Saturday, October 9, 2010

Rewind Review #6 - I'm a little tired of shows I love getting cancelled

You know how you are just now watching/reading/hearing that thing that everyone was talking about 1/2/10/15/20 years ago?  Or maybe you're revisiting something you LOVED and want desperately to talk about it to someone who cares?  Well, this is my forum to discuss that thing.  Join in, make suggestions, read my genius thoughts about that old school thing.  [Not to be confused with Old School, the movie, or being old school.  Although either of those may come up in the future.]
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I go through spurts with t.v.

Sometimes I watch it a lot.

Sometimes I don't watch it at all.

I'm fickle, I know.  But I think the main problem is that so many of the shows that I love get canceled.  Abruptly, without warning, without any . . . what's that stupid-ass therapy word? Ah!  Without any closure.

So here is a review of a show I loved that got canceled.  Check it out on DVD and then join me in railing at the fates and stupid programming execs who think that reality t.v. is a winner.  Fuck you, programmers.

Better off Ted.
Oh, how I miss you all.
This show is about Ted [duh] and his boss Veronica [a delightful Portia deRossi - I want to be her when I grow up] and his crush Linda [who is sublime in this] and Phil and Lem [the scientists].

To say that this is a workplace comedy does it a disservice.  The show pushes every moral envelope you have, and you [o.k., I] suddenly find yourself [myself] rooting for the evil Veridian Dynamics. [link's video starts immediately]

The show crafts episodes that are biting and funny and delicious.  Like the episode where the new automatic sensors couldn't read the African American workers. Yeah.  That worked out great:


They finally fixed it.
Ted is in charge of his production group, working on things like weaponizing a pumpkin. He is smooth and smart and actually has a moral compass.  Also a little girl named Rose, who often acts as his conscience, but never in a cloying, cute-kid way. Plus, sometimes Veronica will try and mold her in her image:
Why no, she's not evil.
Linda is in charge of product testing, and she's the soul of this soulless corporation.  But she's not all sugar and spice.  She gets her own back, by doing things like stealing creamer.
Or sometimes she accidentally inappropriately touches a co-worker.  Yeah.  That starts something.
Ted works for Veronica, who only wants what's good for the company.  Because that's good for her.  She pulls no punches and bends the workforce to her needs. 

Veronica and Ted. 
Sometimes Veronica has to crack the whip with her subordinates.
Yeah.  Linda should just listen.
Phil and Lem work on different projects - growing beef, curing baldness, new MREs.  They are smart and know their limitations and are in awe of Ted.  Because he is AWESOME.
They know what's up.
They also accidentally drugged Linda one time,
That's gotta hurt.
which caused Linda to act in some strange, crazy ways, and resulted in a hilarious baby kidnapping.
Sometimes things don't go right.
My favorite part is the Veridian Dynamic commercials - this doesn't mean that the rest of the show is bad, just that the commercials are fucking genius.
Yes, Veridian, you do make life. better.
Here's a link to five of them.

Seriously, watch this show if you have not.  I can't stress enough how funny it is.  If you loved Arrested Development, then watch this show.  If you love to laugh, watch this show.  It's genius.

And fuck you, ABC, for getting rid of this but keeping Wipeout.

Bastards.

4 comments:

  1. this is why i'm afraid to publicly express admiration for TV shows; everything i love is always cancelled. one season, i lost the only two shows i watched regularly: swingtown and studio 60 on the sunset strip. sigh...

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  2. oh man I loved Better Off Ted!! Phil and Lem were my faves. but Veronica was awesome too. I think you can watch the old episodes on netflix instant streaming. but I want new ones!

    isn't that the way? the smartest shows get canceled (like Pushing Daisies. grrrr), but shows like the Bachelor are forever.

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  3. Fucking awesome show!
    ABC can bite me. They also got rid of The Unusuals (also an AMAZING show and seriously hilarious!) You must check it out: http://www.hulu.com/the-unusuals
    I think it went for 1 season and then they canceled but, as you said, kept Wipeout.

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  4. Magnolia - honestly. I'm afraid I'll jinx stuff.

    Andygirl - I LOVE pushing daisies. I just started watching it on Netflix & it's also smart and funny. Stupid networks.

    Tonya - I haven't watched The Unusuals, but I am on it now!

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Every time you comment, I get a lady boner.