DVR Cleaning: Kath & Kim series premiere, Testees series premiere, and something actually funny for a change!
By fred | October 12, 2008
A quick review of a couple of new series that I didn’t get to review during the week. Trying to get another hit the only way they seem to know, through remakes, and willing to redo what happened with The Office, NBC had the series premiere of an Australian-based series, Kath & Kim.
And this week had another new comedy on the air, but from FX this time. Coming from a writer of South Park was Testees, about a couple of young guys who accept to be guinea pigs and test all kinds of pills to pay the bills.
And because none of those two new shows were actually any good/funny, I’ll end with one really hilarious new series you don’t want to miss on.
Kath & Kim: Love [series premiere]
(S01E01) It did well in the ratings, but I’m guessing/hoping that was only the curiosity effect at play. It could look at first like this is a perfect fit to come after My Name Is Earl, as both show stars characters that are not so bright, to say the least. But there are actually two enormous differences between those two shows. The first one being that on Earl, characters might be stupid but you can tell that the writers have some affection for them, whether it is the always nice and friendly Randy or the mean and brutal Joy, writers & audience do like those people.
On Kath and Kim, not so much. They’re just stupid and that’s it, writers are going with the idea that being stupid if funny, but there’s nothing else here. Sometimes Michael Scott can be incredibly dumb, but it’s never just mean or gratuitous. On Kath and Kim, it is. Characters are dumb, mean, and their irritating behavior comes down from their stupidity, but it is gratuitous, just to try to get laughs.
Which brings us to the second difference : it’s not funny. There’s nothing funny in having Britney Spears or Melanie Griffith as role model, or to not even know their actual names. This show was awful, it actually got painful to watch, and again I can’t see how or why anyone would care for such despicable characters.
Testees: Pilot [series premiere]
(S01E01) This new show got my attention because it came to us from a writer of South Park, which was a pretty good sign of things to come. Unfortunately, we’re nowhere near the level of awesomeness or even humor of the Comedy Central hit. South Park has never been afraid to go in dark territory, they’ve had poo as characters and devoted full episodes to Mr Hankey after all.
But South Park still manages to be hilarious, and Testees was barely funny. There’s all the jokes you’d expect to find in such a show, there are balls, enormous penis, gigantic farting, man lactating, anal probing, all of that and more. Sadly, while it often gets gross, it’s rarely funny. When the show is supposed to be funny, and halfway through you’re wondering when this is finally going to end because it feels like you’ve been enduring this thing for an hour now, that’s never a good sign.
I don’t doubt than groups of college guys, stoned and/or drunk, will watch this and laugh their asses off the entire time, but if you’re sober you’ll probably realize that it’s all predicable, and just not funny.
The Live & Times Of Tim
So far it sounded like the bad sitcom edition, and I didn’t even mention (and won’t) Gary Unmarried, which really isn’t that good and not going up, and the insulting Worst Week (still on the air for some unexplainable reason), so I thought I shall end with something actually good, and you know, funny.
And this new animated series is all that, it’s really good, and it’s absolutely hilarious. I think I’m a fan of this show already. Tim is a nice guy, too nice quite often, he’s just trying to help people and be nice to everyone, and often it just backfires on him and puts him in uncomfortable situations. Each week on Sundays at 11.00 there are two episodes put together, and if you’re not watching this show you really have to.
Posted in Reviews
Shows: Kath & Kim, Testees, The Life And Times Of Tim
