There’s a lesson that network execs clearly have yet to learn when it comes to the content of television shows: not everything can and should be adapted to TV.
When I read last week that CBS picked up a comedy series based on a Twitter account, I tried to imagine just how the writers were going to structure a show around a concept that has no intrinsic story. Now, spinning a TV show off of an existing program or a movie? Sure, it’s been done plenty of times before. A novel? Also a piece of cake. But a Twitter account? And not just any Twitter account, but @shitmydadsays, a collection of humorous musings from a crotchety 73 year-old man?
Say it with me: are they for real?
Apparently, the geniuses at CBS are, indeed, bent on bringing “Shit My Dad Says” to a television near you (with a new title, I’d imagine). The creators of “Will & Grace,” David Kohan and Matt Mutchnick, are attached as executive producers and will supervise the writing, a sign that the show has definitely passed the kicking-ideas-around-the-office stage. As to how it got passed that stage in the first place, though, I haven’t a clue. Such a concept seems more fitting for a CollegeHumor.com parody than anything else.
CBS should know that basing an entire show’s premise on a Twitter account is a very risky venture. What is there to drive the comedy besides the profane “shit” the old man says? Should the program go in the direction of parroting the Twitter feed itself, the pearls of wisdom are going to become boring and predictable after a while. The quality of the writing will have to be consistently good if this show is to be pulled off, and in a television industry characterized by revolving-door writing staffs, consistency is difficult to achieve in the first place.
“Shit My Dad Says” doesn’t even get points for originality. This won’t be the first show to feature the comedic wisdom of a crabby old man. “All in the Family,” “Everybody Loves Raymond” and “That ‘70s Show” pioneered and perfected that sitcom convention. CBS should at least have found something mildly original if it wanted to create a show from a one-trick pony Internet phenomenon, such as Texts From Last Night, which was recently picked up by Fox for a comedy series. Not that I’m encouraging these kinds of premises for shows, but at least Texts From Last Night is a novel concept in comparison.
Sure, the success of the new show’s predecessors proves that “cantankerous old man comedy” is a tried-and-true sitcom blueprint. Yes, there is an audience for this kind of show, albeit a small and variable one. Especially in an age of new media alternatives to television, presenting a copy of a copy does not guarantee a devoted fan base. Even if the first few episodes’ ratings are fair, the numbers will drop off as the audience begins to realize that it’s the same family comedy of early sitcoms, rehashed for a web-savvy viewership.
Another hindrance for the “Shit My Dad Says” series will be the censors. CBS is, after all, network television. Yet “Shit My Dad Says” literally is nothing without its profane humor. If a show like this is to be done right – assuming there is a “right” way to do it – the vulgarity must stay. Admittedly, I’m interested in seeing how the writers keep the essence of what makes this concept funny without upsetting the censorship board. Perhaps “Shit My Dad Says” will find a permanent home on Comedy Central if it is too naughty for wholesome CBS.
The fact that this new title is the second Internet trend to get a TV deal in less than a month is discouraging. While I love Texts From Last Night and Shit My Dad Says as much as any web-surfing geek, I believe that what is born on the Internet should stay on the Internet, lest it lose its original humor. But at the rate things are going, I fear that LOLCats will be adapted to television next. For the love of Ceiling Cat, I hope I’m wrong.
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