“Better Off Ted”

“Better Off Ted,” ABC’s new comedy is better off dead.

The teasers for the show promised a humorous depiction of a totally unprofessional workplace. In reality, the 30-minute show is not funny at all. Unfortunately for the network, there is already a show made about that. It’s called “The Office.”

The show centers around a company called Veridian Dynamics. At Veridian, researchers work to come up with the most useless inventions, including a pumpkin that can be used for warfare, beef created in a lab and a computer mouse that can still work in extremely hot temperatures.

Jay Harrington (Summerland) stars as Ted, head of research and development of the company.

There have been two episodes thus far in the series, and neither provided much amusement. The constant, one of few, funny events that occurred on involves one of the researchers randomly screeching after an attempt to freeze his body for an entire year was foiled. Sadly, this joke gets real old real fast.

The “humor” comes quickly and doesn’t linger. Besides the fact that the joke was not even funny in the first place, chances are that you will not be able to figure out the point. The two episodes feel as if they were on fast forward with no explanation of any of the events that occurred.

There are very few in-office jokes, as most come from the failed inventions. A current problem that provides a mediocre amount of humor is the failed development of a cyborg. It’s supposed to be used in war, but it currently cannot tell the difference between a child and a soldier. Lucky enough for the company, their lab-grown beef was a success.

So, a note to ABC and the series’ creator: this idea has been done before in a much better manner. Either make your comedy actually funny or take this misleading show off the air.

“Better Off Ted” can be viewed on ABC Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m.