One of my favorite new shows from last season. Great characters and writing, very funny. I kind of thought it was gone for good, so it’s nice to see it back, at least for a while.
ABC, 9:30 eastern/8:30 central.
No lie, I just came to post this same thread.
Good episode. I was dying with the “Make sure you go to the right guy” line.
It didn’t seem that it got tweaked during the off-season, so that made me happy. I was afraid we’d get wacky new Veridian employees that were going to be regular cast members.
That was pretty funny - “I haven’t gone balls-out crazy in a while, and it’s my favourite kind of crazy.” I think I might have to make an effort to find it and tape it.
Was that Taye Diggs?
Watched it for the first time last night, and I have to say I was completely unimpressed.
Maybe by not having seen it before, I wasn’t in tune with whatever universe this show inhabits, but I couldn’t buy into the central plot premise of company-mandated dating, OR any single character’s reaction to ANYthing that was happening. It seemed to be trying too hard to be “out-there” wacky and succeeded in just, well, trying too hard. All of which I could forgive if I was laughing, which I wasn’t.
The title character alternated between bland and flat-out unlikeable. Portia DeRossi has proven in the past she can be funny, but in this I saw her as a one-note character with no redeeming qualities. The only bright spot for me was Andrea Anders, whom I always seem to like, even in bad shows (Joey, The Class).
So, to keep this from being a complete thread-shit, please tell me: Is this one of those shows that needs to grow on you for a bit? Was this maybe not one of the stronger episodes? Or should I just give it up as not my cup of single-camera comedy?
I was a little disappointed there weren’t any fake Veridian commercials, but otherwise I liked the episode. Especially Veronica’s plans A through D for reproducing. Lem and Phil are always a hoot.
I think it might be a little of both. I love the show, my husband doesn’t like it at all and here is my theory as to why: I watched it from episode one (watching it online when I missed it on air) so I knew what to expect and when I watch it, I watch straight through. My husband however, flips around, watches for a few minutes, then switches channels at the commercials and when he comes back to it he may or may not have missed a scene or two…and he just doesn’t “get it”.
The first two episodes at first I thought were weird and I wasn’t sure that I liked it, but I persevered and once it “clicked” it became a must-see show for me. I will admit though that it was the fake Veridian commercials that had me laughing more than anything in those first episodes.
I would recommend going to abc.com and watching the other episodes to catch up a bit before completely writing this one off. Of course if “wacky” and unrealistic isn’t your thing, then maybe this just isn’t your show…
The show is a satire; therefor if you’re expecting Veridian to act in any rational way, then it’s probably not your show. And it certainly doesn’t work as hard to be wacky as something like Thirty Rock, which always tries much too hard. Like Arrested Development, it requires to pay attention.
I could see the style being a bit baffling at first, but once you get used to it, you’re in for a treat.
Though I also missed the Veridian Dynamics ads. I wonder if some people thought they were real.
On the trying to be wacky scale, I’d say 30 Rock pales in comparison to Arrested Development. Better Off Ted is nowhere near either of them.
(It’s weird to see it spelled out. The actual show title uses the number 30, not the word Thirty.)
I think so - that’s the name that came into my head, too. Mmmm. Sweet chocolaty goodness. Too bad he’s a furry.
I enjoyed it. They have had better episodes, but this one was OK. Andrea Anders is even hotter than I remember.
Holy Crap I love this show.
All hail the octo-chicken.
30 Rock tries to be wacky. And tries. And tries. And tries. It dresses up in a clown suit, shoots seltzer out of its ass, and puts a lampshade on its head, a lightbulb in its mouth, and shouts “wakka wakka wakka.”
Arrested Development was wacky. And it assumed that the audience would understand without hitting them over the head with how wacky they were.
Better Off Ted is in the middle.
It wasn’t the best episode, but I laughed.
If you can find the Racial Sensitivity episode (it’s not on hulu anymore - but it might be somewhere else), and you don’t think that’s funny, it’s not the show for you.
Apparently, there’s a Veridian commercial in the next episode.
I saw it for the first time and LOLed all through it. My SO was underwhelmed. It has a real Arrested Development vibe, and I’d guess that if you liked Arrested Development you’ll like Ted and if Arrested Development left you cold, so will this show.
Just for nostalgia’s sake, I suggested to my SO that he didn’t find it funny because he didn’t get the jokes - just like Arrested Development.
Wheelz I think your reaction to the show is similar to most people’s. It’s an acquired taste but once you watch a handful of them you’ll totally be into it.
Or not. If not, move along.
I do definitely second the recommendation to get the Racial Sensitivity episode. Brilliant!
I see it exactly the opposite. The stair car? Everything about Arrested Development tried sooooooooo hard to rub in your face just how WACKY it all was. At least 30 Rock has actual jokes mixed in with the wackiness, and 30 Rock is also orders of magnitude more realistic than Arrested Development. The characters have jobs and apartments, for example.
Of course AD assumed the audience would understand. A retarded monkey (or Charlize Theron) could understand. It was all just a mish-mash of wackiness and incest jokes. No deep thought was involved. Not that any deep thought is required for 30 Rock or Better Off Ted, either. All three are basically mindless wackiness of varying severity.
I consider mindless wackiness to be hilariously entertaining.