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Was the script written by a caveman too? |
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Written by Aaron Barnhart, MCT
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Monday, 01 October 2007 |
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"CAVEMAN"
8 p.m. Tuesday, ABC
First of all, the good news for all Kansas City: John Lehr is not attached to this show.
Lehr, who's from here, was the first actor to appear in a Geico ad layered up in prostheses and hair, pioneering the role of the modern day Cro-Magnon. It was his job to bear the cross for all us schlubs who struggle to obtain competitive quotes on car insurance.
But even though Lehr helped set in motion the chain of events by which a 30-second TV commercial was turned into this 30-minute sitcom, he had a prior commitment (his TBS comedy "10 Items or Less," returning midseason). And thus did he dodge what may well be, for all involved, a career-killing bullet.
(In fairness to the producers of "Caveman," as of this writing they were still working on the first episode, which had been recast and reshot over the summer. That left TV critics with little choice but to review the pilot that was filmed last spring, which obviously will not air. It's also true that ABC was able to successfully retool "Brothers & Sisters" from a creaky pilot into an Emmy winner. But I feel confident in saying that that the concept behind "Caveman" is beyond repair.)
I just don't see how this got off the drawing board. The central joke of "Cavemen" is that Cro-Magnons have become part of our society, but their biological differences have relegated them to a sort of cultural sideshow, so that non-cavemen can comment on their strange looks, strange habits, even their sexual habits, seemingly with impunity.
Here's the stupid part: The show's writers and producers deny that this is in any way an allegory for racism. Of course it's an allegory for racism. Even if "Cavemen" were brilliantly executed, it would still rely on the residual memory of an earlier, uglier time in American history. Kevin Willmott knew that when he crafted fake Confederate TV ads for his "C.S.A." mockumentary, and the subtext is here, too, even if everyone involved denies it.
Leaving that aside, it's a one-joke sitcom that I've already written too much about.
"CARPOOLERS"
8:30 p.m. Tuesday, ABC
The good news about this show is that ABC can double-run episodes of "Carpoolers" to fill the hole in the schedule that's left after "Cavemen" is driven off the air by low ratings and a grass-roots protest of outraged viewers led by Jesse Jackson and, who knows, maybe the Bill O'Reilly fan club.
Not that "Carpoolers," a show about four guys who share a ride to work every day, is going to steal the Emmy from "30 Rock" next year. From what I can tell, it's going to be the same show every show.
Four guys ride to work, sing some hilariously lame song from my teenage years together, then, inevitably, stick their noses into each other's predictably bizarre home lives.
Yet even though this comedy wears its seat belt and keeps under the speed limit, it's miles funnier than anything Jim Belushi ever starred in.
Yes, I kind of like "Carpoolers," and in this age of the beleaguered sitcom, that's high praise. | Only registered users can write comments.
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