Old news. Plus, why does it bite? I like the Geico Cavemen. I was saying from the beginning that this would be a cool premise for a sit-com.
Not saying I'll watch it - haven't watched a sitcom since Cheers - but I think those commercials are a hoot: "Cindy's here. We're getting back together." "Will you GIVE US A MINUTE?!?" Think of it this way - they might have decided to build a sitcom around the gecko.
By watching a group of unshaven Neanderthals with bad teeth? I can get that here just going to Wal Mart.
Gave it three episodes, wasn't impressed, and I *like* Mahoney as an actor. Even the dog was more interesting. Guess I'm just not a sitcom kind of person.
First season, right? If yes. I agree, painful. When they hit their stride a while later though. Total gold.
Eh, once Niles got divorced, and the ball started rolling towards the Daphne courtship, the shark was pretty well jumped. It was a small window of greatness.
[Uber Nitpicking]Frasier has at least two continuity errors. On Cheers John Mahoney played the character of Sy Flembeck (crappy jingle writer) on Frasier he played the dad. On Cheers Frasier's dad is a scientist, on Frasier he's an ex-cop. [/Uber Nitpicking] Frasier is a good show yet it's too much like a play on film, much too stagey.
And you also get into the realities of television-making. Commercial actors tend to be cast from "ordinary looking" people, even if they're under heavy appliances like the original cavemen (you may have seen these guys in a dozen other commercials, but not been able to recognize them). If the ad runs often and in large enough markets, commercial actors get shitloads of residuals. Casting the same actors in the show would get complicated contract-wise. And there are probably entirely different mechanisms, production offices, etc. involved in the TV show vs. the commercials. (For example, for contractual reasons the show's producers will want to distance themselves entirely from any mention of "GEICO" - unless GEICO is one of the show's sponsors.)
I expect the show will suck as much as any pick-your-favorite Saturday Night Live skit stretched out to movie length. But I would not be at all surprised to see the show marketed something like "Geico presents: UNFUNNY CAVEMEN!"
Yeah, you know they did address that issue on an episode in which Sam guest starred. Quote: "I was drunk!"