What's it about?
UNSUPERVISED is an animated, half-hour comedy about two eternally optimistic best friends "Gary" and "Joel," who are navigating the harsh landscape of adolescence and trying to do what's right despite having no parental guidance whatsoever. Gary's father took off years ago and left him with his absentee stepmom, while Joel's elderly parents remain unseen and uninvolved. And the adults that are actually present in Gary and Joel's lives are anything but role models. At first glance, Gary and Joel's world may be bleak but their worldview is bright as they guide themselves through life with each other to depend on.
You should watch if...
• you like ARCHER or IT'S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA...or that's what they want you to think.
• you are still yearning to move out of your parents' basement and live a life free of supervision and any apparent consequences.
So, how was it?
Proudly advertised as being from the writers/producers of IT'S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA and the animators of ARCHER and featuring the voice talents of the likes of Justin Long and Kristen Bell, I was expecting this new animated series to be a whip-smart, satirical look at teenage life. Instead I got a flaccid, joke-free show about a couple of whiny kids who for whatever odd, unexplained reason, don't have parental supervision in their lives.
Perhaps they should have advertised it as being from the mind of creator, producer, animator and voice-r Nick Hornsby, most recently known as the creator, producer and star of that gem of 2011, CBS' HOW TO BE A GENTLEMAN. That would be a more accurate advertisement for this equally disappointing show. GENTLEMAN managed to last all of two episodes before being unceremoniously dumped onto Saturday nights and then outright cancelled shortly after. I predict a similar fate for UNSUPERVISED. The two main characters, Gary and Joel, are indistinguishable, sloppy caricatures of teenagers with no likable traits or...really any personality to speak of. They suddenly wake up one day, wonder why their lack of parental units isn't resulting in more boobs in their lives, and decide to try to be cooler. Which mostly means getting themselves and all the other high schoolers wasted and high and then feeling their female classmates up in their blood-spattered bedroom (don't ask). Nothing resembling comedy here. More like a sad commentary on the aimless, sex-driven nature of youth today and our culture's continued glorification of that party-rock consequence-free lifestyle.
I honestly don't know what the obviously talented cast and crew were thinking. ARCHER and IT'S ALWAYS SUNNY are both beloved, extremely hysterical shows that are a far and away in a separate class of comedy than this crass, humorless mess. I didn't crack a smile once in the twenty minutes it took me to get through the first episode...twenty minutes I would like back, please.
Rating:
* Atrocious. I will never watch this show again. Ever.
Maybe I'm just in a bad mood (judging by other comments I've seen online, I don't think that's the problem), but I was expecting way more from this show. Maybe it'll get better with age. Too bad I won't be around to see it improve...it's already lost me.
What did you think, Fellow Addicts? Were you equally disappointed? Or did you actually find things to laugh at (besides the obviously poor quality of the writing)? Vote in the poll below and then hit the comments!
(For the complete rundown of when all the new shows are premiering, check out my 2012 Midseason TV Preview.)
I guess if you didn't come from that type of background it's hard to relate to a show like this. My 7th grade school year with my friend Nate is almost exactly like what Gary and Joel share. Also, since David Hornsby attended Carnegie Melon University he was probably intrigued by the Yinzer/Pittsburgh-ese accent. Being from western PA I can here it when he speaks as Joel.
ReplyDeleteThat show takes me back to my past. I don't know if that makes it good or bad, but I'll keep watching.