cheaptrick77 Posted July 28, 2007 Share Posted July 28, 2007 http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dw...n2.4301f76.html (by TOM MAURSTAD | Dallas Morning News Media Critic) LOS ANGELES – What happens when cavemen go from 30-second TV commercial to 30-minute sitcom? Judging from Wednesday's panel, a lot of funny things, but not for the right reasons. The upcoming ABC sitcom, called Cavemen, is based on a series of Geico ads in which some erudite and sensitive cavemen lament the cold, cruel depictions of their kind as stupid and primitive. As 30-second spots go, they're funny and clever. But stretch the concept to a weekly 30-minute series and, well, smoke starts pouring out from under the hood. First, there's the decision to treat the cavemen as "the world's oldest minority," thereby using them as a way of examining and poking fun at the racial and cultural stereotypes that divide us. Does that strike you as funny? Well, it didn't strike a lot of the TV journalists in the room as funny either, particularly since so many of the stereotypes emphasized in the pilot seemed to make specific associations with black people. A woman pointed out that it was eight white guys sitting on the stage and that all of the caveman stereotypes had to do with things such as "being a naturally great athlete" and "having a reputation for being good lovers," and she wondered aloud how they couldn't have anticipated that people would make that connection. The producers tried to explain, in that effusively expressive way of saying nothing that is a Hollywood trademark, saying things such as "Is it about race relations? No. But that is a background theme of the show" and "It's distinctive stories about three guys in their 20s who happen to be cavemen." So think of it as sort of an Unshaven Friends. One of the producers tried to explain that subsequent episodes will get into a variety of issues, while, he acknowledged, the pilot may have focused on stereotypes most often associated with black people. (ABC entertainment president Stephen McPherson announced that the pilot will be held back and used later in the series, after some retooling and that another pilot is being shot.) The producer went on to name a couple of the issues, such as an episode in which one caveman gets mad at another caveman for dating a non-caveman woman (a – gasp – #### sapien), and another in which a caveman runs into problems on the job because he really doesn't like to work. "So," another in the audience asked, incredulously, "you're saying that conflicts over dating outside their group and being lazy at work are going to help diminish that perception?" Another controversy threatened to break out when, informed that these cavemen are Cro-Magnon, someone pointed out that their cavemen look a lot more like Neanderthals, adding that "not all cavemen look alike, you know." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clawsnstripes Posted July 28, 2007 Share Posted July 28, 2007 of course some yayhoo can find a way to tie race to anything. i don't watch much network television, but i thought it might be a funny show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bleedsbluengold24 Posted July 28, 2007 Share Posted July 28, 2007 Two words: Puh-Leeze! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheaptrick77 Posted July 28, 2007 Author Share Posted July 28, 2007 Yeah, I have a response: uh, what ?? :huh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveTV1 Posted July 29, 2007 Share Posted July 29, 2007 I thought it was the Italians that were the best lovers, wait it's the French, wait it's the Mexican, wait it's the American, now it's the Cavemen. I thought the American's were the best atheletes, or is it the Russians, the German's, the British, or the Kenyan's. I'm confused. Doesn't every country and race have pride ? I haven't watched T.V., except for an occasional A & E, History Channel, ESPN, Football, Baseball game, "Hell's Kitchen", and "The Bronx Is Burning". I see this as a remake, in a way of "Encino Man", but... Are we a generation, that compares everything to race ? To me, the screenwriters of today, don't have a clue, thus all the reality shows, that are generally boring. To be honest, the last show, until "The Bronx Is Burning", that I had to see was "Seinfeld", how many years ago was that ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobama Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 of course some yayhoo can find a way to tie race to anything. Did you not realize the commercials were about race and stereotypes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheaptrick77 Posted October 2, 2007 Author Share Posted October 2, 2007 Pilot episode airs tonight @ 7pm on ABC. I'm debating whether or not to TiVo it (no Baseball, no Hockey, why not?) :unsure: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clawsnstripes Posted October 2, 2007 Share Posted October 2, 2007 not a show that i'll go out of my way to watch. if this show is all about race, i'd hate to see what people would think about some of the old classics like "all in the family", "sanford and son", and "the jeffersons". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigdawg16 Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 not a show that i'll go out of my way to watch. if this show is all about race, i'd hate to see what people would think about some of the old classics like "all in the family", "sanford and son", and "the jeffersons". Ohhh Archie !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boytroy74 Posted October 10, 2007 Share Posted October 10, 2007 I actually didn't think it was that bad of a show. It had some funny parts to it, but it still needs to work on a few things. I'll keep watching it till the network prematurely pulls the show off the air, which seems to be the norm these days... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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