Underrated. Hilarious. Cancelled?

I’m going to tell you about a show you probably haven’t heard of, but this show is definitely worth watching.  It’s about an evil corporation with quirky characters, clever writing, and wacky situations that don’t go over the top just for the sake of it. It doesn’t have a laugh track or high production values (most of the show takes place on the same floor of the same office building), or for that matter, anyone singing its praises. This show is called Better Off Ted, and it has been cancelled after two seasons.

It can be difficult to understand why some shows get cancelled while others remain on the air interminably. When the lasting shows are particularly low-brow and the shows that don’t are particularly clever and interesting, it becomes even more confusing.  How could Two and a Half Men be going on eight seasons in the same universe that the brilliant Firefly only lasted one? (Yes that’s two “Two and a Half Men” shots in the space of two posts. I don’t think there’s a bigger disconnect between quality and popularity in the history of the world than this show. But I digress) How is it possible that there are two dozen crime dramas on television as you’re reading this right now, and at the same time, I can count the number of science fiction television shows ever on both hands?

Granted, some of this confusion can be chalked up to my own personal predilections; invariably I prefer science fiction in nearly any form over a series of gruff characters solving grisly murders through the interrogation of another series of gruff characters. I have had to come to grips with the fact that very few people share my admittedly eclectic tastes in entertainment, though this is particularly disheartening in such a ratings driven medium as television. In this industry, where dozens of shows are created and cancelled every year, of course good ones will fall through the cracks and will never have the chance to catch on. It probably doesn’t help that people like me don’t watch TV on TV – most of the television I consume comes from a combination of Hulu and Netflix.

However, even in light of all this, I still find it hard to believe that Better Off Ted wasn’t able to find an audience in the span of two full seasons. I realize comedies are even more subjective than most other media, but the characters are universally endearing and quirky, there is a good balance of sophisticated humor (poking fun at corporate culture), to random ridiculousness (one character used to work in the cheese mines of Wisconsin before throwing down her cheese shovel and leaving in a huff), slapstick, and their perfectly done fake commercials (“People lie. Companies protect their interests. There’s a difference.”).