2006-03-01 - 4:41 p.m.

The Ninja Vs The Wrestler

There is a sitcom coming out on Fox tonight called �Free Ride� which looks like an over the top comedy sitcom. Just to warn them of their future cancellation�over the top sitcoms don�t work.

Think about it? What sitcom really had a lot of slapstick that worked long term? Kramer in Seinfeld? Cheers, Friends, Mash, Cosby, Roseanne, Happy Days, Mary Tyler Moore, All in the Family just to take a few big ones.

Seinfeld is the only one I can think of when the main character functions as a slapstick character.

The only place where slapstick truly works now is in cartoons. This is because it happens over the top and defies physics to enable the joke. The scene where Peter gets stool in his raccoon wounds. The Nascar car that flips over the crowd and lands perfectly in the Simpsons (one where Maude dies by being shot by a shirt cannon)

Well this Free Ride show�s previews are Chock full of slapstick all over the place. It looks like �That 70�s Show� but zany. The thing that always makes sitcoms great is �situational humor�. The point of the show is that a kid moves back home

All in the Family was about racism and the political climate. Mash was about war. Roseanne was about socio-economic cultures, Cosby ironically left out racism and economics and because of that made a all black television show hugly successful.

Cosby in particular interest me � because every all black cast since has been on UPN or the WB and is a joke.

Anyway, I just want to say whoever green lit �Free Ride� made a big mistake unless it drops this �Family guy� slapstick action.

Now Failure to Launch�the movie with Sarah Jessica Parker where �the Parents� (anything will do) Kathy Bates and the drastically miscast Terry Bradshaw offer to pay SJP to lure our their son (Matthew McConaughey) out of the house since he�s too old to live at home.

Problems with this storyline.

1) No one WANTS to live with their parents.
2) No RICH MAN wants to live with their parents.
3) No parents rich enough that they are willing PAY a girl to get their son wouldn�t just buy there son another place.
4) No ones dream girl is Sarah Jessica Parker.
5) Any family that is RICH doesn�t have spineless parents who wouldn�t just kick their child out. From the preview the parents are involved in the sons life. This isn�t daddy�s little girl. This is the Beach Bum Boy.
6) Terry Bradshaw will only be believable as the �rich dad� if he�s playing a retired football player/announcer that is too busy making Radio Shack commercials to notice his 30 something son is lazy.

I think the reason I decided to trash �Free Ride� and �Failure to Launch� is that the topic both movies tries to cover with a humorous angle that is actually interesting. It�s just both (seemingly) will fail to do it.

Lots of people move back home after college. This could be a very funny situation.
Free Ride had a preview of a Ninja fighting a Muscular WWE style wrestler. There is no reason to have a Ninja vs a Wrestler in a sitcom. That�s for cartoons.

A much funnier idea would be to have a �That�s 70�s Show� style sitcom where a fairly normal adult comes back into the house after getting laid off from an internet firm, and his parents are slightly crazy.

Since this is a fairly new thing, the internet layoffs would be a very funny topic because (and maybe its just me) working for a company like �Globorobotech.net� is funny on its own. Now have him try to explain to his friends and family what the company did for a profit.

�We were collecting information about world wide robots and reviewing them�
or
�We were getting people to invest in us so that we could hire robotic engineers to design robots� which is funny 1) because that�s like saying people gave me 1,000,000 to try and find a job and 2) things like this happened.

A flashback and forward of his trip to the �Globorobotech Bowl� and then to the unemployment office.

Lots of people in the 2000�s went from owning millions of dollar in stock to eating apple pie with their mom.

And frankly there hasn�t really been a good show about someone who is unemployed, moves back home, and then tries out series of dead end jobs.

Over the course of the show he could take 10 different jobs and at the interview for the season finale on the interviewers could have the conversation

�You�ve had ten jobs in the last six months�
�That is true�
�You�ve left them all in under two weeks�
�Well I was fired twice. But that�s mostly correct�

One thing that I think works in a lot of sitcoms is the sane character in an insane world. Shows like that seem to work -- 70 show (Eric), Malcolm in the Middle (Malcolm), Seinfeld (Jerry), or Happy Days (Ron Howard).

And a sharp sitcom about work would be nice. Shows like Friends and Seinfeld never focus on the work place.

Meanwhile �The Office� on BBC and NBC is probably the freshest comedy out there.

So a spin on that idea � the 20 something forced back into the nest � would be a fantastic setup to mock corporate America, the internet, the stockmarket, and also huge social-economic issues like how the unemployed don�t have healthcare and working adults can�t afford to buy a house.

While these are serious topics I think that a lot of comedy could be found in it.

Ideas for the 1st Season Story Arc.

1) The Good Old Days � The pilot where he loses his job as the company folds. After a year of being overworked, Globorobotech�s number is up. His sportscar and downtown apartment are gone. What he didn�t buy on credit, he puts in a suitcase and returns home. (Introducing characters � Mom and Dad. Old Friend (townie) New Friend (still with job) Old romantic interest. Carrot on a Stick Romantic interest.
2) The Plunge � This would be about the 24 hours after you get laid off. The oversleep. The breakfast. Half Shaving. The Zombie movements. The video games. Avoiding the sun.
3) The Resume � He got his job via a internship. Never had a resume. Going back to his college�s career center. Seeing the innocent college student unaware of what is ahead. Thinking maybe giving a talk at his school on a �Career Day�
4) The Rebound Job � Some infantile job his dad thinks is a good idea. Probably a Blue collar job. Tie this into his romantic failings.
5) The Broken Arm � After quiting his job � he breaks his arm and has to try to pay for healthcare. Haggles with the doctor on �what if I set it and you just tell me what to do. Do I get a discount?�

Those a just a few ideas.

Unfortunately for you get to watch Free Ride and Failure to Launch.

Mind you � Failure to Launch COULD be a cute comedy (its not) And Free ride COULD be what I just described above. (with a ninja and a wrestler.)

before - After

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