DJariya

By djariya at 2010-09-11

Synopsis:



Episode 7 of 22

kstublen

It's probably been said before, but I still find it funny that the Indian Cast is comprised of two Americans, two Brits, and a Canadian. They all do a pretty good job at hiding their accents, with the exception of maybe Rebecca Hazlewood, who I think has the best character, but the poorest accent.

I'm not really sure how I feel about the show at this point. On the one hand, there are moments where the show really shines, but in the next instant those moments are overshadowed by potty humor and lazy writing.

I think right now my main complaint is how terribly unlikeable Todd still is after 7 episodes. The only thing redeemable about him is that he is less intolerant and judgmental than Charlie, but Charlie has actually shown some growth during the 7 episodes, whereas Todd hasn't changed at all. With someone else playing Todd, and some better writing for the character, this show would be much better. Case in point: Todd's mispronunciation of Manmeet's name. If it was funny the first couple of times, and that's a big if, it has definitely become stale by now and serves as just another example of how Todd hasn't changed at all. There's countless examples and he's honestly one of my least favorite characters of any show I've ever watched.

I will say though that they've done a good job developing the majority of the cast. Charlie is becoming less racist and actually seems to enjoy spending time with some of the others. I also enjoy Gupta much more than at the start. They've toned him down a lot more and made him more realistic and having him associated with Charlie is a winning idea. Madhuri was good in this episode as well. I liked her back and forth with Todd about taking the picture. She's another example of a a character that is being well-developed and is much less one-note than she was at the start.

What this show does best, and what it needs more of, is the sort of cultural misunderstandings that are inevitable in this situation. The best example I can think of in this episode was Todd saying he was going cowboy or whatever, and Manmeet thinking he meant commando. I'd like to see more of that, in a subtle way. I stress subtle because while patting your co-worker on the back was a good idea, it was very poorly executed. I find that to be much smarter comedy and a whole lot funnier than the jokes about names, vomiting, spicy food, arranged marriages, etc. The stuff about the Kama Sutra in this episode is just another example of lazy joke-writing; I didn't find any of it funny at all and this show still relies way too much on those types of jokes. I mean, as if Manmeet wasn't enough, we now need Sukdeep or Deepsuk or whatever it was?

I guess I shouldn't complain too much though. Anything is better than the stereotype-a-minute that was the Pilot. I just wish they'd lose all the stereotypes and ditch the easy jokes. You can tell the cast is trying hard and they deserve some better written material.

conscience

Not the funniest episode but it moved the story along. I'd like to see more of Tonya - maybe Todd can 'rebound' with her.

Fist of Doom

Thought this was a pretty bad episode. I agree with kstublen that Todd is the weakest part of the show. His attempts to romance Asha are awkward and drag the show down.

Anubis2005X

Dammit, when is Parks & Rec coming back?

Timber

Not soon enough

emachine12

Madhuri shines the brightest in this show. She always manages to have the funniest bits ranging from her non audible scream of terror to her admittance that she "lets loose" after hours.

The same can be said for Rajiv.

zombeaner

I liked it, I think it helps that I "get" a lot of the cultural references.

kstublen

I think I get most of them as well and it helps a little, but not much. While the show actually has some potential, both the unlikeable lead and lazy writing are holding it back.

conscience

I think you should either search for a thread about P&R or start a thread about it and stop posting about it in Outsourced threads. It makes you come off annoying as hell, to be honest.

Kevin M. Dean

Better listen to your conscience.