What I’m Watching: Better Off Ted

Better Off Ted: Season 1, Episode 8 “You Are The Boss Of Me” (B)

This marks the return of ABC’s freshman comedy for its run of fresh summer episodes before it revs back up for a second year sometime midseason. These six installments should be considered as a bonus supply that has no reason for existing. Therefore, expectations aren’t high, since this is a fun opportunity to see what the writers of “Better Off Ted” came up with for episodes that should have been included during the first season, and there’s still a second season in the works where they can improve on the first season. This first episode isn’t quite as clever of some of the previous episodes of “Ted,” but it still contains a few laughs. It follows a traditional sitcom setup: the bosses want to become friends with their underlings, but things go awry when people realize that business and pleasure don’t quite mix well. The eventual result for both Veronica and Ted is obvious from the start, though it’s a bit of an amusing ride there. There’s little to complain about, but the show just isn’t quite as sharp as it often is. The medieval fight club is a bit geeky to be sure, and it would be great to actually see Ted’s ex-wife instead of just hear about her, especially because it might give Jay Harrington a chance to show some emotion. Veronica’s tormenting of Linda is fun, although I’m not sure that it’s possible to top the earlier episode where she tries to be nice to everyone. Hearing her talk about (and demonstrate) how easy it is to fire people is a hoot, however, and a highlight of this episode.