Full disclosure: Dildarian's last show, the Life and Times of Tim (LATOT) is one of my all time favorites. I also respect his artistic freedom, in that he should not be tied to that specific type of humor or show for the rest of his life. He should be free to create whatever he wants and I don't want to be one of the people that will be critical of everything new that he does, just because it is not LATOT. That being said, I feel like there are some really striking similarities between the two shows in terms of characters, environment, and setting, so I feel a bit more vindicated in comparing the two.
The New VIP's has a very different style in terms of pacing and general humor: it's much more crude, much faster paced, and seems much more geared towards a prime time audience (nothing wrong with that). For me, what made LATOT so funny was the dry and subtle bits, because that's the kind of humor I tend to like. I don't however have no problem with crass or racy jokes (Props to the Drawn Together team just because they went so far out of bounds so regularly) To Dildarian's credit, I really thought he nailed that wry humor perfectly. This new show definitely could use some refinement.
For me the Character exaggeration is overboard, even in terms of raunchy crass humor. I found pretty much all of the characters annoying except one (who I'm pretty sure was a character from LATOT "Dr. BJ"). Couldn't stand the protagonist, or his sidekick. The H.R lady was annoying (I LOVED her LATOT counterpart, Marie.) In the first 15 minutes, a few of the Jokes actually landed pretty well for me and I was chuckling. However there was always some element that took the joke a bit too far for me, not in terms of it being too 'inappropriate' but rather that it sort of felt to me like the dialog was trying too hard for a laugh. Consequently, the Joke sort of fizzled. Its sort of like watching a group of teenage guys when they are all competing for the attention of a girl. There's always one guy who takes it way overboard and embarrasses himself. That's the same feeling I got watching these characters.
Like I said, I did have a few good chuckles, only two or three but that was enough to give me hope. I think the show could definitely embrace the crassness, and with some character development maybe that might make it more appealing over time to people like myself. I feel like a lot of comedy these day's overlooks plot and character entirely, concentrating on shock laughs, or situations that are supposed to be inherently funny. For me, the real comedy is created where situational humor meets character development. In Seinfeld, Kramer is a character who is pretty inherently funny. He's got a great physical presence with some overtones of slapstick, and while over the course of the series there is some flanderization, he still remains a pretty lovable character. What makes the situation's with Kramer so funny aren't JUST that they are zany inherently funny situations. They are funny because of the way Kramers actions impact others, and the way that others predict, attribute and react to situations involving Kramer. It's all about the characters, and how they interact and build relationships with each other, and that's where the attention of the jokes are focused.
The other route the show could go, is to reel back the exhibition and dry up the humor a little bit; there's nothing wrong with subtlety. Although I think that this show has established itself as something that's a bit more 'in your face' so to speak and I am OK with that. As it stands right now, it's just like an annoying stranger yelling in my face. Some of the things he's saying might be funny, but first I'll have to get to know the guy. The danger here is...if I get annoyed and tell him to bugger off before I get to know him, then no ones going to be laughing.
I have a huge amount of respect for Dildarian, and the writing process in general. I think that I have been overly critical (and taking all the elements that go into making an animated comedy, probably unfairly so), but I just really would like to see more content by him, and I don't want to see this get swept under the rug.
So in summation, I think there's hope. I wouldn't say I am optimistic, but I am cautiously hopeful. Keep writing Steve, I'm rooting for you.
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