"BETTER OFF TED: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON"
DVD Review
by Kevin Carr
| MOVIE: **** (out of 5 stars)
DVD EXPERIENCE: * (out of 5 stars) STARRING Jay Harrington as TED Portia de Rossi as VERONICA Andrea Anders as LINDA Jonathan Slavin as PHIL Malcolm Barrett as LEM Isabella Acres as ROSE Not Rated Studio: 20th Century Fox Back to DVD Review Home |  |
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
The new hit sit com on ABC is “Better Off Ted,” a story about the crazy happenings that go on in the research and development department of the global corporation known as Veridian Dynamics. Ted Crisp (Jay Harrington) is the head of R&D, and he struggles to keep a balance between the unethical practices of his vice president Veronica (Portia de Rossi), the sexual chemistry and do-good nature of the new analyst Linda (Andrea Anders) and the anti-social yet genius behavior of his top scientists.
WHAT I LIKED
I’ve always been a fan of off-kilter television shows, the kind that exist in a hyper reality but seem strangely comfortable. Up until its ninth season, “Scrubs” embodied this, which makes it a perfect lead-in on the ABC schedule to “Better Off Ted.”
This is easily one of the funniest shows of the new season last year, and now that it’s available on DVD, you can enjoy the complete first season without commercial interruptions. That seems like a no-brainer to point out, but what makes these episodes have even more charm are the faux public service announcements from Veridian Dynamics during the commercial breaks. On the DVD, there’s no fear of skipping through them and not realizing they’re not an actual commercial.
The key to “Better Off Ted” isn’t just the writing, but it’s also the cast. Jay Harrington, who has played mediocre characters on shows like “Desperate Housewives” and “Private Practice,” falls neatly into the character of Ted Crisp. He’s not just a good looking guy, but he also has a very human side, often demonstrated by his affection for his daughter on the show.
Portia de Rossi is a great foil for Ted with her woefully politically incorrect nature and amoral cutthroat attitude. Andrea Anders is both adorable and hilarious as Ted’s would-be love interest. It’s nice to see Anders get a role that she can really work with. But no praise of the cast would be complete without the one-two punch of Lem and Phil (Malcolm Barrett and Jonathan Slavin) as the geeky yet sympathetic scientists who always end up taking the brunt of the problems of V.D. (that would be the name of the company, not the embarrassing medical condition, of course).
What I like best about this show is that it doesn’t try to change the world. It doesn’t preach to us. It just tries to make people laugh, offering up very little judgement outside the realm of common sense.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
I really have no beef with this show. Honestly, it’s one of the few shows that I eagerly watch on the DVR as soon as it’s done recording.
DVD FEATURES
Sadly, this two-disc set comes with no special features whatsoever, and that’s a shame because they could have at least given us a sizzle reel of all the V.D. spots.
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
Fans of quirky one-camera sit coms.
