"Ted (2024 Peacock)" Series Talkback (Spoilers)

[[classic swim]]

[Just Say Yes]

Have a LOT of feelings on this series. I don’t expect myself to unravel them in the best way, but I’ll make an attempt.


I don’t remember which crap link article first revealed new Ted for me. I just remember immediately having a negative response.

A third-rate streaming service you couldn’t pay me to use... revamps 2012’s best film into a TV show. Well past the franchise relevancy.

What helps is that they’re not necessarily tone-deaf. The opening for the original film pops off with the idea that everyone eventually stops caring about this pot smoking stuffed animal. And that concept is where this prequel takes lift-off. It’s earnest in that way.


I don’t wanna make this whole thing about the movie, or Family Guy. Ya kinda have to, though! The same way that back in June of 2012, I was stoked about practically seeing Family Guy in theaters.

A lot of what annoyed the critics & cynics just so happened to be what I enjoyed most. Because I was a fan. It was rewarding at the time to see the familiar faces and hear the familiar voices all on this project.

It’s easy to dump on the cartoon already seen by kajillions well before and since it’s suffered decay. But I watched the show emerge back on the air, and I do remember the packed room for Ted on premiere night. If my nostalgia’s rooted this deep, it typically means I had a good time.



Just that first episode was like golden age FG. Just the kind of laugh I’ve been missing from Fuzzy in a very, very long time.

“Eisenhower says we gotta stay inside!”

Everyone’s tired of weed. I get that. But you’re also just tired of BAD weed jokes. That one kitchen scene alone clears all the years worth of dumb “heheh pot” jokes because this actually had an execution.

Also, it would be wrong not to start the prequel off with John & Ted lighting for the first time.


I thought I’d be put off by the actors. And at first, I kinda was. I was thinking how weird of a transition it was for John’s mom to go from Alex Borstein to Alanna Ubach. Ubach is so damn good as Susan. Just a very sweet joke machine from what I can tell so far. And Ted’s right, her haircut is great for her!

Scott Grimes is also fantastic. His range, time and time again, has shown he’s worth more than just American Dad.

Blaire (Giorgia Whigham) is a nice addition. Felt for her the second she brought up circumstances.

Don’t be fooled by Max Burkholder. He might look kinda like young Ben Shapiro, but he’s as amazing with the lines as Wahlberg before him when playing John. It’s also not that hard to sound like a dumb Boston kid. But he’s excellent at it.


I obviously have more to catch up on, but this is a start!


_______________________

[My Two Dads]

This one went places.


A full circle moment is at the beginning. Ted & John are listening to Sol of The Jerky Boys. Yes, Mort Goldman before Mort Goldman. Played by none other than Johnny Brennan himself.


Sitcom plots with bullies are typically the suckiest. I’m not sure where I roll 100% on what they did with Clive. Even when I will admit this was a great episode regardless.

This one sticks to being twisted, and it’s better for it. It’s just over a half hour of a couple weirdos wanting to coddle the most gullible bully on the planet.

Although, what I would do differently I’m guessing wouldn’t fly for good reason. I would’ve just had Ted & Johnny viscously troll Clive for the entire episode with the information about his dad.

•• The prank honestly would’ve been more rewarding had the duo started laughing immediately after their pause. And THEN they could feel bad later. It’s dark comedy! Hell, that would’ve been more in vain to who the original characters are. ••

Then they brought in that security guard who had an entire life changing backstory with John Rubinstein. Which by the way, give that guy an award too.

After this episode’s ending, maybe this means Clive will be cool or back down for the rest of the run. I’ll see how that goes.


After this episode, I’m guessing it’s impossible for the A and B plots to be within the same wavelength. Given just the format. One plot’s obviously gonna take higher priority over the other.

Still, Matty & Blaire’s colonoscopy adventure... and just what we found out about Matty in this episode.

Of all things to humanize the patriarch of the family. Comedic suspense intact. Someone wrote for there to be a “heartfelt moment” in a dad jacking off his dog in order to save its life.



Slightly love the show more than I already did before. Hope it stays that way.

 

[[classic swim]]

[Ejectile Dysfunction]

I’ve already had additional thoughts and praises on Mr. and Mrs. Bennett, and this episode perfectly laid them out for me.


Listen, I make it no secret that you should never trust me with a Bible and a lighter on my person. Atheism is key.

Susan’s wonderful because there were plenty we knew in those days just like her. Our own family members and friends.

Sometimes you just come across the sweetest lady you’ve ever met, and you find out she’s trapped in a cult.

Susan’s not only funny when ever she needs to be. She’s a meaningful addition to MacFarlane’s world in recent memory because now it’s a little harder to say they don’t show that there’s some good in Christians.

In a way for her it’s still sad, because she’s still very warped a certain way. But she’s automatically one of the better ones for not weaponizing her warpedness.

Susan’s a caring mother who loves her husband! She said herself, she’d do exactly what Dr. Sausage did in that movie! To make that utter ass happy.


Matty’s hilarious, unlikable and slightly frightening all in one.

It’s kinda surprising I’m three episodes in and they still haven’t forced him to do the sitcom “oh I love ya, honey” routine. He’s just a verbally abusive prick from top to bottom lol.

I still can’t get over him making the waiter throw out that damn sock.



Ted & John have their second biggest origin covered after the pot. It goes about exactly as you’d expect.

I’m still hyped about the show and all. It’s already most likely gonna be the funniest comedy of the year. And it’s still only January.

The banter between the duo is only slightly wearing off.

Because he’s a teen, a lot of the comedic setup on this show has to be John constantly acting as the weird kid, with Ted constantly having to pause and ask what’s wrong with him. It was very funny the first few times but now it’s starting to get repetitive.

The bright side is how that one negative thing doesn’t deter them from still being funny in other ways.



I don’t know what the plan is for this series later. I just think it’d be great to have episodes with a twenty-something John Bennett. Even without Wahlberg still! Because a lot of the show right now is the two having to go through different hoops instead of already being able to go wild, y’know?

______________________

[Subways, Bicycles and Automobiles]

Weirdness overload.


Both stories in the episode you could say involved the single strangest sets of coercion.

That professor gearing up his teddy bear outfit like it’s the Overlook Hotel, and whatever that was between John and the predator.

Guy offered the kid crack and a drawing of Lion-O x Winona Ryder erotica.


It was a good Halloween special. The pairing with Ted & Blaire was really good and I think it does exactly what the movie(s) wanted to do but mostly couldn’t.

The tone of the original film about having to grow up was something that held back Lori (Mila) as a character.

They wanted a female lead who could play ball and be in on the fun with the main two. Lori had little moments like that, except she was forced to mainly be an ultimate wedge between the friendship.

Blaire takes on a role about equally as bossy as Lori in these episodes, except here you see her have a night out with Ted, and they really make it so they have a connection too.

I like that about this show. It shows they really do care about the strengths and weaknesses of this thing they created.




I only wish there was more they could’ve done with Matty and the ostrich bite.

Irrelevant note here as well but I appreciate whoever decided John should watch Treehouse of Horror IV and Married With Children.

Quality fan service.

______________________

[Desperately Seeking Susan]

So basically what I *kinda* commented on a couple episodes ago is finally addressed here.

Everything with Matty & Susan’s marriage counseling made me laugh, and I’m happy they didn’t pry too much out from that material and made it about Susan’s best interest.


There’s times where the show will keep having at one thing, and there’s also times where they know when to quit on one particular matter. I think that’s why they decided to fire Mr. George (Julius Sharpe) after his second outburst.

Ted going off on the cheerleader brought flashbacks to Brian Griffin’s shutdown on Connie D’Amico.


I like how even when characters are being mean to Susan, you can’t be mean to Susan. She won’t register it. She said Matty’s best quality was his heart when really that’s her own thing she’s misconstruing for her husband.

You could be underwhelmed by the fact they made her give up the teaching once the episode ended. Honestly, I’m fine with it either way. It might just be better for the show that she stays at home. And it was her choice! The real victory is that she has some free will.

They might have her outburst triumphantly sometime later. I think Susan’s “yell” toward Blaire could give you a hint on that direction.


Good episode! Shortest of the bunch, possibly.

______________________

[Loud Night]

I laughed at plenty of the stuff, but it was an intense show.

Any time there was a plot involving gay bashing in MacFarlane’s previous work, they still had to be a cartoon and have cartoon stereotypes. It’s why news anchor Greg and Brian’s cousin Jasper were never too far off.


This episode had something that real life families go through both around the holidays and elsewhere, all around the globe. If this comedy was real life, Blaire would be disowned both as a family member and a person and that would be the end of it. Bigots don’t have sudden change of heart. They stay evil until death.


There’s that Liberace joke they pull right as Susan comes into play, and it’s the exact tragicness I was talking about with her before. Being in a cult does that to you. Being in a cult makes you not absorb anything out of your comfort. It makes you a damaging liability toward HUMANITY.


They took it a step further by not even having Blaire come out as lesbian. The bare minimum of simply being attracted to whoever you want scares them all the same.


They had good stuff written between Matty & Dennis, while a lot of it was also infuriating. I think my favorite joke was Matty’s “you said it, not me.” He wanted the toy dump truck’s own approval for a White History Month.

Though I say all this, the episode ended with some common decency. They didn’t even have to kill off the truck. It was a good thing to redeem Matty just a smidge.


Ted proclaiming himself as the savior was almost obligatory. Although, didn’t Susan say in the movie that he was just like the baby Jesus? I mean, before we really knew who Susan was?

______________________

[He’s Gotta Have It]

Good finale. Real sad that it’s over and also happy how well this wrapped up.

I mean, how can you not feel good after they saved formation of Thunder Buddies for very last?


If we’re getting a season two, it looks to be that they’re wanting a senior year season. Sounds promising, maybe? As I said, them as bachelors alone sounds like heaps fun, but they have the perfect cast where they’re at now.

And it really sucks because Peacock is something that 100% nerfs everything. Seriously. The funniest streaming show out there, ever - - and you’re putting it on the suckiest platform I wouldn’t want a dog to use? Still not over that, and I’m gonna be pissed if the series tanks because of it. Let us have one good thing.

I digress. Hope someone else watches this soon so it’s not me shouting in the dark. Everyone that tells you this is FG S4-S5 territory is dead on the money.

 

[Fone Bone]

Ted "Just Say Yes"

That was wonderful. The ending wasn't great, but that's probably because the episode ran a little long. It was very strong otherwise.

This is why I don't watch trailers. I didn't see the trailer for this but I did read reactions and they were universally negative. I admit I'm a prickly grump myself. But if I'm gonna be that, then the project is gonna earn it honestly, by me seeing everything in context instead of me making up my mind beforehand. I have no idea if the trailer was that bad or not. But the show is great. When Seth MacFarlane takes a firm hand writing and directing a show, good things tend to happen.

Here is why Ted is a great, irrepressible character. Instead of apologizing for using the word "midget", he reasons it applies to himself and takes ownership of it. I especially love that later during the dinner he claims Blaire's thing with the black Barbie was a hundred times more damning. It really wasn't, but Ted is an irrepressible bastard because it sounds like it could be. Ted is very good at winning b.s., untrue arguments to justify his own poor behavior.

I personally don't think Sheila is a bad name, but I like the idea that sometimes really hot people are given bad names to level the playing field.

Mike Henry is cast as the bank teller in a truly unfunny and embarrassing scene. You could accuse the show of cronyism, and MacFarlane doing favors for his friends, but after that scene I'm wondering if they're actually friends. This role seems more like something you'd give somebody you didn't like as a punishment.

How could they not contract Patrick Stewart? Dude will do anything for money. At least the show understands the proper understudy is Ian McKellen, and he's the prequel's narrator. Whatever.

Because some of my reviews are posted on family friendly boards I can't detail the brilliance of the Full House threat Ted makes to John to get him to talk to Sheila. But the threat is so bad because of the specificity of it. It makes it sound utterly believable. Which is why John backs down and does exactly what Ted says.

For the record, I realize this is set in 1993, but I live in Framingham, MA, and as of 2024, this is hardly a gentrified town. Maybe it was back then, but it is nowhere near as white bread of a suburb as the show and the school setting is making it out to be. I would guess about half of the people in my apartment building don't speak English as a first language and I think that's kind of cool.

227 was fine, but I question its relevance in 1993. The timing of the joke is off. Full House was still a thing in 1993 (and Lori Loughlin is actually only in the later episodes) but 227 wasn't being rerun at that point in time in syndication. Pearl was great though.

The gun on the slip-and-slide is enough for me. I can safely say, no matter what else happens, or how good or bad the rest of the season and series are, it deserves to exist just for that scene.

Speaking of which, back in 1993 The Price Is Right aired at 11:00 in Massachusetts, not ten. Same as today. That fricking show has been in the same timeslot and network my entire damn life.

The thing I love about the character of Ted is how manipulative he is to justify his refusal to grow and change as a person. He's the same size he's always been. But his arrested development is entirely his own choice, and I love how fiercely he defends his right to it.

Even in 2024 that Challenger joke Ted makes at the end feels a little too soon.

I am on-board. Usually it takes more than one episode to turn me into a fan of something, but this already has me. ****1/2.

Ted "My Two Dads"

It is quite common for a good series, especially one with a great Pilot, to come out with an atrocious sophomore episode. Ted definitely fits that mode. This episode is the pits.

I should have sensed bad things by the Jerky Boys opening. I HATED the Jerky Boys. They were mean, not in the same way Family Guy is, but to real people. They felt especially cruel for that reason. And them being the model for the prank is just awful. What kills me is Ted and John are shocked Clive is crying. It would be weird if he wasn't.

The scene in the operating room is pretty much everybody's worst nightmare. I don't think Matty's Vietnam secret is as shockingly repulsive and unfunny as the "Donkey Show" from Clerks II. But it's it bad for the same reasons. It's nowhere NEAR as bad. But its matter of ballpark is between sex and foot massages (kids won't get that reference).

For the record, John Rubenstein actually HAS guest-starred on The Orville. MacFarlane clearly IS a fan.

That was pretty damn awful. *.

Ted "Ejectile Dysfunction"

I though Ted's "making conversation" with Blaire at the beginning was amazingly hilarious. And I'm starting to see where Bad Improv from Ted 2 came from. This has always been John's problem.

I guess the thing I don't like is how terrible Matty and Susan's marriage is. I mean, there are worse fictional marriages. But this one stings because Matty isn't abusive. He's just awful. And I feel so bad for Susan. And the scene with the banana made me cringe.

MacFarlane getting his money's worth with Ian McKellen. Very similar to Patrick Stewart in saying anything if you pay him enough money.

Also not a good episode but not as bad as the second. **.

Ted "Subways, Bicycles And Automobiles"

It WANTS to be a good episode but it's a little much. Will is actually WAY too much and the professor in the teddy bear costume is too much too. Hucking ostrich eggs at trick-or-treaters on Halloween should be money-in-the-bank comedy. But the episode sort of went too far.

By the way, Disney COULD be scary in the 1980's.

Also, it never made ANY sense why McDonald's pies are so hot. Their burgers are always lukewarm. Why are their pies and coffee so insanely hot?

A little much. Take it down a notch, Seth. Although The Watcher In The Woods getting some love is a good thing. ***.

Ted "Desperately Seeking Susan"

I found the episode interesting. I think Susan and Matty have a terrible marriage. But the idea that Susan is happy with it is kind of cool because it sounds like a valid interpretation, especially after helping the bully girl in the hallway. And I like the person she got mad at was Blaire for not allowing her to be satisfied with the way things are.

And this is not a feminist moral, and it is on-brand that the episode was written by MacFarlane himself. But I like that it's presented as a controversy.

Reminder to self. Never piss Ted off. He stows grievances in the back of his mind like bombs, ready to go nuclear in terrible moments. It's a bit frightening how casually and easily cruel he is.

That principle played by Penny Johnson-Jerald is a badass. Ted promising to ask a question in the assembly sounds like the most heroic sacrifice possible.

I thought it was solid. ***1/2.

Ted "Loud Night"

I thought it was great.

I have to admit I did not dig the political arguments. A lot of current rightwing media uses strawman arguments to argue against liberal ideals. Seth MacFarlane often uses strawman arguments to argue against conservative ideals. I guess the crap Dennis says is credible for 2024, and that's sort of why it plays. But it's 1993 on the show, and back then, people didn't say stuff that stupid out-loud because even they knew how stupid it sounded back then. People in 1993 possessed something missing from MANY people (politically) in 2024: Shame. For that reason Dennis is an interesting antagonist. He gives Matty permission to be even stupider and more hateful than he already is.

I think the episode and the show have value because it went from that to Matty apologizing to Blaire and Sarah, and the confrontation with Dennis. Dennis turning out to be gay felt a little too pat of a resolution, and part of me wonders what this actually says about Matty deep down instead. But while the political arguments themselves were too arch to be believable, I thought the human moments worked.

This is the first episode Ted and John are the supporting characters. Them going through the Bible and trying to guess Ted's "alignment" is both blasphemous and perfect. Also, do they need dice for this?

The reason people were skeptical about a Ted series is the premise wears thin. It already had by the second movie. I think the series is aware of that and stretching the premise a bit, which is for the best. I thought it was a very strong episode. ****.

Ted "He's Gotta Have It"

OJ Simpson ruins everything.

I love the episode ending on a title card saying the real killer is still out there. Riiiiight.

John talking about the banana was hysterical. How does this guy have ANY game?

It was a good finale to a season with its ups and downs. ***1/2.

 

[Daikun]

Um... Does this thread belong here? Isn't this a live-action show?

 

[[classic swim]]

Um... Does this thread belong here? Isn't this a live-action show?

I mean...... the bear’s CGI animated. And he’s kind of the main star.

I honestly just dropped it here because of the name “Streamtopia.” Truly don’t care if it gets moved or not, just glad 1 friend talked about it.

 

[Moe]

Um... Does this thread belong here? Isn't this a live-action show?

Why not ask @PinkieLopBun for her opinion?

As for me, this thread is fine in here and if move, it would be in entertainment.

Don't mess with Ted, lol.

 

[PinkieLopBun]

We've had discussion of the live action Scooby-Doo movies on the entertainment board and the title character there is CGI. Since this is still mainly live action, I'll move it there.

 

[CartoonLover2604]

I was pleasantly surprised when watching the Ted show. I was going into it, thinking it was just gonna be another cash-grab like everything else Hollywood does these days. But I found it well written and really funny, Ted's CGI has improved greatly in nine years and looks better than ever. Everyone felt right for their roles and as others on Twitter have said, reminded me of early Family Guy in its writing style. Hoping this one gets a second season.