Under-Rated TV Shows
American sitcoms are used to plug the gaps when summer rolls around and all our home grown actors are on holidays. While most of imported show are forgettable, every once in a while you get some absolute gems, which makes it all the more frustrating that they’re usually not recognised and are in time slots competing with Danoz ads.
The Office (US version) – The original British version of this show saw funnyman Ricky Gervais produce one of the most cringe worthy, yet realistic, bosses of all time – David Brent. Anyone who has worked in an office environment knows or knows of a middle management type who fits the Brent mould. It easily became a cult hit and thus the yanks attempted to cash in.
However, having such massive shoes to fill, the first few episodes were absolute disasters. Despite having the passable Steve Carell as the Brent character, they tried to carbon copy the British version joke for joke, which failed miserably as the Americans fail to grasp the irony and subtlety of the Brits. Fans of the original snubbed their noses at the US version and wrote it off as rubbish.
Thankfully, midway through the first season they decided to leave the British version and derive their own storylines. Things started to get better. I wouldn’t call it an instant success, but with Americans writing about what they’re good at, the show’s quality definitely improved.
The developing relationship between Jim and Pam (Tim and Dawn of the original) is more engaging than its respective arch in the British version, Carell is sometimes (believe it or not) more Brent than Brent, and the background characters all contribute in ways to make watching The Office feel like you’re actually in a real office.
Get Brent and the original out of your head for a bit, give the US version and go, and you won’t be disappointed.
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia – The title sounds nice and sweet, but believe me it’s not. The comedy revolves around four twenty something’s who own a crappy Irish bar. They are your typical losers in life, bereft of decency, morals, money or ambition. Episodes involve them acting disabled to get disability pension, one bloke pretending to have cancer so the others will buy him a prostitute as a parting gift, and going to abortion rallies because women there are easy. To boot, Danny DeVito joined the cast from the second season as the equally morally corrupt father, ensuing further chaos to be had.
While it’s definitely not for kids, if you enjoy dark humour with no boundaries for politically correctness, then it’s surely a goer.
Arrested Development – This is an award winning show which got too smart for itself. In its prime, it won six Emmy’s, a Golden Globe, and was voted by Time Magazine as one of the 100 Greatest Shows of All Time. However, in 2006 it was pulled after three seasons because its comedy was simply too subtle and the majority of the American viewing public missed the point. The many layers in its comedy were drawn primarily from pop culture, and much of the individual actors’ pass works.
Centred around the dysfunctional Bluth family, the story involved main character Michael (Jason Bateman) trying to keep his family together after the family business goes bust. As the show progressed, the story arches became crazier (while never jumping the shark), which added to the appeal of the show.
Brilliant individual performances by the actors also made AD such a memorable show. Besides Bateman, who plays the only sane one in the family, Will Arnett’s portrayal of Gob the unemployed magician and Dave Cross’s performances as Tobias Funke, an analyst and therapist who wishes to combine the two jobs to become the world’s first analrapist, were also master class.
This show was simply too good for its time. RIP Arrested Development.
