CBS has no idea of what is funny…
By fred | February 22, 2008
Clearly, they don’t. And I have to say I’m a little pissed right now, because I just read about the latest project CBS invested in.
Following the path opened by NBC during the strike, when they announced that they would air Quarterlife, The Eye recently handed out a script commitment to a new sitcom project, which will be an adaptation of a “web series” called We Need Girlfriends.
I’m not sure why they did, really, because it’s really not funny. And that’s a real problem, you know, for a sitcom. But you’ll be able to see & judge for yourself, there’s a video included.
I just don’t see what attracted CBS to this project. It seems that they didn’t want to let NBC alone, they thought that coming from the Internet must mean it’s something new, exciting, and good. But it’s not, not necessary. And no, the simple fact that characters on the show reference YouTube or talk about their MySpace pages doesn’t mean the show is cool, or will talk to a younger audience.
You still need something (more) to attract an audience, and for a sitcom you need to do something that’s terribly lacking here : generate laughs.
We Need Girlfriends, the original web series, has a very strong amateurish feeling to it. The acting is not really good, neither the direction, but that may not matter : once took into the hands of CBS, there will be a much better production going on, they’ll use actor who can really act, use real sets and people who know how to direct. But the most important remains the writing.
Usually if a network would turn to such a little shows, it will be because there’s a great idea, a freshness, a new energy, and/or because it’s just freaking hilarious. But there’s none of that here, the writing sucks. It’s nothing new, a succession of clichés on after the other, never once do you laugh, I can’t see why CBS would be interested in such a thing.
Unless it’s a new trend for the network : unfunny sitcoms.
Because I can see this new project easily turning into a new Welcome To The Captain. Welcome To The Captain is a new sitcom on CBS, and it’s not funny. You start watching an episode, and within the first minute you can see what is going to happen and how, and the 20 minutes that follow are nothing but exactly what you were expecting. There’s no surprise, it follows that cliché plan to the letter, and not once does it make you laugh.
And I can’t tell enough how freaking pissed I am to see CBS investing in such crap, here with the help of Sex And The City creator Darren Star who will be executive producer on the adaptation of We Need Girlfriends, written by the original web series creator, while they have yet to renew one of the greatest and funniest sitcom out there : How I Met Your Mother.
I have no doubt they will eventually renew How I Met Your Mother for another season, but clearly there’s a lack of lock and confidence in that show, despite it being not only hilarious but having a very new, innovative and unique voice and tone.
But maybe I’m wrong, and maybe you’ll watch that video and actually think it’s pretty funny. But if you do, you obviously are either lying, or have no clue what funny is. In the later case, it’s means you could be CBS material. So, are you ?
Posted in News
Shows: How I Met Your Mother, We Need Girlfriends, Welcome To The Captain
