the INSANE perfection of the Ted series

[Music] I guess there's something in the water because America nay the world has Ted fever and the only prescription is binging a prequel series set in the 9s and by extension salvaging a sinking streaming service didn't have that on my bingo card for 2024 Ted the series hasn't just settled into its home on peacock it's become peacock taking a mere 3 days from its initial release to become the most watched show in the services history which perhaps isn't saying all that much but when you look at the numbers it's uh impressive to say the least so naturally we need to talk about it because what the [Music] [ __ ] and it's not like the show is being trashed either it's actually shockingly been better received than both Ted 1 and two well maybe I shouldn't say shocking in relation to Ted 2 because dear God that movie yeah that isn't necessarily a high bar but for something so seemingly random releasing almost 10 years after the last film wreaking of corporate Barrel scraping to get someone anyone to subscribe to their failing unprofitable streaming service by tapping into whatever fandom Andor IP they can find it's kind of a delightful little miracle the show isn't that so what is it about Ted that's got people talking ah you should have seen it I'm sure I still can it sounds like they filmed it if you don't know Seth McFarland's work yes you do for many of us Millennials he's been around for the majority of Our Lives beginning with the show that started at all Family Guy which side note the [ __ ] it's turning 25 this year and oh God McFarland's first and arguably most popular popular sitcom was met with controversy from the beginning having aired in 1999 immediately following the Super Bowl many families tuned in not expecting to find how unashamedly tvma the pilot would prove to be and wisely so this tactic wasn't forgotten by NBC Universal as Ted premiered its first season on peacock immediately after this year's AFC wild card game in which the Kansas City Chiefs were playing and so naturally everyone's going to tune into that because Taylor Swift monopolizes the NFL right now and uh that's all people seem to care about it's taken them long enough but studios are finally realizing Live Sports Live Events is how you drive traffic to their new streaming platforms and shows not only did NBC Universal Drive in a lot of traffic because the game was exclusively televised on peacock but the way the end of the game went right into the Ted series is not too dissimilar from what we just talked about with Family Guy it's an no-brainer networking cable television have been using this strategy for years it's why we're seeing more and more streamers dip their toes into stuff like this with services like Netflix buying the streaming rights for WWE not only encouraging the fan base to spend time on the platform but greatly boosting the chances of them sticking around to watch other shows as well the point is both Ted and Family Guy were set up for success by the network releasing at a heavily trafficked period in both instances oh and you know the shows were actually good yeah that's kind of a big factor despite Family Guy's initial controversial debut on network television viewers quickly fell in love with the Griffin family and the series persisted something that always set the show apart from others like it at the time was its sitcom heart that warm feeling that often ended each episode when one or all of our main characters learned a lesson by experiencing Shenanigans for 22 minutes of network airtime oh and I mean you know it just kind of also wears its sitcom influences on its sleeves like it's just Family Guy in its early days was an animated throwback to the sitcoms of old just with a Modern Edge to it and of course for the most part any character growth in said episode was almost never carried over to the next but still McFarland knew how to make us care about these silly and often offensive characters no matter what they said or did in the events prior to the lesson being learned that brings us to Ted which takes many of the best elements from past McFarland projects including the movie that preceded the show namely its style of humor its core concept and the Infectious relationship between protagonist John Bennett and his teddy bear Ted Ted as a prequel to The Original films explores the origins of Concepts and relationships that were previously established by the movies but it does so in a way that never feels hamfisted or disingenuous the series follows John and Ted as they navigate High School in the distantly historical year of 1993 it explores John and Ted's High School experience while avoiding the typical pitfalls of most other High School sitcoms sure you have your typical High School episodes like the one that says hey maybe there is more to the bully than just being a bully but Ted takes the script we've seen a hundred times in other Coming of Age stories and adds its own little personal spice into the mix that particular episode titled My Two Dads is one just so [ __ ] funny but it ends on such a zany and wholesome note it mixed The Familiar formula with McFarland's own brand of Storytelling making it familiar and fresh at the same time which honestly is a good way to describe the series as a whole that being said the McFarland touch alone isn't enough to Warrant the show's astoundingly positive feedback it also helps when your showrunners are the guys who did Modern Family you've got creatives involved who have such an encyclopedic knowledge of sitcoms and a reverence for that form and then they're able to play with it in a new way here but none of that would work if you did didn't have an amazing cast and the cast of Ted does the lion share of bringing this series to life and at the Forefront of that loadbearing responsibility is our new John Bennett Max Burkholder burkholder's interpretation of the character is simply put magnetic he might even be better than Mark Wahlberg while simultaneously feeling like a natural version of Wahlberg's New England Manchild the John Bennett we find in the series is 16 and trying his very best to figure it all out while at the same time carrying an air of confidence thanks to Ted that most of us wish we had at that age and no I'm not talking about the cool kids the jock or anyone who fit into high school I'm talking about the outcasts the social Paras and the kids who would have given anything for a friend on their Darkest Days Ted has always been an interesting concept to me not only as a conduit for Unique comedic situations but for what it represents as well Ted serves more or less as the manifestation of John's unfiltered subconscious he's a springboard of impulses and intrusive thoughts that often never reach the surface but are brought out through Ted's outward encouragement in Ted's first outing on the Silver Screen we find this subconscious coaxing coming as a detriment to Jon's life convincing him to sneak out to a cocaine fueled party to meet his childhood hero persuading him to leave work early to get high and a third example they're all things you could probably get away with as an adolescent but mixed in with adulthood would leave you with major major consequences what we see in the first movie is that relationship coming to a head a man who refuses to grow up is faced with an ultimatum between getting his life together and staying stuck in the immature rut he's been in since high school he has to figure out how to hold on to the essence of who he is who he's always been while also evolving as a person in the series however Ted's intrusive presence sews some positive seeds for Jon and the rest of the Bennetts Ted is a safety net for John he's his thunder buddy and while that same safety net will one day prove to be a detriment to Jon's growth in high school it allows him to exude confidence in who he is when Ted is around Jon sees clearly things make sense and that's a luxury very few high schoolers are gifted with having Ted especially at this stage in Jon's life functions the way many of our stuffed animals did for us as kids he's a tool for Jon to express himself Ted does this for many members of the benett family acting as a source of Liberation in fact literally acting as a therapist for Maddie and Susan in episode 5 the beautiful and creative twist that McFarland has taken us down with the character is answering the question what happens when that safety net grows up like the rest of us we see the toxic side of jnon and Ted's relationship in episode 4 Subways bicycles in automobiles where the boys are separated from most of the episode's runtime in it we see a different side of Jon a much lonely ER version who's lost without his best friend around it's a forboding episode that helps the show as a prequel lead into the versions of Jon and Ted that we see in the films while Ted is certainly not the best influence at times Jon's friendship with him is undoubtedly the Sun the rest of the show orbits around that being said those planets or characters are quintessential in elevating the show beyond the films Alana ubach and Scott Grimes take on the roles of Jon's parents while we technically have met the bet itss in the prologue of Ted's first appearance on the big screen the show breathes new life into these characters that were previously just plot devices to introduce the movie's premise in fact eagle-eyed fans of the film will recognize that most of what we've seen from these two characters in the past has been rightfully reccon for the show and while I don't have a problem with these characters looking and sounding completely different in fact I welcome it I do have a few questions like who the hell is Helen where did she go go is she doing all right I'm I'm kind of worried about her anyways perhaps the most notable and welcome difference in the show is the introduction of a completely new character Blair Bennett Jon's cousin played by Georgia wigam Blair's grounded Aura amongst a family of large personalities binds the show to reality her mere presence in the Bennett household acts as a catalyst for change as she challenges each character to grow out of their complacency being the progressive College liberal whose backstory we find out through the season is is less than a happy one coming from an abusive household Blair has seen the worst of those that bear the Bennett name this struggle drives her to push Jon to do something with his life to be the Bennett bright spot of course we've seen by the films that he hasn't gone on to do much but hopefully the show's creation will warrant a final act in the life of grown-up Jon where Blair's influence finally pushes him to get off his ass and accomplish something without Blair as a character in George's performance in the role most of the growth in the Show's first season wouldn't happen one of the best elements of the show is how well it balances its characters while JN and Ted of course take center stage in most of the series there are full episodes where one or both of them take a back seat allowing the show to explore each member of the Bennett family and giving each actor a chance to really shine in their respective roles such as Susan learning to speak up for herself after pursuing an old career goal mattye Bennett John's father who throughout the course of the Show's first season we come to know as the loudest and most bigoted member of the family has an entire episode dedicated to his growth and learning how to evolve Matty Bennett is a man stuck in the past the world is changing rapidly around him as he desperately grasps at the few things that still make sense in his mind throughout the show but specifically coming to a head in episode 6 the loud night Matty's worldview and biases are challenged by his niece as he's forced to confront A Brave New World he doesn't really understand he learns just like John in the first film to not let his fear of growth and change dictate his life madd's not the only one either each character is given a chance to grow in the season 7 episode run and the unique comedy infused in each character is just Chef kiss intimately knowing your characters means assigning the right jokes to the right people Susan's brand of Comedy comes from her quiet reservations she has absolutely hilarious moments that only makes sense for her character and Ted you're Lawrence of Arabia yeah that's exactly right that same joke told by Blair or Maddie or John Ted any of the other characters in the show simply doesn't work McFarland understands the need for characters to have their own distinct voices so they each present a unique brand of Comedy to the audience it keeps jokes fresh and allows the characters to feel like individuals rather than conduits for punch lines Ted the series improves upon the comedy from its films and that the jokes are less Punchy cutaways gyrating teddy bears at the cash register and more situational adding to each character's personality while simultaneously proving to be downright stupidly hilarious take this scene that's made its way around the internet since the show debuted and you know rightfully so we all know about the nose job you had last year you didn't fool anybody because we all remember before the surgery when you tried to kiss Danny santui and you poked his out also and everybody in town knows this except you your dad is really your uncle which may have subconsciously [ __ ] you up and caused you eating disorder which is also no secret because everybody's heard you throwing up in the bathroom I mean it's [ __ ] glorious man it's ruthless and hilariously mean but the comedy in this roast isn't just brutally funny it's also Darkly sweet it's dark chocolate that's what we're going to call it's it's like that's that feels apt I mean it's Ted coming to his adoptive mother's defense after a high school scho bully tries to tear her down if that was you or I mother I'm sure we'd do something similar and that's the genius of the show every crass gag or [ __ ] up ruse serves a purpose and on some Twisted level is relatable just maybe a bit more heightened meanwhile some jokes work best for one-off characters because they're still insanely funny moments but just crazy enough that we never feel the need to follow up with them either Ted boasts a plethora of those wild one-off characters from The Friendly Neighborhood condom connoisseur to the support of urinal lad who may or may not be Jesus each one adds so much to the series making it a solid Ensemble show and allowing McFarland and the showrunners to burn brightly creating what they know best sitcoms comedy is tricky I respect the hell out of anyone who knows their way around the formula for funny but in order to properly joke about something you need to have a solid understanding of the thing you're making fun of in the first place McFarland's projects have always resonated on some degree because he knows sitcom so well it's clear that he wears their influences on his sleeve Ted is no difference taking direct notes from and even at times referencing All in the Family a show that not only holds the record for the most spin-off series to date but also forever changed the sitcom game since it premiered in 1971 the show follows the bunker family made up of Archie Bunker allow an extremely bigoted man along with his quietly passive wife Edith and their daughter Gloria whose liberal husband Mike was often an antagonist to Archie's outdated ways sound familiar to another family I'll give you a hint wait is this [ __ ] play about us you guess that yeah that no we're on the same page All in the Family utilize satire to tackle and talk about issues of racial inequality challenging the domestic status quo and other topics of the time that most other network shows wouldn't touch with a 10p full or with a 10 put full what the [ __ ] the most other network shows wouldn't touch with a 10 foot pole at the time they were probably concerned that the poll itself was a communist and would I don't know give way for Progressive ideas I know horrible horrible thing that sarcasm please don't take it seriously while it's true having a character like Archie Bunker or Maddie Bennett for the others to challenge isn't nearly as groundbreaking today as it was in the' 70s it's important when writing a show based in a different era to show things how they were let's face it most of us '90s kids had a MADD Bennett in our lives whether it was our father an uncle a weird older cousin that gets drunk at your 10th birthday and while all your friends are just trying to enjoy your Revenge of the Sith themed Mustafar chocolate lava birthday he's yelling something about the libs and jumping into pools and his boxers or you know a less specific example it's not just limited to our own personal mes either most of us had a cousin or sibling like Blair or someone like a Susan as well be it a teacher an aunt or your own mom it makes sense that both Scott Grimes and Alana ubach took influences from their own lives to sculpt their respective characters in fact you can hear all about it in this interview with both of the Bennett parent figures from my good friend Mike Johnson over at real school who is this woman who can I be oh my gosh Sister Mary from catechism class back before yeah she when uh when I had my First Holy Communion when I was a kid she found the joy in everything she was Rosy cheeked and very soft spoken and and loved her children and loved teaching I you know I grew up in outside of Austin and I know these guys you know they were there were some people in my life that were friends with my dad and that were loud and you know uh IND indignant did I say that right yeah indant yeah characters like Maddie Bennett are important in an era specific show like this especially when the era is one that the target audience remembers quite fondly Ted does a fantastic job of blending right right into the 9s with its lived in world that welcomes both viewers who lived through the '90s and ones that didn't Ted strikes a balance between pop Nostalgia for those that get the references while never alienating those that don't what did you guys end up seeing Jurassic Park it's like the greatest movie of ever [ __ ] seen like ever yeah Spielberg actually got real dinosaurs yeah no he made et and he made jaws and this was his reward he got real dinosaurs to play with it all adds up everyone knows Jurassic Park or at least the concept behind it regardless of whether you were alive to watch the original in theaters or you just grew up loving it because you're a normal human being this scene is relatable and accessible to all Nostalgia driven era shows work best when both the writers and the show itself are removed enough from that era to recognize the cultural touchstones of the time take for example one of the bits that's been talked about a bit OJ's car chase which is getting in the way of John a regular teenage boy of the time getting laid it's an insanely recognizable event that happen happens to line up with a natural part of this coming of age story it's also just authentic and relatable because the second that car chase started back in the day everyone stopped what they were doing to watch it it didn't matter if you had your pants down your shirt off whatever you were glued to the TV watching that car chase but speaking of that Jurassic Park bit from earlier that particular scene reminds me of a similar one from another decade themed sitcom yep I'm talking about that' 7s show the show that set the bar for Nostalgia based sitcoms in my opinion the show's amazing cast and crew cultivated an environment that rewarded viewers who lived through the era while simultaneously inviting younger audiences to experience it for themselves the showrunners were able to comment on trends touchstones of nostalgia through a modern lens without losing a reverence and authenticity for the time period because of the Creator's own personal experiences in said era which as we've discussed is very much the case with McFarland and Ted I can't stress enough how important striking that balance is for a comedy based in the past that being said for a series like that' 7s show that nailed this balance so well you don't have to look too far to find one that well hasn't that 9s show a show that doesn't make a lot of sense to watch unless you've either seen its predecessor or have a Nostalgia Kink or both most likely both my point is the difference between a show like Ted that also follows up from a pre-established Canon and '90s show is that the former uses that Cannon as an added bonus by virtue of the fact that it's a prequel series whereas the latter uses it as a crutch in Ted's pilot episode we get to see Jon and Ted smoke weed for the first time while pre-existing fans will love getting to see this character defining moment for the pair new fans will still assuredly enjoy the scene for the sheer comedy of watching two dumbass kids get high out of their minds without knowing what to expect from the experience at the same time that '90s show has scenes like this you're getting married remarried no it's our second remarriage this one's going to stick right yeah scenes that well aren't really that great without knowing who the characters are Ted welcomes both those who knew the older joh Bennett beforehand and those that have just met him for the first time and present both groups with an enjoyable experience one and the same Ted succeeds where other AA shows tend to suffer in that its Nostalgia comes organically from the world surrounding its cast rather than as a set piece that screams at the audience hey look at a tomagotchi remember a tomagotchi yeah my God good times when it's all said and done you go you watch Ted and you come for the crude humor and gut-wrenching laughs but you stay for the amazing performances the wild but heartwarming story lines family Dynamics and relationships that'll leave you wanting a second season the minute you finish the first which is something I never thought I'd be saying about a Ted show I love the stories Ted has to offer in its inaugural season and I hope we get to see more from the Bennetts in the not so distant future Ted the series defies All Odds but I guess that's what happens when you pair the crass Genius of Seth McFarland and the dudes behind Modern Family you get a sequel prequel that looked those odds straight in the face in said [ __ ] you hey te sorry I'm sorry sorry please forgive me I'm [Music] sorry

Channel: FilmSpeak

Views: 188,971

Keywords: filmspeak, video essay, ending explained, explained, the insane perfection of the ted series, the insane brilliance of the ted series, ted the series review, ted season 1 review, ted prequel series, ted the series, the ted series is actually good, ted series review, ted, seth macfarlane, ted peacock series, ted peacock series reaction, ted tv show, ted show, ted series, ted peacock, ted 2024, when the director makes a successful spinoff show, why is the ted series so popular

Id: Ug_AehHhcfw

Length: 22min 53sec (1373 seconds)

Published: Thu Feb 08 2024