ABC’s ‘The Neighbors’ has not been cancelled yet. Wait, REALLY?
ABC’s The Neighbors has been given the green light to continue the rest of season one. I know, I had to read it twice myself and I wrote the damn thing. As Tim Goodman of the Hollywood reporter said about it, “Aliens live in the suburbs. People find out about them. No humor ensues.” Anyone who has had to sit through this example of why network TV is on life-support most likely agrees (I hope). That being said, below is a list of shows that were cancelled after their first season:
THE GREEN HORNET (with Bruce Lee)
FREAKS & GEEKS
MY SO CALLED LIFE
FIREFLY
I think we can agree that the above mentioned are all pretty good shows that should have, at the very least, been given a second season. So does the Neighbors deserve the same chance?
Really? If the answer is anything other than a gigantic NO!, then you’ve probably already stopped reading. For those of you with functioning minds and decent taste, join me in a “What the hell is going on here?”
Now I realize that most shows don’t hit their stride until season 3. This is a fact. If you don’t believe me try comparing Seinfeld season 1 to season 3. Or The Simpsons. Or pretty much any television series that has had more than five seasons. It is true. However, every once in a while, there comes along a show that is so bad that most thinking folks would rather watch a live electric chair execution, than any episodes from said series.
Okay, so why is this terrible, walking abortion of a show on still on the air?
1) The shows creator Dan Fogleman wrote Tangled, Cars and Bolt. All very good films, all Disney (and thus ABC) produced and so when one of your ace writers wants to pitch a sit-com, as an executive, you listen.
2) Once said show gets past the pilot stage if you don’t get behind it, you probably loose your job. ABC will make this atrocity a hit if they have to rub it into our eyes like a psychopath with a box of rock salt. And putting it on during a block that includes an actually decent show like Modern Family, well, there you go.
3) I tried to come up with a 3rd reason and I couldn’t do it. I honestly have no idea why The Neighbors is still in production. So instead, I shall point out what is inherently wrong with this program. If you do nothing else with my article, forward it to someone you love to save them from having to watch this televised bowel movement.
The show has a great premise, so why does it suck?
Your neighbors are aliens? And you’re the only one’s who know this, and you accept it! Wow! Time for some awesome episodes full of conflict and fish out of water comedic situations, which is where the term sit-com derived from, right?
Nope. Forget that. Every chance they get, the “writers” use situations like Halloween or the first day of school to throw in some product placement for their parent company. This is by far the least offensive writing trick they use.
The aliens have all donned the physical forms of humans, and have taken names based after famous sports stars. This mildly amusing joke sadly makes sense. The aliens know nothing about our society so they misunderstand how we name our children… wait NO! That doesn’t make ANY SENSE! That line of humor would be passed over as unremarkable in a Saturday Night Live Skit! And once again, the writers take every opportunity to point out this hilarious, comedy changing gag they have come up with. “Wait, the little red haired boy/girl is named Dick, Butkis? Hilarity!” Seriously, there are better puns in your average Family Circus strip.
Speaking of which, I haven’t even mentioned the fact that the producers of The Neighbors blatantly ripped off EERIE INDIANA & THE CONEHEADS! Granted, the first show was barley a blip on the 90’s FOX schedule radar and the Coneheads only contribution to the art world was a few forgettable sketches in the early days of SNL and a cool song from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, but what does that say about the show that stole from them?
Well, it’s clear this show is bad from the get-go. What else is wrong with it?
Plot points are only important when a show is good. Thankfully the Neighbors doesn’t seem to care about this. I had mentioned Seinfeld earlier. Why were Jerry, George, Elaine and Kramer all friends? Because George and Jerry went to high school together, Elaine and Jerry used to date and Kramer lived across the hall. Easy, simple, logical set up.
Why does the family move into the neighborhood that was previously occupied by only aliens from planet Who Gives A Crap? One of the families left because after ten years (remember that fact for later). Oh, that leaves an opening for the average Americans to move in. And they do! Oh boy!
This begs several other questions. When we enter the world of the Neighbors, the aliens (who are supposedly vastly more intelligent than us) act as if they have no idea about anything that goes on in human society, and it’s up to the new human neighbors to teach them.
wait…
THEY HAVE BEEN HERE FOR TEN YEARS!
You heard me! TEN YEARS! Jesus Christ, that’s like saying Jane Goodall would have no idea about any behaviors of the apes she studied ten years after she headed off into the jungle! Are you kidding me? You are, ABC/Disney, you must be, and you’re laughing at us all the way to the bank.
Is that why they are still on the air? Because if they have enough episodes to put out a Blue-Ray/DVD set Disney will make more money?
Yes.
Is there no laugh track because no one watching this show would believe that even a studio audience would find this funny enough to pretend to laugh at?
Yes.
Am I out of reasons why this show should never have made it past the pilot stage and the fact that ABC stills airs it is a slap in the face to their all of their viewers, pretty much ABC saying, “Hey, you folks watched FULL HOUSE for 8 seasons, so you’ll swallow just about anything?”
Emphatically, yes.
***
Ian Murphy has left the names of the actors out of this show because it is not their fault that they are on a terrible program. It is just a job and does not merit ridicule anymore so than the poor people who have to work making sandwiches for Chick-Fil-A.
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42 Comments
Wow, you couldn’t be more wrong about this show. First, you take life way too seriously. This show is simple, ridiculous fun in Dumb & Dumber style. Just silliness wrapped around a family and their crazy alien neighbors. Leave your analytical mind behind and let yourself have some fun. This show is so different from everything else on tv, but apparently you like everything to be inside that little box of yours. Boooooooorrrinnngggg! This show is very funny and I hope it gets renewed, if for nothing else, to irritate people like you who lack the ability to have fun.
No, third rock from the sun was quirky silly fun, and damn good writing. This show is the laziest bunch of hackneyed crap ever written. I’m sorry, you are brain dead if you like this show. Either that, or the only other thing you watch is Nicolodean, which is where this show belongs, if it belongs anywhere.
Anne- This show is light years beyond the hackneyed drivel of all that is “reality” TV. Yes, this show is NOT Shakespear. No, this show is not meant to be an adult oriented brain pandemic (i.e., Seinfeld). It was MEANT to be a “one off” that could actually reach a family audience. And it does!! This is the FIRST primetime big three network show I can actually sit down and watch with my wife and kids where we all get a laugh and I don’t have to try to change the channel or explain the situation of some duche bag writers cheap attempt to drop a jaw by introducing nudity, shadow boxed sex or sounds of a couple going at it, in a show placed in the 8-9p time frame.
@anne you must be brain dead if you don’t know how to spell nickelodeon, besides it’s not a kids show. They wouldn’t catch the jokes…
I agree it is a funny show that is original and a much needed change from the realtiy and crime shows that are ever so popular with today’s viewers. I hope it stays on for several more seasons. Ian need to learn that good family shows needs to be the ones that you can enjoy with the whole family including the kids.
I love this show. It and once upon a time are my favorite show on tv.
Stop trying to make everything the same, we deserve to have shows that are different than others. I love the idea of Aliens living next door and them having to be taught everything.
This show reminds me so much of my life. It is hilarious and has actually a lot of truth to it. If you watched the episode where they try to get their drivers license and the mom tricked the “alien mom” to drive her kids around to their lessons all day. She said it was like winning the driving lottery! It was really funny.
I love all the shows and even though they are “aliens” I love the scripts and how it’s so true to life. Especially the episode about the mother in law!
I wish some one would say that to mine.
Please create more Episodes.
You Go Jess!! I admit one probabaly has to have a quirky sense of humor, but what a delightful, refreshing change of pace from blood and guts and violence and shows that make you go to bed depressed. It’s a nonsensical bit of refreshment!!!
My Husband and I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS SHOW!!!!! it is so off the wall and better than all the reality crap that is on… I enjoy this better than 25 women/men trying to find love or survivor . Please a little humor is good and Bad humor is Great!!!!!!
It makes me glad that I DVR and can skip this and pretend that it does not exist.
I personally find this show to be a nice break from the pit of reality tv we have been stuck with for so many years. I find it to be humerous and entertaining, but most of all something different than another dancing or singing competention where the main focus is really about the once famous judges trying to respark their careers and the tabloid drama that goes with them.
This show is great… i dont believe you really have ever watched it to give it a chance… dont be such a hater
This show is unlike anything else on the planet…so ridiculously bad..in such poor taste…that all you can do is take it as a complete farce, so removed from any kind of decorum or decency that it is absurdly hysterical. I can’t believe this could be a Disney show. Bad and wrong as ut is…It is utterly hysterical. Everyonevwith even a pinch of a real sense of humor who has a self-Depricating bone in their body should wtch before it gets cancelled. You will laugh yourself silly and wonder what is wrong with the world all at the same time.
This show is unlike anything else on the planet…so ridiculously bad..in such poor taste…that all you can do is take it as a complete farce – so removed from any kind of decorum or decency that it is absurdly hysterical. I can’t believe this could possibly be a Disney show. But, bad and wrong as it is…It is utterly hysterical. Anyone with even a pinch of a real sense of humor, who has a self deprecating bone in their body, should watch before it gets cancelled. You will laugh yourself silly and wonder what is wrong with the world all at the same time.
This show is so funny, I lov it. At first, didn’t really like it, but we sit and laugh out loud every epispde.
100% agree. This show has nothing to offer and I cannot figure out how it’s still on the air.
This is a stupid show, but it is supposed to be. I agree it’s nice to have something that isn’t all sex, drama, “reality”, or crude humor, to watch.
No, the writing can’t even be considered good in industry standards, and there isn’t really a deeper plot that gets any real attention. Who cares. It’s at least mildly entertaining in a relatively wholesome way. Maybe the ideas were stolen, but can you give me some examples of other shows on right now that arent ripping off a previous story, movie, tv show in some way? nope, you cant. I’m glad there is a show on that doesn’t glorify indiscriminate sex, drug use, and just over all valueless and selfish/destructive behavior.
Good writing/plot…Nope.
Entertaining and silly enough to make me chuckle without making my heart want to vomit…yep
The author of this article made so many writing mistakes that I could not take him seriously. “Barely” is not the same as “barley” in the same way that “loose” is not the same as “lose.” You’re a writer. Get your act together.
Frankly, I have to agree with the commenters who enjoy the show. Original…hardly. Amusing and entertaining…definitely. Considering all the needless drama that tends to go on in the world these days, not to mention all the backbiting, it’s nice to view a programme which doesn’t take itself seriously. The show remains pleasing to watch, lest one’s utterly pretentious and believes programming should always be some deeply cathartic experience geared towards profound change…this is a situation comedy of the silliest measure, not Oprah nor PBS. Cheers
screw you. this show is hilarious!
At first it seemed a bit to corny, but as I watch more of episodes I find it very funny. It may take a little intellect to decipher the message behind the story line, however I get it, I especially enjoyed the country club episode and the reverse twist on racial profiling that reflects current trends in our society. maybe reading to much into it, but would rather watch this than dancing celebrities or bachelors looking for hookups.
Each to his own, but this is a very funny show. I guess it’s still on because people like me find it entertaining.
worst show on TV
When the show started, we couldn’t believe how stupid and unbelievable the premiss was. A couple of months later we are still watching and LMAO. What a refreshing change from all the violence that is now on the air. Keep ’em coming!
I’ll sum it up for you in four words: I LOVE THIS SHOW!
And, obviously there are many like me, or it wouldn’t still be on the air. So, get over yourself and get a glue dude!
LOL… a “clue” might work too. Sorry!
LOVE this show!! Maybe you should simply let your inner child out to play!
Got up Saturday and found “The Neighbors” Great Show watching it non stop!
Perhaps if you weren’t so pretentious, and assuming all broadcast television has to have a purpose, you’d might also enjoy this oasis in the desert of Reality TV that is the common fare being offered by the networks. I love this show, it has a semi-nostalgic glee about it that harkens back to Mork & Mindy, Alf, My favorite Martian (you get the genre). I love it, it’s wholesome, family friendly, and can stir conversations up at home after the airing. Get over yourself. Your own writing at best is tepid, if not downright sophomoric, condescending, and insipid! But then I guess that’s why this is a hobby, and not a profession for you.
Wow, this is so completely off the mark, and like the reviewer said before, you have completely missed the point of the show. The writers pick and poke fun at every nuance of American society that could seem strange and troubling, making the show really a large satire of the human race itself. I laugh out loud at some of the antics in this show. It is easily on par with Modern Family in my book, and I love the characters. It does not belong on Nickelodeon, as the shows on that channel are no longer smart or funny–just plain stupid. The Neighbors is a breath of fresh air amid the ‘stupid’ programming on television like The Bachelor and Jersey Shore.
I’ve watched every episode several times because some of the lines are hilarious. The punchlines are subtle and funny. I wish hope and pray for many more seasons. ABC has a winner with this one!
well the last episode was horrible but overall it’s a decent show way better than that garbage 30 rock or Modern Family
If this show gets cancelled it is because someone at ABC is an idiot or the American viewing audience can’t watch a comedy with out being queued by a laugh track.
I have seen more than one episode of Modern Family that “tried too hard” — especially when they get sappy at the end with the feel-good montage.
I enjoy bothThe Neighbors and Modern Family – but I enjoy The Neighbors more. The humor is more below the surface.
LOVE THIS SHOW!
I gatta say that this whole article reads as if you’re mad at something else and you’re taking your frustration out on this show. It’s by no means the funniest show out there, but it isn’t an abortion. It has a few really good moments. I think you’re missing some points though. The names are funny simply because the aliens never live up to the people we put those names with. I think it’s a fun running gag. It’s funny that in ten years the aliens really haven’t learned anything about humanity. The reason they haven’t is because they secluded themselves to a community of themselves and simply assumed they were advanced in every way and so had nothing else to learn. Get it? It’s a bunch of elitist A-holes who look down on the culture they study and don’t realize they’re the ones that look like complete retards. You know, kinda like you right now. It’s all in fun. You’re the one with the article, not me.
This guy is an idiot. This is a freaking awesome show! Why do pompous jackasses like this get to decide what is funny. Just put more reality and contest shows on because they are so intellectually stimulating! You are a moron.
What is this guy talking about, yah at first I was kind of wondering why did they even put this show on but as I began to watch it it began to grow on me and I began to relax, laugh, and have fun. It gives me an escape from my crazy stressed out life. Don’t listen to this guys comments there a load of crap just be patient and watch one episode and relax while your watching it and have your own opinion on it. This show better not be cancelled it should go on for another few seasons. It is also an actual family show instead of an only adult show which seems to be the only shows on that are on ABC. ABC did a great job on this show and should not waste it by cancelling it. IT SHOULD BE RENEWED FOR ANOTHER SEASON!!!!!!!!!
@ Tom and Teresa – you are absolutely right. It is a family show that I am not ashamed to watch with my whole family.
I think the show is simple comedic genius.
It takes very gifted actors to come across as well as they do.
There are. other shows on tv right now like this.
There’s no sex, no violence, just hysterically funny people.
I’m so tired of the other stuff on tv right now.
It’s nice for something to be on that I can watch with my 3 1/2 year old.
This aired tonight for the first time here in NZ and i just had to google it as i could not believe how low intelligence and below average this is. Cant agree more with this article i think the show is beyond lame and hardly refreshing. We have had our comedy month here in NZ so going from some seriously funny shows to this is like getting out of the sauna and into a cold bath … i mean this is some absolute bulls*&t which just shows what a bunch of zombies people have become in this day and age when they can zone out to a show like this. If you have the time to sit down do nothing better thatn watch brain rott i reckon its better to surf youtube and actually see some real funny or interesting videos. What is the world coming to lol.
I caught a few episodes of this whilst on holiday in the US (I’m from the UK), and absolutely love it! I have no idea what the reviewer or the guy above me is talking about with their negative views. I’m certainly not a zombie and neither is anybody else here who enjoys it. What with the saturation of reality tv, I believe this IS a refreshing show. It isn’t on in the UK as yet, but I’m very pleased it’s been renewed for a second season. Hopefully this will ensure a Blu-Ray/DVD release. I will most definitely buy it.
Greetings you wastes of sperm and eggs who posted most of the comments on the above writing (especially the ones who went with the ignorant personal attacks) and thank you for validating my article! Bully for you! Guess what dickholes. You’re the reason I still have a writing gig! YOU’RE the reason I get up in the morning to check my e-mails! YOU’RE the reason TV has sunk to new lows of mass public entertainment that haven’t been touched since the god damn Dark Ages. YOU’RE the reason I sponsor the underground campaign for statewide sterilization! YOU’RE the reason TLC airs a show about Honey Boo-Boo (if you know what TLC stands for you’re clearly not in their target demographic, and that attempt at a joke will have no meaning, good for you). Kiss my hack writer’s ass, enjoy suckling the taint of moronic corporate escapism and eat a fat, terrible sit-com dick. I’d say see you in hell, but I know I won’t, because I’ll be in the room where they screen nothing but the Neighbors on the TV, and you won’t be, because for you, that is Heaven. And that fact alone, makes me glad I don’t personally know you. So glad… so glad.
Your comment would lead me to believe one of two things. Either you’re simply trying to keep the discussion moving by baiting people into a somewhat harmless ‘you’re an idiot for liking/not liking The Neighbors’, which is what most writers would want (although as somebody else pointed out, you really do need to proof read your work for grammar errors. Not a personal attack. Just a factual observation). Or you have a rather large amount of hatred for a TV SHOW and the people who enjoy it. I’m giving you the benefit of the doubt and assuming it’s the former because if it’s the latter, and you have that kind of anger in you, then I find that genuinely disturbing and it makes me glad that I don’t personally know YOU. “So glad… so glad”.
I could not agree w/ Ian Murphy more.This show is typical of the Unfunny sit- coms that litter network t.v. airwaves.It’s obviously a shameless ripoff of “3rd Rock”, but light yrs. from their writing.The ONLY surprise is that so many people actualy find it entertaining.