Need Proof That TV Has Officialy Run Out of Ideas...?

Here it is -- courtesy of the trade publication Variety...

Winner for most unusual piece of development this pilot season goes to ABC, which has turned a series of quirky Geico commercials into an actual half-hour comedy project.
"Cavemen" will revolve around three pre-historic men who must battle prejudice as they attempt to live as normal thirtysomethings in modern Atlanta."

If picked up, Cavemen would join Baby Bob as the second modern-day series created from a TV advertising campaign. What's that? You've never head of Baby Bob?

Exactly.

Comments

[joe hillman]

"the caveman" probably works cheap, hence the "interest."

one reason for the dearth of quality comedy on network tv is that to get quality, you have to pay for quality.

i.e. ten things about your mother: good show, fresh. but the actors were either unemployed or unknown (read: cheap). if they demand a bump in pay and the ratings even have so much as a blip, it's curtains.

maybe it's just me, but geico has a monopoly on awful commercials.

[Eric Deggans]

Paul, are you saying I would ignore the possiblity of creative success just to make a snarky comment or two?

Of course, I would. And it is very possible that a crack creative team might make something fun out of this premise.

But, this caveman in the modern world premise is already starting to wear thin in 30-second commercials. i have a hard time picturing the creative genius who can make this one or two-note joke stretch over an entire half-hour episode, let alone a 22-episode series.

Let's just say in the great scheme of things, the odds aren't necessarily with these guys...

[Paul]

If the show is able to snag some creative writers, is given a decent production budget, I actually think “Cavemen” could be a hit. If the producers can strike a balance between camp and smart social critique, it may even be worth watching.

Who really cares where ideas and inspiration come from anyway? People have long been drawing from commercial culture to inform their work, even producing some high-minded art from it.

And, really, if one can find value in reporting the Anna story, why couldn’t someone find some worthy angle from a witty commercial?