Ted Prequel Series Is The Stuffed Bear You Grew Out Of As A Kid
Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane has transported the naughty talking bear he voices Ted to our screens at home — but against our will. The movies that first brought the bear to life never offered a premise that needed to be expanded upon. The new prequel show takes place in 1993, well after Ted’s moment of fame has passed. He’s living with his best friend, a 16 year old version of Mark Wahlberg’s character from the films John Bennett (Max Burkholder). John and Ted live in a working-class Boston household along with John’s parents, Matty and Susan (Scott Grimes and Alanna Ubach), as well as his cousin Blaire (Giorgia Whigham). Matty is a drunken blue-collar Bostonian who rules the house, while Blaire is a liberal-minded girl who isn’t afraid to speak her mind. Susan is the shy, kind mom who doesn’t say much in the traditionally run household.
The show brings a new array of characters we didn’t meet in the films, and they’re characters I had no pleasure in getting to know. They’re all objectively unlikeable in their own ways. Matty’s tangents always seemed to ramble on for 20 seconds too long, while Blaire offered anything but the nuance the show was trying to achieve with her character. While it could’ve been fun to see 16 year old John Bennett, the character fell flat right along with his dialogue. The exaggerated Boston accents didn’t help this case.
As for any new show, I wanted to like this. The Ted films were funny, being that Seth MacFarlane’s formulaic, edgy comedy was etched into the script with Mark Wahlberg and Mila Kunis to deliver the witty lines. Sure, Ted didn’t have a cult following nor was there a want from audiences for an expansion of the character itself, but the films were amusing enough that this show had the potential to create a new following of Ted fans. The show just didn’t provide the same punch the films did. Moreover, it felt inconsistent with the messaging within each too long episode. For a show that has no real premise, the first episode is nearly an hour long with the subsequent episodes being 40 minutes.
With its preceding films, there was the idea and concept of Ted, which made the films an overall fun watch, while seeing the bear come to life. This also brought along a set of conflicts and hijinx the duo could get into it. Now that the concept of Ted has come to fruition, the show had nothing else to provide, except for sloppy writing and poorly developed characters trying to fill a 40 minute void.
Remember how you got bored of your toys as a child? Ted is the stuffed bear you grew out of and don’t want to play with anymore. Some franchises need to stay in the past and be reminisced for what they were. Ted unfortunately just could not stay dormant. If you liked the movies, leave it at that, as the show doesn’t present the same irreverent humor that made the movies likeable.
All seven episodes of Ted are now streaming on Peacock.
