In Praise Of Ted

In a better world, "Better Off Ted" would be a long-running, Emmy winning big hit comedy. Its cast members, including Jay Harrington, Portia de Rossi, and Andrea Anders, would be household names, hosting SNL and presenting at the Emmys and the Golden Globes.

Instead, there are 26 episodes, 12 of which are available on DVD (according to Wikipedia). All 26 episodes are available for streaming from NetFlix.

My family and I discovered Better Off Ted in the summer of 2010, not long after it was cancelled, and just before NetFlix made season 2 available. In fact, while we were watching season 2, we discovered, or so we thought, that the show had been renewed for a third season. Much to our dismay, we learned a few weeks later that the renewal referred to was more than a year old, and was the renewal for the second season. This lent a distinctly bittersweet tone to our enjoyment of the last few episodes.

So what's so great about Better Off Ted, anyway?

Just the setting, the writing, the casting, and the acting. That's all.

The setting: this is an office comedy. Ted Crisp, the title character, is the senior VP of Research and Development at Veridian Dynamics, a large, amoral company that, among other things, weaponizes pumpkins, creates killer robots, and rigs presidential elections. Ted is also a single parent, and much of the show hinges on Ted's attempts to navigate the moral dilemmas posed by his employer, while trying to be a responsible parent and teach his daughter how to make choices in the world. Overall, the show is a razor sharp satire of life in a large corporation. If you've worked for a large corporation you will likely see a lot here that is both familiar and extremely funny. In one episode, for instance, Ted's ID badge has his name misspelled as "Chips" instead of "Crisp" and when he tries to get it fixed, HR insists that the computer doesn't make mistakes, so he must be Ted Chips. When he insists he's not, HR deletes his record from the computer. Now he can't do his job, because his ID won't let him into the labs that he manages. Hilarity ensues. Anyone who's ever dealt with an ID badge access system should recognize Ted's dilemma.


The writing reminds me of another favorite show, 30 Rock, in that it's smart, quick, and funny. Nearly every line of dialog contains a zinger and it's easy to miss them if your attention flags (it won't) or if an earlier line makes you laugh out loud (you will). One side benefit of this is that it provides a good excuse to go back and rewatch episodes you've already seen -- nearly always, doing this will reveal some gem that you missed the first time.

The Wikipedia entry on Better Off Ted claims that the casting was kind of rushed, but it doesn't show. Jay Harrington as Ted conveys the perfect mix of company loyalty, naivete, and the constant struggle to provide a moral role model for his daughter. The other principals (de Rossi as Ted's boss, Veronica; Anders as love interest and product tester Linda Zwordling, Jonathan Slavin as Dr Phil Myman and Malcolm Barrett as Phil's lab partner, Dr. Lem Hewitt) are similarly perfect in their roles. As show creator Victor Fresco says, "It's all about casting and I think we got really lucky in all five of these regulars."

If you're a fan of 30 Rock or The Office, check out Better Off Ted. I think you'll be glad you did. Me, I'm gonna go upstairs and start watching season one again.