Season Review: Ted Season One

It has to be not an easy task to adapt a feature length film into that of a television series, even worse yet, when you do it in the realm of comedy. Fortunately for Peacock, Seth MacFarlane is the modern-day Norman Lear regardless of it’s on streaming, broadcast, or even on Mars, Seth’s capacity to surround himself with the level of talent needed to both shepherd and launch products is, quite simply, astounding.

For my money, Ted is an industry shaker in that it combined Avatar-level tech combined with Seth’s propensity for crass humor into a half-a-billion dollar juggernaut. Granted the sequel wasn’t as well received, but then again, comedy sequels for some of the biggest films of all time almost never work out (see: Dumb and Dumber, Anchorman, Home Alone, etc), but we remember that the first one was still in a league of it’s own.  Turning Ted from a film franchise into that of a television series sounded like a hefty task when first announced, though when Seth first envisioned the series, he did in fact pitch his fluffy teddy pitch to FOX and other networks hoping it would be another jewel to his already busy crown that features the likes of Family Guy, American Dad, and The Cleveland Show among the ranks. Does it work? The short answer…yes.

Whilst being marketed as “an event series”, Seth MacFarlane’s new Peacock series Ted features all of the attributes needed for something that can go on for a long time. Other than the series lead, none of the cast from the aforementioned Ted films return, because THIS setting is 1993. If you recall from the Ted film, John Bennett makes a wish that his teddy bear can be real so that he can have a thunder buddy for life that will be there for him no matter what. Fast forward several years lager, John (Max Burkholder)  is now 16 and he’s got a new foe to deal with…puberty. In addition to John and Ted (voiced by MacFarlane), the Bennett household includes John’s father Matty (Scott Grimes), his mother Susan (Alanna Ubach), and his cousin, Blaire (Giorgia Whigham), who is living with them while attending a college nearby. Ted is soon forced to attend school with John, getting him bullied and in all sorts of trouble, but at the end of the day, he’s a loyal pal who’s always willing to go out on a limb for friendship.

Here’s where some of the confusion begins. If you recall, the feature-length film featured John’s parents portrayed by Alex Borstein (“Helen”) and Ralph Garman (“Steve”). Why we had the presence of mind to not get either of them to come back and even go so far as to change the names of the characters for the series, I’m sure I don’t know. Scott Grimes’ Massachusetts upbringing could have been a reason here, but it takes a little getting used to his Bill Burr facade during the course of seven episodes before Scott really kind of makes “Matty” his own. Double goes for Alanna’s role as the mother of John Bennett of whom I was ready to crucify for an awful Boston accent that seemingly subsides a bit as the show progresses. Giorgia’s take on “Blair” is fantastic and coupled with roles from other TV series like Scream and The Punisher, I’m really hoping this show breaks her wide open with busy work for years to come because as much as I am a huge fan of her father Shea’s work, Giorgia might be the best actor in the family. Unfortunately, I think the placement of the character-type doesn’t make a lot of sense for the time period, a social activist ala American Dad’s “Hayley Smith” that believes in modern-day ultra-progressive values wasn’t really a thing in the early nineties, and this is coming from a kid born-and-raised in the same time period and none-too far away from where this series is set.

Max Burkholder is another one who I hope really breaks out from this series and quite frankly if this show was all about John and Ted running away I think I would’ve been fine with it given my mixed feelings about the rest of the family. Max is fantastic, sounding almost identical to Mark Wahlberg, though I could’ve used a few less uses of the word “wicked” in the dialogue. In any event, I’m proud of the way Max really leveraged this big chance and his back-and-forth with Seth MacFarlane’s “Ted” even comes off more natural than what Mark and Seth had.

Fans of Seth MacFarlane’s animated shows will most certainly spot the numerous actors the series provides with the likes of Mike Henry, John Viener, Steve Callaghan, and others checking in. Just as much fun is all of the hilarious ancillary characters that MacFarlane introduces like John’s teachers, the local security guard, and yes another toy that comes to life that I’m not going to spoil, featured in the show’s best episode. In fact, if this toy doesn’t get its own spin-off, I’m gonna sue somebody.

In any event, Ted is an early winner for Peacock. I shudder to think how much better this series could’ve been with Ralph Garman and Alex Borstein returning as John’s parents, but with crass dialogue, a fantastic buddy comedy dynamic between John and Ted, and loads of heart spilling out at the seams, we get plenty enough to get excited about and hope that a foundation is put in place for what should be additional seasons to come. Grab your thunder buddy, and watch Ted.