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Jan 25, 2010 - 08:20 AM |
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Better Off Ted |
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Last summer, I caught two episodes of this show and found them both rather enjoyable. I'd never heard of it, so I assumed it wasn't a ratings grabber but that's never been a guaranteed method of calculating quality either. Seinfeld had a slow start and fans of Arrested Development have argued the same for several years now. Cheers was almost cancelled after its first season and we now know what a mistake that would've been.
Anyhow, now that I have a computer that works, I've caught up with the Better Off Ted series on Hulu and it's grown on me even more. I find myself wondering why more people don't speak of this show, as I find the writing to be quite sharp and the characters amusing. It feels similar to the writing of Big Bang Theory, except faster and edgier.
Better Off Ted feels, to me, like what The Office should've been. It deals with coworker dynamics but in a way that isn't strewn with awkward pauses and clumsy attempts at pathos.
There are also fewer characters to keep track of, which, in this situation, works out for the better. That's been an on-off complaint of mine with The Office; there are so many co-workers that many seem largely irrelevant, yet they all have names and are featured in many episodes. This would work fine if it were handled in the manner of The Simpsons or My Name Is Earl, where they're brought in for very specific gags, but The Office characters just "float" and I find that superfluous. Better Off Ted manages to avoid that error.
It's also worth noting that Portia de Rossi is wonderfully icy in her role as Veronica, the department boss. She pulls off calculated immorality with excellent comedic timing, and it makes the show so much funnier. It'd be worth an Emmy glance, in my opinion, were the field of supporting actress not littered with names from series that carry heavier critical weight.
The researchers, Lem and Phil, are also well acted; Malcolm Barrett and Jonathan Slavin, respectively, play off each other magnificently. Each has the nerd persona down pat.
This show may not be right for everyone, but I do believe it's reasonable to say it's still underappreciated. If you're unfamiliar, I recommend watching an episode or two online and judging for yourself. I quite like it and feel as though it deserves a chance to break out from the pack before the network gives up on it without just reason, a la Futurama, Firefly, Conan O'Brien, etc.
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