3 out of 5

Director: Television

With Portia de Rossi and the quirky characters, comparisons to Arrested Development are inevitable. However, Better Off Ted is much more episodic in its structure, and thus a bit more generic. Its premise – following the morally-upstanding, relatable Ted, an exec at Veridian Dynamics, a big-arse company that makes EVERYTHING – should be fun and it is, but the weird floating between prime-time family funny and the desire to be quirky never really gels into something consistently brilliant, rather just showing sparks of what could be. So you have Ted, single dad, and his daughter Rose, his moral compass, and Laura, the girl at work he loves but knows he shouldnt date, and boss Veronica, he has no soul but isnt all that bad, and your two geeky scientists. Everyone plays their roles perfectly, with any character development not really needed or necessary… plots naturally build themselves and the show is thus eminently watchable. But also generally forgettable… despite some HILARIOUS plot pieces. Sigh. Its just too nice.