Television is a vast wasteland, according to Newton Minow.

They're the modern stone age family.

Posted: 10 May 2007 | posted by David J. Loehr |

Cavemen pilot picks up momentum.

One question. Why?

Okay, it's true, I've got more questions. Who has ever watched a Geico ad and thought, gee, there's a great idea for a series? Really, who's ever watched any commercial and thought that? And yet, here we are, with the Geico cavemen poised to join the ABC fall schedule, if the Hollywood Reporter is to be believed.

Maybe it's just me, but I was tired of the joke halfway through the first commercial. By the fourth, I thought they were milking it. That's four minutes. Just what do they plan for the other eighteen minutes worth of show, minus commercials? Will Geico sponsor the series like something from the golden age of 50's television? Will there be a pet gecko running around as an in-joke? Will they bring back Baby Bob in an inspired bit of stunt casting?

I think what's most disturbing about the whole thing is that, with all the creative people spread around the country working in theatre, working in obscurity, this is the kind of thing that gets on the air as "something different." Heck, forget the rest of the country. Surely there's someone already in the industry with a better idea than this. Even Tiny House would make a better series. (Um, really not.)

The only good news in all of this? Someone at ABC's going to save a whole lot on their car insurance.

1 comments:

  1. Ratphooey said...
  2. I actually find the ads funny, but I doubt they'll be able to sustain it for even one show, let alone a whole season.

    Of course, I didn't think spinning off Frasier Crane from Cheers was a good idea, either, so what do I know?

    This is not the first time an ad campaign has morphed into a tv show. It happened with the California raisins, too. Not that that bodes well for the cavemen.