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zwolanerd

I guess I just like liking things

I literally cannot imagine a better cast for this show.

I literally cannot imagine a better cast for this show.

 

In case you missed it in all of the hubbub of Batman Week, we’re going to watch Better Off Ted together, with the first episode due this Friday. Have you watched it yet? I haven’t yet myself.  Well, not specifically for this, at least. I have seen it 4 times already, but will see it again here before Friday.

In case you haven’t seen it before, I want to give you some idea of what it’s like beforehand.  Here’s the Wikipedia description, which does as good a job describing it as anything:

Better Off Ted focuses on the titular protagonist, Ted Crisp, a single father and the well-respected and beloved head of a research and development department at the fictional, soulless conglomerate of Veridian Dynamics. Ted narrates the series’ events by regularly breaking the fourth wall and directly addressing the audience as the show’s on-camera narrator. Supporting characters include Ted’s supervisor Veronica Palmer, co-worker and love interest Linda Zwordling, his daughter Rose, and laboratory scientists Phillip Myman and Lem Hewitt.

Unassuming enough, yes? It’s a simple enough premise, but I promise you it’s fantastic. Portia de Rossi’s presence alone should ease any misgivings you might have – unless you also have not seen Arrested Development, which I’d guess you have.  Frankly, BOT occupies the same space on the sitcom spectrum as AD, at least in my mind.  On one end you’ve got your AD and BOT (I always picture it being the righthand end?), and on the other end you’ve got your Two and a Half Men and your 2 Broke Girls and your (most likely, at least, I’ve never actually seen it) My Mother the Car. I won’t presume to put adjectives on those spectrum ends, but I will admit that I have some in mind.

Things I would bet money that you’ll like:

  • All of the main characters. Seriously. Every single one of them.
  • The Veridian Dynamics commercials
  • The inventions
  • The catchy theme song

Things you won’t like:

  • That it ended too soon
  • And maybe that one storyline

Honestly, I am open to the fact that not everyone will like the show because I understand that people have different tastes. If everybody all liked the same stuff, we wouldn’t need new shows because we’d already have Star Trek and Seinfeld and we’d be set. So what I’m saying is, don’t be afraid to come here on Friday with a differing opinion. I’m just as curious to hear about why someone doesn’t like something I like as I am to hear about why other people think it’s good.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts!

 

(Some zwolanerd trivia for you: Andrea Anders’ character in this show inspired my Shepard’s name in Mass Effect. So if you’re running from the Reapers somewhere out there and you run into a “Zwordling Shepard,” you’ll know why.)

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