20th Century Fox | 2009 | 309 mins. | Not Rated
Created by Victor Fresco (consulting producer of My Name is Earl), Better Off Ted is a single camera comedy that manages to be unique, thought provoking and funny in the space of each episodes 23- minute (minus commercials), runtime. I had seen a single episode until I received the first season for review; from the first episode I was drawn in by the wickedly funny humor and the wonderful characterazatio8ns by all of the actors involved. Better Off Ted is a workplace comedy that revolves around shady multinational corporation Veridian Dynamics and its employees.
We are taken inside the head of Ted Crisp (Jay Harrington), who serves as what passes for the company’s moral compass. As head of research and development, he serves as a liaison between the workers and the management of Veridian. Veridian makes, well, everything. Some of the products affect your everyday life, most of them don’t. Ted’s lab team consists of Phil (Jonathan Slavin) and Lem (Malcolm Barrett), two extremely scientists who bicker like a married couple as they invent beef without the use of a cow, “ploves” (plate stoves), megaphones which can induce vomiting and various other things. It’s Ted’s job to figure out how to market them so his boss Veronica (Portia de Rossi) looks like the genius she believes herself to be. Completing the office of hilarity is Jill (Andrea Anders), Ted’s attractive co-worker, and researcher who likes him, but is content playing a cat-and-mouse game with him. Unfortunately, he used up his “office affair” in an earlier tryst with Veronica and now abstains from such entanglements. Though he’s clearly interested in dating Jill, Ted is also leery of exploring a relationship because he’s afraid of hurting his young daughter Rose (Isabella Acres), whose mother left them to “save the world.”
While first and foremost a comedy, Better Off Ted is also a sharp edged exploration of workplace ethics. Specifically, how employees cope with working in an environment where production is valued above all else, and they are little more than numbers. For instance, in an episode titled, “Racial Sensitivity” Ted discovers a glitch in the company’s state-of-the-art sensor system, when Lem (an African American), finds that doors no longer open when he tries to walk through them, lights won’t turn on when he enters the lab, the water fountain won’t produce water, etc. When told about the issue, Veronica and the other bosses assure Lem and the other African American employees they are working on it; “In the meantime they’d like everyone to celebrate the fact that it sees Hispanics, Asians, Pacific Islanders, and Jews.” Suffice to say, Veridian doesn’t handle the situation with one ounce of concern for political correctness.
Integrated into each episode are a series of commercials for Veridian that are hysterical in and of themselves. After just thirteen episodes, I’m not sure I would could call Better Off Ted the next Arrested Development, but the series caustic wit and obvious chemistry between the cast is very reminiscent of that short lived gem. Few shows have offered such a fresh perspective on the well worn office premise—having so many divergent personalities, the mostly level headed Ted, the by the book boss, Veronica, the nerdy, genius lab rats Lem and Phil, and the outspoken Linda just lends itself to comedic situations. The first season only had thirteen episodes, so I can’t wait to see what a full slate of episodes will bring. If you haven’t had a chance to watch Better Off Ted yet, give it a try when season two premieres next week; nearly everyone whose ever had a job will likely relate to it in some way.
Better Off Ted is presented in 1.78:1 aspect ratio. This is a new show, so the DVD transfer is fairly decent. Colors are strong when present, and blacks and whites are nicely contrasted. I didn’t notice any digital anomalies, dust or grime on the picture.
The audio is presented in English 5.1 Dolby Digital, and Spanish Dolby Surround. Better Off Ted is a completely dialogue driven show, and the supplied soundtrack does its job admirably; viewers should have no complaints. Subtitles are provided in English and Portuguese.
Unfortunately, this two-DVD set contains no special features.
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