If you’ve been watching ABC at all over the past week or two, then you’ve definitely seen some advertisements for the new comedy, Better Off Ted, which premieres on Wednesday, March 18 at 8:30/7:30c on ABC. Chances are, when you saw the ads, that you either rolled your eyes and said out loud, ‘Oh god not another stupid, crazy sitcom,’or you said something like, ‘Hmmm, that might be interesting.’If you’re part of the first group of people, you can go ahead and stop reading now, this show isn’t going to win you over, no way, no how. But if you are part of the second group of people, or some variation of that group, you’ll be happy to know that this new series is one of the most original sitcoms this season and has a lot of promise, but they aren’t quite there just yet.
Better Off Ted stars Jay Harrington as Ted, the Head of Research and Development at Veridian Dynamics who has just a bit more of a conscience than anyone else that he works with. Veridian Dynamics does just about everything under the sun, and their favorite slogan seems to be ‘˜We can do that!’Need to make a pumpkin into a bomb? Need a mouse (the computer kind) that can withstand temperatures of up to 195 degrees? Need a metal as hard as steel but that bounces like rubber and is edible? They can do all of that, apparently. Ted’s absurdly ruthless boss Veronica, played by Portia de Rossi, who’s almost scary, if she wasn’t so damned funny in her awkward meanness. In one scene while talking to Ted about a co-worker she says emotionlessly, ”We want to freeze Phil – just to see if it’s possible.”
When the episode begins Ted is talking to us, narrating the story periodically as it unfolds. My initial instincts and thoughts were, ‘Hey, this reminds me of Scrubs.’The comparison is a good one, especially as the episode unfolded further, but don’t get your hopes up Scrubs fans, at least not just yet. The connection to Scrubs, for me was primarily for the basic overall style of the show. The lead character providing occasional narration, (though Ted talks to the camera where JD’s narration comes from ‘˜within’) as well as the basic, off-the-wall and weird comedy that ensues certainly shares a similarity with Scrubs. But the difference, and this is a big one, was the laughing. The first season of Scrubs had me laughing, hard, all the time. We’re talking stomach hurting laughs. Ted didn’t make me laugh hard once. I smiled the entire show! I even chuckled a few times, but no hard-core belly laughing ensued. So was Better Off Ted funny? Absolutely. The show is very quirky and fun, and I actually enjoyed it a lot. I plan to watch more episodes, and see how it grows and changes. But there is definitely room for improvement. It was funny, but more ‘˜haha’funny and less, ‘˜oh my god they didn’t just do that’funny.
Ultimately I think this show could be successful, and on a scale from 1 to 10, I’d have to give the pilot a 6 or 7. A solid start but I’m going to be expecting a lot more from Ted to add it to my ever growing list of DVRed shows. But give it a show, hell, give it two or three shots, and let us know what you think.
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Thanks for the review, I was wondering about this one.
Thanks for the review, I was wondering about this one.
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i must say that the best humor is in this channel.
this is a crazy story. a greek shepherd is looking for
american woman.if he will not find her, he will kill himself.
one of the best v/blog on youtube.
I am so hit or miss with the quirky comedy shows, I'll probably pass on this unless it really takes off.
Thanks for the review you lucky screener guy, you!
I am so hit or miss with the quirky comedy shows, I’ll probably pass on this unless it really takes off.
Thanks for the review you lucky screener guy, you!
Okay, watched the first two episodes recently with a friend, and we were both absolutely howling with laughter, at points there were tears. I think this one deserves a lot of love, there is a mixture of Scrubs, Arrested, and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia! For the record, when I worked in Corporate America, I had a drawer with hot chocolate, even though I am a solid black coffee and Dr Pepper drinker. Just sayin'…
So far I only caught the first episode, when I did this review. But I've DVRed the others and plan to catch up. So I'll let you know how I think its progressing soon!
Okay, watched the first two episodes recently with a friend, and we were both absolutely howling with laughter, at points there were tears. I think this one deserves a lot of love, there is a mixture of Scrubs, Arrested, and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia! For the record, when I worked in Corporate America, I had a drawer with hot chocolate, even though I am a solid black coffee and Dr Pepper drinker. Just sayin’…
So far I only caught the first episode, when I did this review. But I’ve DVRed the others and plan to catch up. So I’ll let you know how I think its progressing soon!
Andrea Anders of the late, great workplace satire "Better Off Ted" (2009−10) fares a bit better as Alice, the marketing director and Ben's one−time flame. Her surface−level liberalism has potential, especially when paired with boyfriend Alonzo's …