'Cavemen' struggle to evolve from commercial to sitcom
Posted: Thursday, July 26, 2007 12:08 PM by Gael Fashingbauer Cooper
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TV
We've discussed the Geico cavemen commercials in our Test Pattern TV commercial contest -- most viewers find the ads funny and sharp. But they're 30-second ads! When it was announced this spring that ABC was turning the "Cavemen" into a 30-minute sitcom, I think even the biggest fans of the commercials had some Brontosaurus-sized doubts. And from the horrible pilot episode, and the frantic scrambling to rewrite the show, it looks like those doubts were justified.
Joe Lawson, who wrote the ads, and Josh Gordon and Will Speck, who directed them, are on board with the show. But the three actors who played the "Cavemen" in the ads have been replaced by actors Nick Kroll, Bill English, and Sam Huntington.
What happened to the guys from the commercials? Commercial "Caveman" John Lehr, the one who seeks the help of a therapist (Talia Shire), can be seen on the TBS show "10 Items or Less." Fellow commercial "Caveman" Ben Weber had a conflict that wouldn't allow him to do the show, the producers said. But the third "Caveman," Jeff Daniel Phillips, will be making occasional appearances on the sitcom, playing a Caveman named Maurice.
I've seen the "Cavemen" pilot, and it is dumb dumb DUMB. Dumber than a caveman. Dumber than a caveman's therapist. Ironically, there are some funny bits when the three cavemen are sitting around the house doing exactly what they did in the commercial -- bemoaning how the world has misjudged them as a group. (They spot a horribly drawn artist's rendering of a supposed caveman criminal on the news and compare him to a "hairy baby raisin.")
But when the cavemen go out into the world, the pilot turns into a tumble of cliches about how one of them didn't fit into the rich cowboy world of his girlfriend's daddy. Just horrible. That pilot has been yanked and is being reworked, and may appear, in a different version, around five episodes into the show's run. If it gets that far.
GAEL'S GRADE: D. I like the "Cavemen" in their ads, but this pilot was just embarrassing.
TIDBITS:
--Cavewoman, cave-parents, cave-grandparents, and a subgroup of cavemen who try to deny their identity by constantly shaving their distinctive facial hair, will all be introduced later in the show's run. Again, if it gets that far.
--Critics battered the all-white, all-male panel of producers and stars for trying to tackle issues of diversity and prejudice against a minority group, even a non-existent one. Numerous critics pointed out that the stereotypes (great dancers! athletic! known for their sexual prowess!) displayed by the cavemen in the pilot seemed to fit stereotypes about African-Americans, but the producers denied that was the case.
--The caveman makeup takes three hours to apply, and often includes body hair, sometimes put on via hair-covered arm sleeves.
--Don't expect to see Geico ads featuring the cavemen once the show hits the air. No new commercials are being made, and the current ads are likely to be suspended at least while the show runs. Geico owned the cavemen characters, but struck a deal with ABC so the network could do the show. (ABC president Steve McPherson earlier said that there is no deal regarding commercials that run during the show, so it's possible you'll see commercials for other insurance agencies running during "Cavemen.") Geico executives are enthused about the show and rooting for it to succeed, producers said.
--Creator Joe Lawson said the show is not about the same cavemen from the ads. "I always see it as these cavemen are the cousins of the cavemen in the commercials," Lawson said. "So the guys in the commercials are doing their own thing and living their own lives, and then ours are kind of off on their own tangents. There may be some similar crossover, but it would be incidental if that happens."
