Better off skipping ‘Ted’

Jeff Wachtel upped to president of original programming for USA

Jeff Wachtel, who has overseen original programming for the USA Network since 2001, got a title boost today when he was named the network’s president of original programming.

The announcement was made by Bonnie Hammer, the top USA executive who herself was promoted to president of NBC Universal’s cable entertainment and cable studio last year.

“As head of original programming, Jeff’s leadership has inspired the team responsible for one of the most successful slates in all of television,” she said in a statement.

Wachtel, whose previous title was executive vice president of original programming, has overseen the launch of shows such as “Monk,” “Psych” and “Burn Notice.” He also is co-head of original content for Universal Cable Productions with Mark Stern.   

-- Matea Gold

Better off skipping ‘Ted’

Two stars

Perhaps it’s appropriate that the brittle, synthetic “Better Off Ted” (7:30 p.m. Central, Wednesday, ABC) gives the impression that it was grown in a lab.

This workplace comedy is set at an efficient and ominous corporation, Veridian Dynamics. Veridian employs scientists who come up with pumpkins that can kill and chairs that are so uncomfortable that they drive people insane.

But, like many of the products the company develops, “Ted” isn’t quite ready for mass consumption. NBC has some good workplace comedies, most notably “30 Rock” and “The Office.” If you do watch “Better Off Ted,” there’s a good chance you’ll find yourself comparing the ABC program to those two shows and finding “Ted” wanting.

Jay Harrington plays Ted, the research and development “genius” who has to manage the nerds in the lab and keep his heartless manager, Veronica (Portia de Rossi), at bay. To round things out, there’s also a co-worker in the picture, Linda (Andrea Anders).
There are some sly and savage ideas at play in “Ted”: The subtext is that big corporations are determined to suck not just the energy but the very lifeblood out of their employees. “Ted” works best when it focuses on small acts of rebellion, such as the theft of creamers from the company cafeteria. It’s surprising, given how good she was on “Arrested Development,” that  de Rossi is so ineffective here, but then again, the humor on “Ted” is scattershot and most of the characters are underdeveloped. Perhaps the funniest thing about “Ted” are the fake ads that precede each episode. They feature an upbeat narrator and they’re full of blandly cheerful stock footage meant to reassure us that Veridian has consumers’ best interests at heart. Which is proof, of course, that the company is very likely up to no good.

‘Battlestar’ finale, Syfy news

On Monday, the Sci Fi Channel hosted a press screening of the “Battlestar Galactica” finale, which airs Friday. Executive Producer Ronald D. Moore made the assembled media types swear not to reveal anything that happens in the show’s final two hours.

But I was able to wrangle more information about “Caprica,” “The Plan,” “Eureka” and other upcoming projects on Sci Fi, which changes its name this summer to Syfy.

One bit of “Battlestar” related news: “The Plan,” a two-hour stand-alone movie shot last year, will “probably” air in the fall, according to Sci Fi executive Mark Stern.

This summer, the network will debut a comedically flavored series, “Warehouse 13,” about a pair of federal agents who track down unusual objects and stow them in a warehouse full of intergalactic oddities.

“Eureka” also returns in the summer, and Colin Ferguson, who stars as Sheriff Jack Carter, said  his character has an ongoing love interest (played by Jaime Ray Newman). 
Finally, “Caprica,” the “Battlestar” prequel series, will debut in early 2010.

Esai Morales and Paula Malcolmson, who star in the new show, were at the Sci Fi event. Malcolmson said that “Caprica” would be different from “Battlestar.”

“Battlestar” has “come to an end, and it’s a beautiful end and [fans] should mourn that show,” he said. “You can’t just come along with another show that’s going to replicate it.”
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moryan@tribune.com
 

 

 

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