Better off Ted Season 2 Premiere Preview (Tuesday, December 8, 2009 at 9:30pm ET/PT on ABC)

Saturday, December 05, 2009

Better off Ted Season 2 Premiere Preview (Tuesday, December 8, 2009 at 9:30pm ET/PT on ABC)

We interrupt our weekly blog DVD review for a special preview of the Better off Ted season premiere! We apologize for preempting our weekly blog DVD review, but we didn't have anything to review (very slow month for DVDs it seems!). But of course that doesn't mean we will take the day off! Oh no sirree, we have a preview of this Tuesday's (Dec. 8) Better off Ted season premiere on ABC with guest star Taye Diggs (Private Practice), along with the second episode airing this season on Dec. 15.

I had the pleasure to watch the first two episodes of the upcoming season of this hilarious and smart comedy. On the season premiere, "Love Blurts" (airing Tuesday, Dec. 8 at 9:30pm ET/PT on ABC), Veridian Dynamics tries matchmaking employees based on their genetic compatibility in hopes of saving on health insurance bills from imperfectly bred children. Ted and Linda balk at this until they meet their supposed matches -- Greg (special guest star Taye Diggs) for Linda and Danielle (guest star Virginia Williams) for Ted -- and are instantly attracted despite themselves. Meanwhile, after Veronica finds out Lem is her perfect genetic match, she hounds him to make a donation to a sperm bank.
My thoughts of the episode: This is actually the sixth episode produced for the second season but they are using it as their season premiere, because it is HILARIOUS! It has the same vibe from some of the hilarious episodes of last season, with lots of wacky and funny situations that just make this show one of the funniest sitcoms on TV currently! On this episode, the whole idea that a company would match up their employees romantically to save on health insurance bills is genius! President Obama should think of that! Linda and Ted agree they won't go on the fixed dates that Veridian has assigned them, but Ted for some reason agreed...and Linda turned hers down, but when Ted tells her he agreed to his, Linda went back and agreed to hers. Taye Diggs guest stars as Linda's date Greg. And the subplots of Lem having to donate his sperm to Veronica is hilarious, as is finding out the reason why the company wants to give a vasectomy to Phil so he doesn't have any children. He even researches his family tree (Mymen Family Tree) on Wikipedia to see if his family has had any abnormalities! So will Veridian succeed in this new system? You'll have to tune in, wheeeeeeeeeeee! You'll get why I said wheeeeeeeee when you watch the season premiere.

On the second episode of the season, "The Lawyer, The Lemur and The Little Listener" (airing Tuesday, Dec. 15 at 9:30pm ET/PT on ABC), when a wave of layoff hits Veridian and little Rose (Ted's daughter) seems to have inside info because of a friend in her Hive playgroup at Veridian, Veronica tries to pump her for information, much to Ted's disapproval. Meanwhile, Linda is elated to sell her first children's book -- until someone points out that her lead character, a lemur, is the spitting image of Phil -- and Lem starts a passionate affair with one of the company lawyers (guest star Chelsey Crisp), only to find out that his paycheck is being docked for the "billable hours" he's spending with his new girlfriend.
My thoughts of the episode: This is actually the fourth episode produced for the second season but they are using it as their second episode of the season. This episode is not as good as the season premiere, but it still has the feel of Better off Ted with its wacky, peculiar, and smart ways of getting viewers to laugh. First off, Lem is having a relationship with Nadine, a company lawyer...but later finds out whenever he sees her, he is being charged for his services despite nothing legal related! And the subplot of Ted and Veronica having Ted's little daughter find out key information about their employees from their kids is hilarious! And Linda is writing a children's book, and the main character looks like...Phil! She finds out she can't do anything with the book, because the company would get the profit. My this company is crazy! They even have an extraction team when a person is let go to personally come and get them out of the office and clear their office! Only at Veridian Dynamics!

Tune in to the all-new season starting this Tuesday at 9:30/8:30 central on ABC!

And here's our full DVD review of Better off Ted: The Complete First Season. Buy your copy today!

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Friday, July 3

The Dick Van Dyke Show - Now in Living Color! - (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
CBS will honor the memory of legendary actor, producer, director, writer, comedian and Emmy Award winner Carl Reiner with THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW – NOW IN LIVING COLOR! A SPECIAL TRIBUTE TO CARL REINER, featuring two colorized back-to-back classic episodes of the beloved 1960s series, Friday, July 3 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. As series creator and co-star, Carl Reiner personally supervised the original colorization of the episodes.

The special features “Coast to Coast Big Mouth,” which ranked #8 on TV Guide’s list of the “100 Greatest TV Episodes of All-Time,” and “October Eve,” which Mr. Reiner considered to be one of the series’ funniest episodes. Both were written by Bill Persky and Sam Denoff.

In “Coast to Coast Big Mouth,” Laura Petrie blurts out a top secret on a national television quiz show, revealing that comedian Alan Brady wears a toupee. The episode, which was the show’s fifth and final season premiere, was originally broadcast on Sept. 15, 1965. “Coast to Coast Big Mouth” won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series in 1966.

In “October Eve,” a painting of Laura returns to haunt her when, despite her having posed fully clothed, the artist (played by Carl Reiner) takes the liberty of “undraping” her. The episode was first presented on April 8, 1964, during season three.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of June 29)

Friday, July 3

Kevin Hart (The Big House/Undeclared) - Watch Kevin on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 12:35am on ABC.
Tina Fey (30 Rock) - Tina appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Laura Dern (Enlightened) - Laura is a guest on a repeat of The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Mark Duplass (Togetherness/The Mindy Project/The League) - Mark appears on a repeat of The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Melissa McCarthy (Mike & Molly/Samantha Who?) - Melissa guest hosts a repeat of The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Brett Gelman (Camping/Fleabag/Love/Married/Go On) - Brett appears on a repeat of A Little Late with Lilly Singh at 1:35am on NBC.
Tika Sumpter (mixed-ish/The Game) - Tika talks about the season finale of mixed-ish and her latest project helping new moms on a repeat of Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
Peter Gallagher (Grace and Frankie/The Secret Lives of Men) - Peter talks about Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist and Grace and Frankie on a repeat of Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.