DVD-R Hell: "Cavemen"

7/30/2013

Hey remember when the Geico Cavemen had their own tv series? Yep, this happened.

Andre R.

3/7/2014 01:33:04 pm

On the original comment board for this there was someone who was convinced that only people who are good buddies with the network CEO (or even with the network executives) ever get their TV shows greenlighted. That's bullshit of course, but this person gave the example of comedian/radio host Adam Carolla who has apparently attempted several times to get a show on the air at *whatever* network, and was rejected because "he wasn't friends with the CEO" or that "he wasn't in the head studio executives' inner circle". I responded by saying that Carolla was a butthurt whiner who perhaps maybe wasn't as funny or talented as he believes he is and maybe, just maybe, his ideas for a TV show really were shit. It's certainly possible.

You may remember the two-episode wonder ABC aired in 2012 "Work It". And in it's case I am convinced that it got on the air because of who created it: Andrew Reich and Ted Cohen. You may also remember that they were writers and producers for "Friends" in it's later seasons, and by the mid-2000's they had apparently acquired some power and authority in Hollywood. So when they pitched the idea for it to the CEO of ABC (which is owned by Disney, let's not forget that) he must have thought that because they had connections to a huge hit from another network years before, they would surely be able to create a hit for them. As for whether or not Reich and Cohen are actually "buddies with the network CEOs" or not, I really have no clue about that.

Anyway, this is what Wikipedia said about "Work It":

The series was panned by critics. Metacritic gave it a score of 19/100 based on 22 "generally unfavorable" reviews. Matt Fowler of IGN gave the pilot episode a score of "0", the first television review since 1998 from the company to get a score of "0" (according to Fowler). Robert Bianco of USA Today also did not give it an enthusiastic review, calling it "witless, tasteless, poorly acted, abominably written, clumsily directed, hideously lit and badly costumed". He gave it a grade of one star out of four. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reviewer compared the show unfavorably to Bosom Buddies, which had a similar premise. Todd VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club gave the pilot an F grade, stating, "Let's just get this out of the way first: Work It is awful. The grade should indicate that. But it's fascinatingly awful, in that way where you wonder how the hell something like this got on TV in the year 2012." Alan Pergament, formerly of The Buffalo News, expressed surprise that the show even made it to air, stating "I do recall I couldn't get those 22 minutes of my life back. It was so unfunny and forced that I suspected it would never air." The pilot was criticized and protests took place at the network offices for a line of dialogue delivered by Amaury Nolasco's character Angel, who claimed that as a Puerto Rican he would "be great at selling drugs".

LGBT advocacy groups expressed concerns about Work It, saying that it trivialized the obstacles faced by transgender people in the workplace. Groups that have expressed concern include Human Rights Campaign, the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center's Transgender Economic Empowerment Program and the Transgender Law Center.The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation released a statement that, while acknowledging that the series pilot "does not explicitly address transgender people", still concluded that "during a period in which the transgender community now routinely finds itself in the cultural crosshairs, the timing couldn’t be worse for a show based on the notion that men dressed as women is inherently funny." Frequently cited is the print advertisement for the series, which features two men dressed as women standing at men's room urinals.

Hmm. That one critic wondering "how the hell something like this got on the air in the year 2012." I have one thing to say to that: It's not what you know, it's who you know. There you have it!

Tetsu Deinonychus link

10/29/2014 03:47:18 pm

Cool story, Bro!

**thumbs up**

Rhody

6/6/2014 08:15:11 am

I don't know about the humor, but those sexual scenes really do hit the spot.

Also dude don't bash Caveman! Ringo Starr did a good job in that! Caveman is one of my mom's favorite movies, and hell even I like it; it was funny, creative (I loved it how we couldn't understand what they were saying for such a long time and that we actually had to listen to figure out which words mean what), and just plain gorgeous of a movie all together, even the music was kick ass in Caveman!

This show would have done well as an internet series; like something you'd look up on youtube and watch. As a TV series, it just doesn't float.

I like the review Brad! Thanks for covering this for me, I remember when this show came out; I considered watching it, but my mom wouldn't give me the TV when it was on, she wanted to watch Survivor...

6/14/2015 09:06:24 am

I honestly forgot that this was a thing. I remember seeing a promotional ad for it when it was said to come out, but never saw an episode--much like with Work It, which bit the dust after two episodes (which was for the better).

Great review, Brad.

Orzene

10/18/2015 07:21:29 pm

... They look like fucking Klingons, but without the forehead ridges.

Michael AR

12/8/2016 12:33:48 am

"Nick Kroll is way too good for this show and he knows it." I have always loved that line from this video. And the fact that shows like Cavemen are greenlighted and put on the air ALL THE FUCKING TIME really pisses me off. A few years after this show crashed and burned, substandard "comedienne" Whitney Cummings got her own NBC sitcom that actually lasted two seasons. I really love the episode of Opie & Anthony where they absolutely tear the show and Whitney herself to shreds. It's on Youtube, check it out. And her shitty show was a perfect example of how banality and mediocrity keeps getting rewarded in this world and how shows that are actually good and have meaning and make you think are never given a fair chance. And that makes me depressed sometimes. In any case, I'm glad that Brad did a DVD-R Hell on Cavemen. I'm still waiting for ones on "Supertrain" and "Me And The Chimp"!

DVD-R Hell: "Cavemen"

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