In 2012, Seth MacFarlane introduced his foul-mouthed teddy bear in “Ted,” one of the year’s Top 10 grossing movies.
Now, the fun-loving “Family Guy” creator adapts it into a new prequel TV series that premieres this Thursday on Peacock.
While the film starred Mark Wahlberg as John Bennett in his man-child 30s, the TV series goes back in time to find John as an awkward 16-year-old (Max Burkholder, “Parenthood”) navigating high school by dodging bullies and smoking weed with his trusty talking teddy bear Ted (MacFarlane) in Massachusetts circa 1993.
However, if you found the original film hilariously inappropriate, there’s plenty more where that came from, dishing out the type of profane humor where you say “that’s so wrong that I can’t help but laugh.” The TV series roasts everything from Anne Frank to the Challenger explosion, while debating shifting societal norms. His cousin Blaire (Giorgia Whigham) reminds Ted that “little people” is the politically correct term instead of “midgets.”
I’ve only seen the first of seven episodes, but there’s tons of ’90s nostalgia, from blowing on Nintendo cartridges to cutting the hair off Barbies, not to mention a running joke about “Full House.” Hell, John even looks like A.J. Soprano, arguing at the dinner table with his parents, Susan (Alanna Ubach replacing Alex Borstein) and Matty (Scott Grimes replacing Ralph Garman), who claims he’s not racist because his favorite movie is “Rocky.”
Still, there are some anachronistic jokes like saying Diane Keaton and Tom Hanks are Oscar winners when only Keaton had won by 1993 — Hanks’ “Philadelphia” was released in December 1993, but he didn’t win until the Oscars in March 1994. Similarly, there’s mention of John buying tickets to “Schindler’s List,” which didn’t come out until December 1993 while the green lawns and leafy trees suggest that “Ted” is set early in the fall semester.
It’s almost as if MacFarlane Googled “1993” and tried to cram in as many references as possible. Why let reality get in the way of a good joke? After all, it’s only a few weeks off, so who’s counting anyway? If we can accept a talking teddy bear, we can stomach minor inaccuracies. Besides, Ted wipes his furry butt with our mortal calendar.
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