hill boss, The Debbies, a gang of annoying teenage girls, and Suzie, Helga, Mikey, and Peggy, Milo's odd friends.
The show was heavily criticised for its apparent mocking of the disabled, but the show's producers have rejected such accusations, saying that The Oblongs instead portrays the disabled in an honest, non patronizing manner. Indeed, the show rarely focuses on the character's disablities and instead is mostly about the Oblong family's adventures in dealing with common problems of modern living. Much of the humor comes not from the fact that the characters are handicapped, but rather from their often overly eager attempts to overcome their physical disadvantages. As well, the Oblongs are portrayed as a generally happy family, and usually display good values.
Regardless, the show was not very popular, and only lasted one season.