The back-story: I was one of many who though the insurance commercials were clever enough. I mean, anybody can put out a series of shots promising reassuring protection and peace of mind after a fender bender, so why not feature a televised debate when on of the panelist pointedly quips that he's "not 100% in love with your tone." Did I mention that this was speaking of a modern day Caveman? Shortly thereafter, I got a call from a Focus Group moderator asking if I'd like to come in and watch a couple of episodes of a new sitcom. As you can imagine, the sitcom turned out to be the first two episodes of Cavemen. I had heard rumors prior to the viewing that the initial pilot had the guys in some country club down south, so I was pleasantly surprised with the retooled version of Joel, Nick and Andy in San Diego. Being a focus group, we were presented with a "raw" version that still needed some fine tuning, but the core stories stayed the same. Shortly thereafter, the series debuted.
The real issue is that people were predisposed to already dislike the show. I was reminded of the simpler days of pro wrestling that featured little vignettes of someone coming to the company. Depending on whether he was a "good guy" (face) or "bad guy" (heel), you were ready to cheer or boo him before he made is first live appearance. At least...that's what they wanted you to do. Prior to the mid-late 90's of the WWF's Attitude Era, they heavily promoted a young man named Rocky Mavia as a Blue Chipper. You were suppose to just love this guy with his goofy ring attire and pineapple haircut and the exact opposite occurred. They shifted the hatred (a common chant was Die Rocky Die!) and he soon became one of the biggest superstars in the industry (as The Rock) and later movies (as Dwayne Johnson). I could see the same thing happening here. People wanted this show to fail.
The sad part is that I truly loved the dialog and the actors played well off each other. Nick was my personal favorite and his gimmick of the perpetually lazy, lofty, acerbic, witty, jocular cavemen with a chip on his shoulder never got old. Nick's 'better than you' attitude wall well rounded against Joel's pragmatic side and his brother Andy's wide eyed eagerness. The gang all lived together (off and on) in a world of Halo 3, yogurt bars, squash courts and Nintendo Wii. I could buy this odd universe because it seemed somehow more realistic than some hot chick with a fat husband or a family with a constantly bitchy wife and her Frankenstein sounding brother in law. Yet, the general population didn't buy the show and it was gone after six episodes. I've been lucky enough to find a few more via Youtube and hope to get to see the other 3 via download.
One of the questions the focus group moderator asked was if these were guys that were like ones I actually knew. "I wish." was my answer.
The real issue is that people were predisposed to already dislike the show. I was reminded of the simpler days of pro wrestling that featured little vignettes of someone coming to the company. Depending on whether he was a "good guy" (face) or "bad guy" (heel), you were ready to cheer or boo him before he made is first live appearance. At least...that's what they wanted you to do. Prior to the mid-late 90's of the WWF's Attitude Era, they heavily promoted a young man named Rocky Mavia as a Blue Chipper. You were suppose to just love this guy with his goofy ring attire and pineapple haircut and the exact opposite occurred. They shifted the hatred (a common chant was Die Rocky Die!) and he soon became one of the biggest superstars in the industry (as The Rock) and later movies (as Dwayne Johnson). I could see the same thing happening here. People wanted this show to fail.
The sad part is that I truly loved the dialog and the actors played well off each other. Nick was my personal favorite and his gimmick of the perpetually lazy, lofty, acerbic, witty, jocular cavemen with a chip on his shoulder never got old. Nick's 'better than you' attitude wall well rounded against Joel's pragmatic side and his brother Andy's wide eyed eagerness. The gang all lived together (off and on) in a world of Halo 3, yogurt bars, squash courts and Nintendo Wii. I could buy this odd universe because it seemed somehow more realistic than some hot chick with a fat husband or a family with a constantly bitchy wife and her Frankenstein sounding brother in law. Yet, the general population didn't buy the show and it was gone after six episodes. I've been lucky enough to find a few more via Youtube and hope to get to see the other 3 via download.
One of the questions the focus group moderator asked was if these were guys that were like ones I actually knew. "I wish." was my answer.