Better Off (watching) Ted, and others

Warning! Extreme understatement alert! Please equip all protective gear necessary to avoid any and all harm that may result from reading the following extremely broad and obvious observation:

There are a lot of shows on TV.

Everyone still alive? Good. Sometimes, to make a point, you have start out with as broad a statement as possible. So bear with me.

There are a lot of shows on TV. So many that countless quality programs fly under the radar of more casual viewers. Even with the advent of DVRs and other timeshifting devices, there simply isn't enough time to watch everything on TV. In order to maximize their viewing utility, TV watchers must be vigilant in selecting the shows they choose to watch. With such difficult decisions to be made, the smallest slip-up can cause a show to sink into obscurity, be it a rough start, poor marketing, an unknown cast, or any number of other stumbling blocks. Accordingly, there are a number of entertaining shows that simply don't receive the viewership they deserve. That's where I come in.

The following three shows are not the best shows on television. They are also not my personal favorite shows on TV. In fact, the following shows are all fairly flawed in their own right. But don't be discouraged: they are simply three programs that I don't think you are watching, but should be. So, without further ado, the list begins... 

1. Better Off Ted

Better Off Ted, ABC's quirky take on life in the corporate office of a gigantic fictional conglomerate ("Veridian Dynamics," not to be confused with Fringe's evil conglomerate "Massive Dynamic"), is perhaps the best example of a show that has fallen victim to the first pitfall mentioned above: a poor start. The first season was met with middling reviews (Metacritic average of 68). Viewers quickly lost interest, and viewership dropped below 2 million towards the end of the season. Unfortunately, I cannot grace you with my opinion of season one. My first experience with Better Off Ted was via Hulu.com, through which I caught the last three episodes of the first season. I'll be honest; after this small taste, I was not sold.

I am happy to report, however, that the second season is a substantial improvement over what I saw of the first (the critics agree: Metacritic average of 84), and Better Off Ted is now one of the most quotable shows in my DVR repertoire (along with 30 Rock and The Big Bang Theory). The situations are always unbelievably absurd; for example, in one episode, Veridian embarks on an office match-making program in order to secure the best offspring for the next generation of employees. But it is the dialogue that really steals the show, especially that of R+D scientists Lem and Phil. Due to their inherently innocent and reserved nature, this delightfully geeky duo often find themselves the primary victims of the company's many attempts to alter the work environment and increase productivity, with hilarious results. In episode 8 of Season 2 ("The Impertence of Communication"), a typo in a company memo instructs employees that they must "now (instead of not) use offensive language," forcing Lem and Phil to devise a scientific formula for constructing insults. The results speak for themselves:

Phil: Give a man an insult, he can hurt people for a day. Teach a man to insult, he can hurt people who tease him because he never learned to fish. Anyway, I've devised a formula.
Lem: Look at that. You had a problem in your life and who stepped up to help you? Math. She has always been there for you, hasn't she, Phil?
Phil: If she ever took physical form, I'd leave my wife and marry her.
Lem: Stand in line, my friend.

And later...

Phil: Your eyes look like two beady rabbit pellets on the face of a monkey-licking pus-bomb.

Lem: You've just been Phil-abusted.

Phil: Nice!

Lem: That's it--fill up your canker-blossomed hole, you ale-soused apple-john. That was the Elizabethan model.

Phil: Ye have been served.

The other characters are no slouches, though none really reach the same comedic level as Lem and Phil. For example, Portia de Rossi's Veronica Palmer, the cold-hearted executive everyone loves to hate, has her moments, though in my opinion, her lines can be kind of hit-or-miss. Regardless, Better Off Ted is a show worth checking out. While the office satire is never really biting, the show is consistently funny without pulling its punches.

[Unfortunately, the future of Better Off Ted is still in question, as it has yet to be renewed for a third season. Also, I'm pretty sure the second season just ended. I suggest checking out Hulu.com for the most recent episodes.]

2. Human Target

Please note that this show literally just started. As such, it is difficult to really judge whether you are or aren't watching. However, if you haven't picked up on this little gem yet, let's make one thing clear: Human Target is one of the most fun and carefree hours of television to be found on any channel.

Adapted from a DC Comic with the same title, Human Target follows the exploits of professional bodyguard and security expert Christopher Chance (Mark Valley), his business partner Winston (Chi McBride), and freelance hacker Guerrero (the always awesome Jackie Earle Haley). But the similarities don't end with the names. Human Target has all the trappings of some of the better comic book movies of recent history: storied characters, highly choreographed fight scenes, and genuine comedy.

At first glance, Chance seems like a cookie-cutter action protagonist. Two-parts James Bond, one-part Jack Bauer, Chance quickly proves to be a jack-of-all-awesome-trades, demonstrating his ability to speak fluent Japanese, negotiate tense hostage situations, and kick serious ass, all before the end of the pilot episode. With such a broad action-hero skill set, it would be easy for Chance to become a shallow, one-note character. Fortunately, this is not the case. Throughout the first four episodes, we slowly begin to learn that Chance's past (specifically, how he acquired is skills and got into the business in the first place) is covered in shadows. It seems he has more than a few skeletons in his closet, and as demonstrated in Guerrero's side-story in Episode 4, some of these skeletons may be coming back to bite him in the ass. This gives the character some much needed emotional depth, and gives the show legs beyond a patchwork of fast paced action scenes and confident quips.

But don't let me lead you astray; this show is all about the action. And not the 24-esque staged-gunfight-where-only-the-bad-guy-gets-shot kind of action. The fight scenes in Human Target are much more akin to the Daniel Craig-era bond movies: hard-hitting, gritty, and highly choreographed. They are simply blast to watch. Also, thanks to the interactions between Chance and his support team, there is a substantial amount of genuine humor.

This show is not without its flaws, however, and depending on who you are, some may be harder to overlook than others. First, this show is ridden with action movie cliches. For example, in the most recent episode, Winston actually has to decide between cutting the red wire or the blue wire while trying to disarm a bomb. Of course, he makes the right decision, and of course, the timer stops with exactly one second remaining (would anyone really wait till the last second to make that decision? Wouldn't you want some sort of cushion?). Second, some of stunts are truly absurd. Whether he is parachuting out of a bullet train, flying a commercial airplane upside down, crashing his motorcylce into oncoming traffic on purpose, or sliding down a cable and crashing into a suspended gondola, Chance just seems a little bit more than human (perhaps superhuman). In short, to really enjoy this show, you have to suspend your mental reality for a bit and just accept the show for what it is. And this can all be done with one simple realization: its a comic book! As long as you keep that in mind, then jump on board with Human Target. You wont be disappointed.

[Human Target airs on Wednesday at 8pm on FOX. Back episodes are available on Hulu: http://www.hulu.com/human-target].

3. Accidentally on Purpose

I can already hear the giggles in the audience. For some reason, this show seems to have gotten a reputation as a "chick show." Perhaps its because it has a female main character. Perhaps its because the central conflict of the show is an accidental pregnancy. Regardless, as someone who is not afraid of admitting I watch Project Runway every week, I have no qualms with confidently stating the following: yes, I watch Accidentally on Purpose. No, it's not just for women. And yes, it definitely deserves a spot on this list.

Accidentally on Purpose follows the budding romance between two accidental co-parents, the middle-aged Billie (sitcom veteran Jenna Elfman) and twenty-something Zack (newcomer Jon Foster). While both are entirely serviceable as leads (particularly the energetic Elfman), this show would not survive without the support of Billie's sister Abby (Lennon Parham) and Zack's stoner buddy Davis (Nicholas Wright). The counterpoint between Billie's free-spirit and Abby's nerves is a consistently funny juxtaposition, and Davis is delightful as the idiotic punch-line character.

For those of you who may be apprehensive about the pregnancy story-line, fear not. Accidentally on Purpose does its best Knocked Up impression, and largely, it succeeds. The similarities are so apparent its almost plagiarism: successful business woman meets screw-up guy, and in one drunken lustful episode, become eternally bound through child conception. After the woman decides to keep the child, the story tracks the developing relationship between the couple, who try to "make it work" and adapt to eachother's foreign lifestyle, and eventually find love regardless of their differences. It worked hilariously in Knocked Up, and Accidentally on Purpose finds similar success.

While the interactions between Billie and Zack are often humorous, it is when we catch glimpses of Zack's previous lifestyle that the show becomes thoroughly enjoyable. For example, in the most recent episode, the audience watches as Zack and Davis play "blow the pencil across the table." Later, Davis and his roommate Ryan are playing the Jackass-inspired game "Nut Ball" (look it up). In a previous episode, Zack and Davis have fun with a giant cardboard box the baby's crib came in. This childish gallivanting creates more than enough entertainment for all viewers, and enough relatability to keep similarly-aged men from being turned off by the pregnancy-packed storyline.

The weak point of the show comes in the form of the third-tier characters. While Billie, Abby, Zack, and Davis are all very enjoyable and well-acted, Billie's coworker Olivia (a Scottish booze-hound), and Davis's roommate Ryan (who magically disappears from a number of episodes) are complete throwaways. First, Olivia just seems like an attempt by the writing squad to come up with an unconventional character to provide a few punchlines. The end result is a poorly-acted mess of a character who is neither funny enough nor attractive enough to warrant any screen time. And why is she Scottish? Does that make her funnier, like some sort of Groundskeeper Willy-like wench? No sir, I don't like it. Second, Ryan might as well be invisible. The character is essentially a non-character, and when he takes a more prominent role in the story (as he does in the most recent episode), the chemistry between the other characters suffers.

Regardless, Accidentally on Purpose is definitely worth a look, especially if you are a fan of CBS's other Monday night sitcoms. [Accidentally on Purpose airs on Mondays at 8:30pm of CBS. Back episodes can be found on CBS.com: http://www.cbs.com/primetime/accidentally_on_purpose/].