“Better off Ted” is a hard comedy to define; half satire and half heart, its cast of characters feels both real and totally cartoonish. Led by titular every–man Ted (Jay Harrington), an executive at the research and development department of Veridian Dynamics, the workplace comedy chronicles a team that develops calamitous products, such as killer pandas and weaponized pumpkins. The jokes fly quickly, particularly from Ted’s boss Veronica (Portia de Rossi), and characters soon depart from the stereotypes they embodied at the show’s commencement.
The show’s satire is never stronger than during the mid–episode Veridian Dynamics ads that play. Typically the funniest part of each episode, these ads would give a marketing student a heart attack, as they push the subtlety of corporate advertising to the absurdly obvious. Needless to say, you will never look at an Apple commercial the same way again.
The show’s heart surprisingly manifests itself through the dark satire of the corporate world. Beginning with Ted’s frank yet adorable daughter Rose (Isabella Acres), we see the humanity in each of these characters; this subsequently strengthens the satire, particularly in Veronica’s case. In a less capable actress’s hands, the character would be shrew and off–putting, but we see bits of the lovable creature beneath thanks to some of de Rossi’s brilliant work.
The show deals with some very real ideas, which is one reason why it’s such a gem. It touches on important issues like race and gender in the workplace (in the deservedly lauded “Racial Sensitivity”), appropriate workplace behavior (“The Impertence of Communicationizing”) and how far is too far to go to support one’s company. In the end, “Better Off Ted” should be on every sitcom or comedy fan’s list.
Best for: "Arrested Development" withdrawal. Worst for: Getting pumped for OCR.
