David Cross and Will Arnett are already gods of television comedy, thanks to their roles as Tobias and Gob on the FOX (and soon to be Netflix) sitcom Arrested Development. But while fans worldwide are waiting for the two to reunite with that show's highly-anticipated fourth season, Cross and Arnett are still co-stars -- this time on the little IFC series The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret. The show's six-episode first season hit DVD on December 27.
Not since Extras has a comedy left me with such mixed feelings (not really surprising, considering Todd Margaret co-creator Shaun Pye did have a recurring role on that show). The show certainly takes several pages from the Ricky Gervais/Stephen Merchant school of comedy; Todd Margaret skews more toward the awkward than the funny, featuring a clueless protagonist and intricately constructed traps that he creates for himself. But while Extras ended up having a heartfelt message (about the dangers of celebrity culture), Todd Margaret doesn't have much of a soul yet. None of the characters are very likable, including Todd. We're supposed to root for Todd simply because he's the center of the show, but we're not given any real reason for doing so.
The show follows Todd (Cross), a compulsive liar, as he is sent to England by his obnoxious boss (Arnett) to sell potentially lethal energy drinks to the British market (who supposedly love them). Margaret, in addition to being completely unqualified for the role, is also a compulsive liar, whose intricately constructed falsehoods teeter dangerously on the edge of collapse but never do.
Watching Todd Margaret is certainly a more tense affair than you might expect, which would be fine if the tension actually had a payoff. But, with season one ending on a cliffhanger, we'll have to wait for the show's second season to actually see the consequences of Todd's lies catching up to him (series 2 premieres January 6 on IFC).
The best part of the series by far is Arnett's obnoxious character Brent Wilts, a womanizing pig who claims to be a big shot but turns out to be in a situation not dissimilar to Margaret's. Their dynamic is one of the more interesting parts of the series, though the six-episode first season doesn't quite realize it.
The series improves drastically over its first six episodes, leaving hope for further improvement with series 2. If the show would focus more on liking its characters over seeing them in awkward situations, Todd Margaret would be a more than adequate snack to tide us over until the return of Arrested Development.
There is only so much you can fit into 6 episodes. If the show had a full season it may have focused more in depth on its characters, but I thought it did a fair job for the time they had. While its not my favorite by far, it did have some funny parts and will tune in for next season before I slam it.