ryan423
07-02-2011, 12:44 PM
To quote a netflix review, this show puts NBC's The Office to shame. If you didn't happen to catch this short-lived, offbeat workplace sitcom while it originally aired on ABC back in 2009 and 2010 (which I'm guessing you didn't because if you had it would still be on the air), then you missed out on some of the biggest laughs of the last decade. Better off Ted, starring Jay Harrington ("Summerland"), Portia de Rossi ("Arrested Development"), and infamous showkiller (but fantastic comedic actress) Andrea Anders ("Joey," "The Class," "Mr.Sunshine"), was one of the brightest spots on ABC's sitcom roster back just a couple of years ago when the network's only other marginal hit comedy was the newly accquired Scrubs from NBC, already in what was supposed to be its eighth and final season. Pre-Modern Family, "Ted" worked for this network on count of its critical acclaim, and when you're struggling to get sitcoms off the ground at your network based on ratings alone and you're not getting results, you'll take that critical acclaim and run with it (cough cough, NBC, cough cough)! Similar in tone to the kind of offbeat humor you would find in NBC's Community, albeit a totally different setting and characters that cannot compare, "Ted" delivered just the right amount of quirkiness every week that would have made this show a staple on FX, Comedy Central, or Adult Swim. Sadly, it was on ABC. Tonight, I took a look back at the pilot (the ENTIRE series is available on Netflix Instant, including two unaired episodes) of this little show that could, and over the course of the next few weeks, I'll be reviewing another nine of the best episodes of this 26-episode, 2 season series.
My episode review can be found here (http://ryanschwartz.posterous.com/summer-rewatch-better-off-ted-season-1-episod).
My episode review can be found here (http://ryanschwartz.posterous.com/summer-rewatch-better-off-ted-season-1-episod).