What I’m Watching: Better Off Ted

Better Off Ted: Season 2, Episode 2 “The Lawyer, The Lemur & The Little Listener” (B)

This is a funny but altogether peculiar episode, where all of the plotlines are a bit too strange for the episode to be completely terrific. First of all, seeing Lem start aggressively making out with a woman in the elevator with Phil right there seemed a tad out of character, and him having to pay for the time he was spending with her for her law services then didn’t make much sense or have much relevance since the relationship was already outlandish and weird to start. Andrea’s children’s book followed that same logic, and Phil’s semi-delight at being the main character and her snappy responses to his efforts to chart his character’s course were amusing. Veronica has already used Rose to help her fire people, and incorporating the young one strongly goes against the commonly emphasized notion that this show isn’t really about Ted, and that all of the supporting characters are for the most part much stronger than him. Nonetheless, it’s still interesting and entertaining to see Veronica try to manipulate Rose for her own good and see how she appeals to the young girl in order to get her to help her. The mix-up where Rose overheard the wrong information about an employee was funny, and it’s always enjoyable to see Ted get the blame for something he didn’t do. Overall, the cast makes these more than slightly silly plotlines work, and they deserve credit for that, as does the successful show as a whole.