MovieChat Forums > Better Off Ted (2009) Discussion > Why did they have to make Ted the ultima...

Why did they have to make Ted the ultimate person?

posted 13 years ago by moneycashgeorge
10 replies | jump to latest

Very funny show, but the one thing that really bothered me was that in every single episode the show goes out of its way to make Ted seem like Jesus Christ reborn or something; the greatest living human.

Was this supposed to be funny? I never laughed when they said "Ted your survey results are perfect!" or "Ted you are loved by all!". Seemed odd and pointless to me.

And every woman (and gay man) that Ted meets instantly wants to bang him, and says so to him, basically begging?

Its very off-putting to me. Its like the lines were written by women fantasizing and playing with themselves. And then some smart people wrote the rest of the show.

Anyone else bothered by this?

[–] trine-standerholen 13 years ago

I see where you are coming from.
But they way I see it, they made Ted out to be that 'perfect' guy who really gets on your nerves. We all know, admire, envy and hate them a bit. He's supposedly got it all, but really, he is not that perfect. You get to see what makes him so desirable - his own, and others beliefs in his 'awesomeness' for the lack of a better suited word ;) Not really that he IS better.. anyhow, this is slightly tilting toward an analysis, so I'll cut right to it. I think the Ted character balances out the other characters with their quirks and wonderful uniqueness, and when you think about it, isn't Ted the reason why all the other characters gets to shine? He is a kind of plain yoghurt, and they are the fruity explosive taste that makes the yoghurt worthwhile..unless you are lactose intolerant. (That 'joke' was as dry as a month old bread, I know, but come on..it had to be said).

[–] naxself 13 years ago

Ted was the normal one. He was a decent human being (and very attractive), which made him stand out from the rest (even though, at heart, all of them were fairly decent people, even Veronica). Ted is the sun, while the others were planets that revolved around him, so he had to be the moral compass.

I hope that makes sense, esp. with 2 different metaphors.

[–] BuddyBoy1961 13 years ago

Well, the show IS called..."Better Off Ted".

[–] ReasonlsOutToLunch 12 years ago

I have only seen a couple of episodes on Netflix. My theory is that Ted is a test subject for some pheromone type of product.

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[–] rservello 11 years ago

I disagree. I feel like Ted is "the outsider". Whenever you have a strange world you need an outsider to make the viewers observations of reality. Similar Jack Carter in Eureka. He isn't a genius...but he is likeable and normal. He is the only thing in the show that the viewer can empathize with and thus helps ground the insanity. Without ted the show would be chaotic.

[–] godzillaprime 11 years ago

No, not really. You seem to be making opinions based solely on looks yet you are incapable of realizing that irony. Or whatever. You bother me. Ted doesn't.

[–] Shiny-NZ 11 years ago

While I agree that Ted seems to be too good to be true sometimes, Ted is also revealed right at the beginning to be rather insecure. He worries that he'll become the 'guy that votes around' if he sleeps with more than one person in the office. He goes out of his way to try and get the older men in the office to like him (and to deal with issues he had with his own father). He visits the annoying security guard to apologise when he hurt his feelings (which ends up with the security guard's wife giving birth in his car) Ted has an overwhelming need to be liked, because he's an approval seeker (in the organisation and with the people around him - many of his story arcs revolve around him trying to do the right thing, and trying to be liked). These types of story arcs have been traditionally reserved for female characters (the 'can I be a business women - and still have people like me - should I bake lots of cupcakes or something' - story) and it's refreshing that this show put traditional 'feminine' insecurities into a male character.

[–] Elemenoh 11 years ago

That's the point of the character. He's a "perfect guy" whose perfection pisses off his coworkers.

[–] kep315 10 years ago

He's a "perfect guy"

That's why Lem and Phil draw him as a superhero.

[–] LordManhammer 8 years ago

Eh. What the OP describes sounds more like a male fantasy than a female one. As in, men want to think of themselves like this in the office, and would write characters like Ted.

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