Last night marked the gala premiere of ABC’s new comedy series, Cavemen. I know what you’re thinking: “A 30-minute-long sitcom based on a commercial for car insurance? That sounds great in theory, but I’ve already seen Encino Man. I need another comedy about a thawed-out caveman trying to make sense of the modern world like a mime needs a megaphone.”
Let me assure you right off the bat that Cavemen is nothing like Encino Man at all. For starters, Encino Man was about a single caveman who was thawed out in the modern world. Cavemen follows a slightly different premise. Executive producer Joe Lawson explains:
“Our concept is that there are only about 2,000 of them. They’ve always been in the background. While they’re a minority, their lives are like everyone else’s.”
So what we’re looking at here in a nutshell is a TV show about an alternate reality where cavemen are… what, like an ethnic minority or something? ABC’s got the answer to that one, and it sounds like a resounding “yes” according to this press release:
“Cavemen is a unique buddy comedy that offers a clever twist on stereotypes and turns race relations on their head.”
You’re probably wondering how a sitcom about cavemen “turns race relations on their head.” Maybe a quick view of this ABC trailer will spell it out for you:
Seem a little heavy-headed? You must be imagining things:
“There’s a lot of assumptions about who they are and what they represent. It has nothing to do with race; that’s silly,” says executive producer Joe Lawson.
Now I’m just confused. Did I watch a thinly-veiled sitcom about black people last night, or was it just your average it’s-funny-when-cavemen-wear-glasses comedy routine?
Here’s a quick and dirty list of some of the “wacky” things that cavemen did in last night’s season premiere:
Do you understand why this is funny? You probably do by now, but just to be safe I’m going to let the actor who plays the show’s main character (Bill English) explain it:
“… the issues we deal with as cavemen are the same that people of all races deal with… There are lots of opportunities for humor. You can put these guys in any situation. Doing the Electric Slide. In a grocery store. At the beach.”
It’s funny because they’re cavemen! Get it now?! Ha ha ha!
If you add all the pieces together, the people who made this show are saying that Cavemen is a sitcom that turns race relations on its head - while having nothing to do with race - by showing cavemen dealing with stuff that “all races” can relate to. Oh - and it’s funny because they’re cavemen.
That pretty much sums up Cavemen’s biggest problem - it’s a show that pretends to be social commentary while putting funny clothes on cavemen for 99% of its laughs. You want to throw some social commentary into my comedy? Go ahead, but make sure there’s more than one shitty joke in there, too.
This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 3rd, 2007 at 2:00 pm and is filed under TV. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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March 23rd, 2008 at 12:36 pm
Once again the ‘genuis’ and very hypocritical minds at crack[what they obviously smoke] try to give us the ‘liberal guide to bullshit social commentary as if WE can even talk’ that they are soooo quick to point out in others what they REFUSE to point out in themselves. At least the right doesn’t try to hide their bigotry under self-serving,phony,self-righteous,hypocritical sermonizing the cracked minds like their bigotry on the down low and lull everyone into believing either it doesn’ exist or it doesn’t with them. Stupid conservatives!! Always letting the bigot out the bag shame on them!
March 23rd, 2008 at 7:49 am
Now then Guys. This could be the most revolutionary step in the broad genre of “Cavemen turning bigotry on its head by verifying that minorities are mentally retarded monkeys with the only sole exeption being their ability to consume next-gen video games” since Fred called Vilma a “Stuck up dyke bitch who would be nowhere without him” or calling Barney, beer-bottle in hand “A socialist n*gger loving traitor who’s ass is just begging to get taken to the HUAC.”
December 7th, 2007 at 7:15 pm
I think Cavemen is able to insult every race, gender and age in one shity 1/2 hour comedy if you go looking for it. Here let me help you. Notice naythign baout their wives? They are all white, must be playing on teh notion that black men love white women. And the notion that Uncle Oog cannot perform his job is that he is old and incompetent or a lazy mexican, or a lazy black. They hit 3 iwth that pitch. Oh and what’s this? Where are the cave women? Why are they not in the work force or have a voice in the show? Their abscenece speaks volumes.
November 30th, 2007 at 5:59 pm
I thought Cavemen were like old…
i don’t get it!?!
November 13th, 2007 at 12:53 am
I disagree.
October 31st, 2007 at 6:25 pm
oh my god, zervas, get a life and a freaking clue. it’s a show; no need to pull the race card on this one.
you only prove how you truly feel about black people in your comparison, otherwise, your thoughts would never have even gone in that direction.
find something better to do with your time; forming rational, valid thoughts obviously isn’t your strong point.
October 12th, 2007 at 9:19 pm
Not only is it not funny but it seems that “cavemen” is just the modern equivalent to black face. I can’t say I’ve fully studied the show but in what I’ve seen cavemen clearly equal black americans. The last episode was largely about how the educated caveman (black guy) wasn’t suffering from racism but was just really lazy and bad at his job. Oh course, like a good little Uncle Oog he realizes, by the end of the episode, that the world’s not racist; it’s his lack of effort.
I’d prefer to see an episode where their Geico car insurance costs more because they live in a caveman zip code.