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Herc's Seen This Fall’s Other Cross-Arnett Sitcom: IFC’s INCREASINGLY POOR DECISIONS OF TODD MARGARET!!

I am – Hercules!!


 For those underwhelmed by the “Arrested Development” reunion at Fox’s “Running Wilde” this fall, the good news is there’s a second reunification of “Development” brothers-in-law David Cross and Will Arnett this fall via an IFC sitcom titled “The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret.”

It’s about a weak-minded temp (Cross) who unexpectedly finds himself dispatched by his half-wit of a new boss (Arnett) to market to the British a vile Korean energy drink called Thunder Muscle. While “Wilde” is masterminded by Arnett and “Arrested” creator Mitch Hurwitz, “Margaret” was co-created by Cross, whose earlier endeavors as a screenwriter include HBO’s “Mr. Show” and Comedy Central’s animated “Freak Show.”

I believe Cross one of the funniest comics alive, but not every stand-up transitions to other media as brilliantly as did Woody Allen and Albert Brooks. “Mr. Show,” a sketch franchise, deserves its following.

“Freak Show” a bit more of a sitcom, was a bit less of a laugh generator. “Margaret” again demonstrates that writing situation comedies – even TV-MA ones – may not be Cross’ strongest suit. Todd Margaret is a mammoth boob, smart enough to recognize a good job when it lands in his lap, but too stupid to realize locking his cat in his apartment for a month with a giant dish of tuna and a bucket of water is not preferable to boarding the pet. (Margaret’s new salary is $120,000 annually so he really should have been able to swing that expense.)

Margaret also knows somehow that Leeds is a municipality in England -- but doesn’t know The Who didn’t play there every Saturday.

The character of Todd Margaret, like a lot of sitcom characters, doesn’t always make a lot of sense.

Margaret is assigned a cruel and unpleasant young British assistant who seems to take great joy in exploring just how dim his new boss is.

The series is repetitive and often wearing, determined to make the point over and over that Margaret has not much of an intellect. The set pieces that demonstrate this almost always overstay their welcome. 

But it’s not all bad. The thousands of boxes of the energy drink shipped to Margaret’s London office from Korea are labeled “Bad Sanitation!” I also enjoyed checking in with Margaret’s cat at the end of each episode. American guest stars on the series include Amber Tamblyn and Janeane Garofalo.

Variety says:

Despite the promising talent and amusing title, the poorest decision pertaining to "The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret" was the one to greenlight it. … it's a very one-note joke, adding a second creative disappointment (the other being Fox's "Running Wilde") to this fall's Cross-Will Arnett team-ups … A more fundamental problem lies with Cross, whose mixture of wide-eyed innocent/ugly American/myopic moron has no nuance to engender even a trace of sympathy for his plight. And haven't we seen Arnett play the same blowhard over and over again, to the point of becoming tiresome? …

The New York Times says:

… though it has moments of sublime satire and a typically memorable performance from Mr. Cross’s “Arrested Development” colleague Will Arnett, it still has the feel of a dish that has been sitting on the table well past the point of cooling. … all about its own ad-hoc lunacy, and yet it holds up as a pretty funny take on American corporate arrogance and as a symbol of the shift the workplace comedy has taken in recent years from an emphasis on relationships toward illustrations of dopey mismanagement. …

The Los Angeles Times says:

… not altogether successful … His attempts to speak the local lingo — "Hello, hello, if I could have a wee minute of a brief spot tinkling of your time" — are as strained as his conversations with women, where he is both elaborately courteous and helplessly gross. … This is fun at first, but it becomes tiring to see him continually swatted down. It isn't until the glimmer of a plot finally emerges, after Todd stumbles into a Middle Eastern market with a can of Thunder Muscle, eliciting sudden mysterious interest — that the series inches past mere mockery to the promise of more muscular misadventure. …

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says:

… by far the funnier of the two David Cross-Will Arnett series airing this fall … He's an idiot (after he hears a British waitress say "raison d'etre," he says, "Aww, I love raisins") but the situations are pretty funny and hilariously profane whenever Arnett is on screen. …

The Boston Globe says:

… It’s not must-see, but worth a half-hour, if you like Cross. …

10 p.m. Friday. IFC.

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