Follow Up – Outsourced
Outsourced – NBC – 9:30/8:30pm Thursday – USA
In my original review of Outsourced I listed the many, many ways I was offended by this Indian call-centre comedy. I described the pilot as being a “special kind of awful”, yet I kept watching it because I’m a sucker for punishment and I didn’t want to miss the moment Outsourced turned from terrible sitcom into unappreciated gem. Needless to say six episodes into the series and that still hasn’t happened. Outsourced is no longer as painfully offensive as it was in its pilot; now it’s just boring.
There are dozens of problems with Outsourced but the biggest problem for me is Ben Rappaport as Todd Dempsey, our hero of the piece, our American manager struggling to understand those strange Indian customs as they swirl around him in a spicy haze. My first problem; he’s a manager. He’s the friend and potential romantic partner of his employees, but he also the guy listening in on the calls and threatening employees with being fired if they don’t improve their sales. There’s a reason our hero on The Office was the fed-up salesman Jim and the subject of ridicule was the ridiculous manager Michael Scott – more people have managers they hate than managers the sympathise with and wish romantic luck upon.
It’s not a detrimental character trait, that’d be ridiculous; you can be a serial killer and still a charismatic lead. It’s just that Todd, as played by Rappaport, is such a condescending prick that outside of wishing his bobble head would get struck by some kind of thrown object there’s not a lot else you want to see happen with his character. When Todd doesn’t understand a custom, he doesn’t awkwardly get into a scrape he has to charm his way out of. Instead he obnoxiously announces to the entire office his misunderstanding whilst also explaining how “in America we…” before leading into some description of a crazy American custom like dressing up like sluts on Halloween, which can’t possibly be accurately described to these Indians.
So while Todd is a note played off key the supporting cast are all one note played over and over again. Whether it be Rajiv, the assistant manager who mugs for the camera at every opportunity, or shy and unnoticed Madhuri, these characters were given a character trait in the pilot and nothing has changed since then. Manmeet is still obsessed with American women, Gupta still talks too much and is disliked by his peers for no substantial reason outside of ‘the script says so’, and Asha is still devastatingly attractive and in the process of getting an arranged marriage much to Todd’s disappointment. Over the course of six episodes we haven’t learn any more about any of them, save for a brief storyline where Rajiv was trying to impress his potential in-laws and showed a touch of humanity, but then that was dropped by the next episode and he was back grinning like a jerk trying to undermine Todd.
Every other sitcom that debuted this Fall has managed to bring some nuisance to their cast of characters, whether it be Mike & Molly, Raising Hope, Better With You or Running Wilde. Their characters have deepened, if in some cases only slightly. Yet after six episodes Outsourced seems content with what it’s already got. Why develop Gupta beyond being a goofball who nobody likes? Why does nobody like him? How does he feel about it? It’s not like the character has feelings, he’s just there to be a walking punchline. Look at silly Gupta trying to get people to come to a party at his house, look at silly Gupta wearing a pimp costume for Halloween because he thinks it’s what American ‘businessmen’ wear, look at silly Gupta invite himself where he’s not wanted. Laugh at silly Gupta, laugh!
The writers seem to have no understanding of their own characters, but they also seem to have no understanding of Indian culture outside of a few scattered stereotypes. Even worse still they seem to have no understanding of how jokes work.
Here’s a scene and you try and tell me what’s funny about it.
Manmeet: Hey Todd, the party was amazing man. I talked to the naughty nurse all night on the phone and then we went outside together. Just us.
Todd: Yeahhh, and?
Manmeet: I think we, um, what is considered getting to first base in America?
Todd: Kissing.
Manmeet: Oh, then no. I held her hair while she vomited.
Todd looks away.
Manmeet: Hmm, what’s the matter man?
Todd: Well I went to get Asha a drink but then Tanya kissed me.
Manmeet: Ah! Todd’s on first!… It’s only a matter of time before you get to second base and live happily ever after.
Todd: What do you think second base is?
Manmeet: Getting married.
Todd: What’s third base and home?
Manmeet: I don’t know. Cricket only has two bases.
Except of course for the fact that cricket DOESN’T have two bases. It’s not like Manmeet then says “not that we call them bases, but it works the same way…” Nope. That’s just a slight misunderstanding of sport, that’s fine. Yet we also have Manmeet who is so in love with American culture that he knows the ‘bases’ idea of hooking up, but believes first base is ‘holding a girls hair while she vomits’ and second base is ‘getting married’. All that conversation does is undercut itself, whilst also being completely unfunny.
I still think that Outsourced COULD be a good show. This same cast, this same premise, but with a different, more ambitious, collection of writers could produce a smart, funny culture clash sitcom. Do I think that Outsourced will get better? No. Episode after episode so has been unfunny dreck and Outsourced shows no desire to change that, so, yeah, I think this is going to be crap nine episodes into the season, thirteen episodes into the season and twenty-two episodes into the season unless somebody on the writing staff demands to work on a show that delivers more than pathetic drivel.
