better off ted
Recently my guy and I have been watching episodes of Better Off Ted; we're about 2/3 through the first season. This is a pretty fun show that does some things right.
Better Off Ted is a workplace comedy set at a huge corporation. Ted, the main character, is an R&D executive and a single dad. In a lot of ways the show is a typical mixed bag of "could be better, could be worse." Of the five primary cast members, four are white, meh. Two are women, both thin white blondes and both love interests for Ted, boo. Lem, the African-American character, is a brilliant scientist, yay. Lem's lab partner, Phil, frequently complains about his troubles with his overbearing wife, boo. Lem and Phil have a longstanding "so married" partnership that isn't subject to gay panic jokes, yay. The will-they-won't-they plot between Ted and subordinate Linda is tiresome, boo. Ted's superior Veronica proposes sex casually and shows no jealousy when his interest shifts to Linda, yay. Maz Jobrani has a recurring role as an unscrupulous scientist, yay. At least two men show a romantic interest in Ted and Ted doesn't show any distress that they think he might be gay or bi, yay.
Comedy-wise, the show is a cut above. The writing is really well-honed and the performances are fantastic.
Phil: Linda, you can't hurt a baby.
Lem: Well, you can hurt them. They're not indestructible.
Veronica: Remember that perfume your team developed about a year ago? In three out of five thousand women, it reacts with their body chemistry and attracts hornets who want to mate with them.
Ted: And when the hornets realise they've been deceived, do they just laugh it off?
Veronica: If by laugh, you mean sting over and over again in endless waves of fury, then yes. They have a wonderful sense of humor.
Mock Commercial: Veridian Dynamics. Mistakes. We all make them. But sometimes mistakes lead to great discoveries. Mistakes are how we learn and grow... so we can do amazing things. When you think about it, shouldn't you be thanking us for making mistakes? Veridian Dynamics. We're sorry. You're welcome.
Veronica: God, you people are paranoid. No wonder the company has to secretly manipulate you.
Lem: This technology can find the subject in a crowded stadium, in the background of home movies, security cameras, webcams. It's like having eyes everywhere, but not in a bad way, like that time we spilled that container full of eyes.
Veronica: The company loves its money. If it could, it'd go to strip clubs and throw naked women at money.
Phil: Where's Ted? What if something happened to him?
Dr. Bhamba: Stop it! We're scientists, not people who can examine every variable of a phenomenon to determine an accurate understanding of a specific event! Ted's late. We can't know why any more than we can unlock the secrets of the universe.
Phil: Lem, you're using science for no good. We took an oath that we would try to do that less.
There were a few things I really liked and thought were done particularly well. First was an episode called "Racial Sensitivity." The company modifies all their lights, doors and elevators with motion sensors that detect light reflected off skin... but the system can't see Black people. The episode makes the point that "color blindness" enables racism.
Ted: The system doesn't see black people?
Veronica: I know. Weird, huh?
Ted: That's more than weird, Veronica. That's basically, well... racist.
Veronica: The company's position is that it's actually the opposite of racist, because it's not targeting black people. It's just ignoring them. They insist the worst people can call it is "indifferent."
Ted: Well, they know it has to be fixed, right? Please... at least say they know that.
Veronica: Of course they do, and they're working on it. In the meantime they'd like everyone to celebrate the fact that it sees Hispanics, Asians, Pacific Islanders, and Jews.
In the sharpest gag, the water fountains also won't work for black employees, so the company responds by installing separate water fountains: a "colorblind" system that ignores Black people ends up having the same practical effects as a racist policy of segregation.
Veronica is another fantastic element of the show. She's played by Portia de Rossi, so she's hilarious just for that. She's also Ted's boss and in charge of all the other regular & featured characters.
It would be really easy for a show like this to make Veronica into an ice queen character and then mock her for it: she's cool and calculating, and seems to have no personal relationships, just loyalty to the company. What makes a huge difference, I think, is the attitudes of the other characters, who all regard Veronica with respect verging on awe.
And I was impressed that whenever Veronica's negative personality traits come into play, the show almost always balances the portrayal by showing similar qualities in the designated nice guy protagonist, Ted.
Veronica is competitive even over the most trivial things. The show demonstrates that this isn't always a bad thing, since Veronica is shown to be wildly successful in part thanks to her competitiveness. And Ted is competitive too, also a factor in his success.
While Ted is aware he's ridiculous and tries to put a break on his competitiveness, Veronica doesn't. But there's room to conclude that this might be the reason that Veronica is Ted's superior.
When the two have parallel issues, Ted often learns the "right" lesson about dealing with his foibles, while Veronica doesn't. But the show also establishes that Ted has an enormous, almost pathological, need to be liked. So even though Ted is the nicer guy, it connects to his insecure need for absolutely everyone to like him; Veronica can be seen as the stronger of the two.
In one episode, "You Are The Boss Of Me," Veronica becomes friends with the other main female character, Linda. At first being friends with the boss works out for Linda; they have long lunches, and Veronica takes her for massages and manicures and shopping. But Veronica's idea of friendship is one-sided. She does all the talking and tells Linda her darkest secrets: Linda complains that she's being used as Veronica's "brain toilet." When Linda puts the brakes on their friendship, Veronica dumps lousy projects on Linda and pettily reduces the size of Linda's cubicle.
All of this could really easily play into stereotypes that women can't handle power and abuse it for personal relationships. But in the same episode, Ted's daughter is visiting his ex-wife, and with his evenings suddenly free, Ted hangs out with Lem and Phil. The guys take Ted to "Medieval Fight Club," which is basically what it sounds like: mock battles done with medieval weapons and outfits. Ted begins playing obsessively and rising up the ranks (the competitive thing again.) When Phil and Lem try to spend an evening doing something else, Ted threatens to give them a harder deadline for a project unless they keep playing.
Eventually Linda tells Ted that he's unfairly taking out his resentment of his ex-wife, who gets to be the "cool" parent, through the fight club. Ted apologizes to Lem and Phil and leaves the game.
In the other plotline, Veronica offers Linda a chance to get back in her good graces, and Linda explains that she'd like to be friends, but that friendship works both ways. Veronica invites Linda to confide in her, and Linda begins an anecdote about her childhood. Quickly bored, Veronica decides that friendship isn't worth it, restores Linda's workspace and projects to normal, and dismisses the entire interlude.
Another thing I liked about this episode, besides its balance, is that one of Veronica's secrets was that she secretly fed her sister while her sister slept so that Veronica would always be thinner. In a sight gag later in the episode, Veronica's sister is visiting, and Veronica is seen spooning food into her sleeping sister's mouth. Still doing it! It's a funny joke about how selfish and competitive Veronica is, but also a tactic acknowledgment of insecurity for even a successful, thin, beautiful woman.
Finally... I like that so far, the humor rarely leans on comedy crutches. Phil and Lem have a similar relationship as Howard and Raj from Big Bang Theory, but much of the humor for Howard and Raj revolves around Howard being a cliched Jewish guy, Raj being Indian, and their codependent-BUTNOTGAYOMG relationship. In contrast, Phil and Lem just have funny dialogue that comes out of their friendship, their mutual awkwardness and their jobs.
Phil: Why don't you go talk to her?
Lem: Talk to her? Would you talk to a rainbow or a sunset?
Phil: If I wanted to get it on with refracted light, I would.
Lem: If only I was a worm. I could cut myself in two and date my lower half.
Phil: We all wish we were worms, Lem, but that's never going to happen.
Watching Better Off Ted, I realized just how much even supposedly "smart" sitcoms like Big Bang Theory get laughs by referring to familiar stereotypes rather than by making humorous observations or crafting funny wordplay. That's probably why I can't get into most sitcoms. But so far I'm enjoying Better Off Ted.
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Better Off Ted is a workplace comedy set at a huge corporation. Ted, the main character, is an R&D executive and a single dad. In a lot of ways the show is a typical mixed bag of "could be better, could be worse." Of the five primary cast members, four are white, meh. Two are women, both thin white blondes and both love interests for Ted, boo. Lem, the African-American character, is a brilliant scientist, yay. Lem's lab partner, Phil, frequently complains about his troubles with his overbearing wife, boo. Lem and Phil have a longstanding "so married" partnership that isn't subject to gay panic jokes, yay. The will-they-won't-they plot between Ted and subordinate Linda is tiresome, boo. Ted's superior Veronica proposes sex casually and shows no jealousy when his interest shifts to Linda, yay. Maz Jobrani has a recurring role as an unscrupulous scientist, yay. At least two men show a romantic interest in Ted and Ted doesn't show any distress that they think he might be gay or bi, yay.
Comedy-wise, the show is a cut above. The writing is really well-honed and the performances are fantastic.
Phil: Linda, you can't hurt a baby.
Lem: Well, you can hurt them. They're not indestructible.
Veronica: Remember that perfume your team developed about a year ago? In three out of five thousand women, it reacts with their body chemistry and attracts hornets who want to mate with them.
Ted: And when the hornets realise they've been deceived, do they just laugh it off?
Veronica: If by laugh, you mean sting over and over again in endless waves of fury, then yes. They have a wonderful sense of humor.
Mock Commercial: Veridian Dynamics. Mistakes. We all make them. But sometimes mistakes lead to great discoveries. Mistakes are how we learn and grow... so we can do amazing things. When you think about it, shouldn't you be thanking us for making mistakes? Veridian Dynamics. We're sorry. You're welcome.
Veronica: God, you people are paranoid. No wonder the company has to secretly manipulate you.
Lem: This technology can find the subject in a crowded stadium, in the background of home movies, security cameras, webcams. It's like having eyes everywhere, but not in a bad way, like that time we spilled that container full of eyes.
Veronica: The company loves its money. If it could, it'd go to strip clubs and throw naked women at money.
Phil: Where's Ted? What if something happened to him?
Dr. Bhamba: Stop it! We're scientists, not people who can examine every variable of a phenomenon to determine an accurate understanding of a specific event! Ted's late. We can't know why any more than we can unlock the secrets of the universe.
Phil: Lem, you're using science for no good. We took an oath that we would try to do that less.
There were a few things I really liked and thought were done particularly well. First was an episode called "Racial Sensitivity." The company modifies all their lights, doors and elevators with motion sensors that detect light reflected off skin... but the system can't see Black people. The episode makes the point that "color blindness" enables racism.
Ted: The system doesn't see black people?
Veronica: I know. Weird, huh?
Ted: That's more than weird, Veronica. That's basically, well... racist.
Veronica: The company's position is that it's actually the opposite of racist, because it's not targeting black people. It's just ignoring them. They insist the worst people can call it is "indifferent."
Ted: Well, they know it has to be fixed, right? Please... at least say they know that.
Veronica: Of course they do, and they're working on it. In the meantime they'd like everyone to celebrate the fact that it sees Hispanics, Asians, Pacific Islanders, and Jews.
In the sharpest gag, the water fountains also won't work for black employees, so the company responds by installing separate water fountains: a "colorblind" system that ignores Black people ends up having the same practical effects as a racist policy of segregation.
Veronica is another fantastic element of the show. She's played by Portia de Rossi, so she's hilarious just for that. She's also Ted's boss and in charge of all the other regular & featured characters.
It would be really easy for a show like this to make Veronica into an ice queen character and then mock her for it: she's cool and calculating, and seems to have no personal relationships, just loyalty to the company. What makes a huge difference, I think, is the attitudes of the other characters, who all regard Veronica with respect verging on awe.
And I was impressed that whenever Veronica's negative personality traits come into play, the show almost always balances the portrayal by showing similar qualities in the designated nice guy protagonist, Ted.
Veronica is competitive even over the most trivial things. The show demonstrates that this isn't always a bad thing, since Veronica is shown to be wildly successful in part thanks to her competitiveness. And Ted is competitive too, also a factor in his success.
While Ted is aware he's ridiculous and tries to put a break on his competitiveness, Veronica doesn't. But there's room to conclude that this might be the reason that Veronica is Ted's superior.
When the two have parallel issues, Ted often learns the "right" lesson about dealing with his foibles, while Veronica doesn't. But the show also establishes that Ted has an enormous, almost pathological, need to be liked. So even though Ted is the nicer guy, it connects to his insecure need for absolutely everyone to like him; Veronica can be seen as the stronger of the two.
In one episode, "You Are The Boss Of Me," Veronica becomes friends with the other main female character, Linda. At first being friends with the boss works out for Linda; they have long lunches, and Veronica takes her for massages and manicures and shopping. But Veronica's idea of friendship is one-sided. She does all the talking and tells Linda her darkest secrets: Linda complains that she's being used as Veronica's "brain toilet." When Linda puts the brakes on their friendship, Veronica dumps lousy projects on Linda and pettily reduces the size of Linda's cubicle.
All of this could really easily play into stereotypes that women can't handle power and abuse it for personal relationships. But in the same episode, Ted's daughter is visiting his ex-wife, and with his evenings suddenly free, Ted hangs out with Lem and Phil. The guys take Ted to "Medieval Fight Club," which is basically what it sounds like: mock battles done with medieval weapons and outfits. Ted begins playing obsessively and rising up the ranks (the competitive thing again.) When Phil and Lem try to spend an evening doing something else, Ted threatens to give them a harder deadline for a project unless they keep playing.
Eventually Linda tells Ted that he's unfairly taking out his resentment of his ex-wife, who gets to be the "cool" parent, through the fight club. Ted apologizes to Lem and Phil and leaves the game.
In the other plotline, Veronica offers Linda a chance to get back in her good graces, and Linda explains that she'd like to be friends, but that friendship works both ways. Veronica invites Linda to confide in her, and Linda begins an anecdote about her childhood. Quickly bored, Veronica decides that friendship isn't worth it, restores Linda's workspace and projects to normal, and dismisses the entire interlude.
Another thing I liked about this episode, besides its balance, is that one of Veronica's secrets was that she secretly fed her sister while her sister slept so that Veronica would always be thinner. In a sight gag later in the episode, Veronica's sister is visiting, and Veronica is seen spooning food into her sleeping sister's mouth. Still doing it! It's a funny joke about how selfish and competitive Veronica is, but also a tactic acknowledgment of insecurity for even a successful, thin, beautiful woman.
Finally... I like that so far, the humor rarely leans on comedy crutches. Phil and Lem have a similar relationship as Howard and Raj from Big Bang Theory, but much of the humor for Howard and Raj revolves around Howard being a cliched Jewish guy, Raj being Indian, and their codependent-BUTNOTGAYOMG relationship. In contrast, Phil and Lem just have funny dialogue that comes out of their friendship, their mutual awkwardness and their jobs.
Phil: Why don't you go talk to her?
Lem: Talk to her? Would you talk to a rainbow or a sunset?
Phil: If I wanted to get it on with refracted light, I would.
Lem: If only I was a worm. I could cut myself in two and date my lower half.
Phil: We all wish we were worms, Lem, but that's never going to happen.
Watching Better Off Ted, I realized just how much even supposedly "smart" sitcoms like Big Bang Theory get laughs by referring to familiar stereotypes rather than by making humorous observations or crafting funny wordplay. That's probably why I can't get into most sitcoms. But so far I'm enjoying Better Off Ted.
http://cesare.dreamwidth.org/62451.html |
comments | Comment at Dreamwidth