TV Review: Better Off Ted – Seasons 1 & 2
What do Pushing Daisies, Firefly and Dollhouse all have in common? Put simply, it’s that they were all cancelled far too soon. Of course, cancellations happen because television is a tough business. Not only is it incredibly hard to get a series on the air, it can actually get harder to ensure its survival once it gets there. Even though I know this (and cancellations often don’t come as a surprise), I can’t help myself from being sad that Better Off Ted, which is a truly inspired comedic gem, was cancelled before it could even complete its second season.
When I first reviewed Better Off Ted, I was understandably cautious. Workplace comedies are tricky, and often very uneven. I wasn’t completely sure if I was in for something special or something unoriginal and repetitive. That being said, less than halfway through the first season, it became very clear that this is a rather unique comedy, with potential for both big laughs and real satire that strikes the perfect balance between wackiness and realism (very much like Scrubs did). At its best, Better Off Ted was one of the funniest sitcoms on television.
Better Off Ted really hits its stride midway into its second (and final) season. The sixth episode, ‘Beating a Dead Workforce’ (featuring great lines like, “If you feel yourself dying, well, tell your supervisor.”), marks the moment when the show became must-watch TV for me. The standard in quality continued to increase until it abruptly ended at its thirteenth episode (so abruptly that I didn’t even realise that I was watching the final episode). Even though I’m usually quite accepting of cancellations (the viewers are to blame, not the network executives, and UK viewers have no impact anyway), this time I’m not entirely free from feelings of annoyance.
Probably the most annoying thing about this particular cancellation is that it has put great actors out of work. Merely the fact that Andrea Anders, who is a watchable and funny actress, has now been on three shows that have been cancelled (Joey, The Class and now Better Off Ted) is enough to make me despair. Better Off Ted had an entire cast full of talented comic performers. The highlight was always Portia de Rossi, but Jay Harrington, Jonathan Slavin and Malcolm Barrett were also worthy of much more praise than they ever really received and I hope they don’t struggle to find their next roles. Above all, I can’t pretend that I’m not a little annoyed that I just don’t get to see any more of this wonderful comedy.
My overriding thoughts, however, aren’t of irritation, they’re of confusion. Better Off Ted was a show with easy-to-relate-to characters, dialogue that was both well-written and witty and more laugh-out-loud jokes than most sitcoms can boast. Yet somehow, it still never really found an audience… and that perplexes me.
In many ways, joining a club that contains shows like Firefly and Pushing Daisies is an honour, these are gems of TV that will live forever because they never had the opportunity to disappoint. Still, it’s upsetting that most viewers will experience Better Off Ted on DVD and be left lamenting its premature cancellation just like I am now. Goodbye, Better Off Ted. I’ll miss you.
