BAD TEACHER Makes For Bad Show

Article originally published as BAD TEACHER Review on Seat42F.

A couple of years ago, a pretty awful “comedy” film hit theaters. Called BAD TEACHER, it followed the antics of an abandoned trophy wife as she became an educator in the public school system. For some inexplicable reason, someone thought a terrible movie would make a great TV show. Hence, we now get BAD TEACHER on CBS, beginning this Thursday at 9:30 p.m. ET.

The premise itself is highly flawed. A woman with absolutely no educational training is somehow hired, without license, degree, or credentials, to teach youngsters. She then acts completely unprofessionally in front of staff, students, and parents, and still gets to keep the job. Not only is this completely unrealistic, teaching standards being quite high and requiring much preparation and schooling, but it just isn’t funny.

Perhaps my own feelings about the field of education, having studied to become a teacher myself, color my opinion of BAD TEACHER. I’m sick of teachers being looked down upon, criticized for the “high” pay (low compared to most positions that require a Master’s degree), working hard for little credit, and being blamed for things that are wrong with the system, graded on student performance they often can’t control that much. At a time when press about teachers is not good, it really irks me that a network would be irresponsible enough to put this drivel on the air, further reinforcing negative and untrue stereotypes.

Getting off my soapbox, I guess I’ll tell you a little about the show itself. Ari Graynor (Fringe, Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist) stars as Meredith Davis, the titular woman. She gets nothing in her divorce, due to an iron-clad pre-nup, and so sets about finding herself a new sugar daddy. While crashing with her friends (‘Til Death’s Kat Foster and Luck’s Richard Kind), Meredith discovers that their child’s school is full of eligible, rich dads. Tricking inept sad-sack Principal Carl (David Alan Grier, In Living Color) into giving her a job, Meredith begins trying to land the next big one.

Even though Meredith routinely blows off everyone at her new place of employment, she is slotted into a place in the building’s hierarchy. Dorky Irene (Sara Gilbert, The Big Bang Theory) latches on, forcing herself into position as Meredith’s bestie. A former classmate, Joel (Ryan Hansen, Veronica Mars), decides he likes Meredith and sticks around to be her love interest. Well, he will be when she gets over her obsession with wealth. And the current Top Dog at the school, controlling Ginny (Kristin Davis, Sex and the City), decides Meredith is a threat, even though the blonde shows no ambition whatsoever, and casts herself as the enemy.

Of these people, Joel is the only one that comes across as interesting. Joel has an odd backstory, his penis being posted in photographs all over the school by Meredith’s predecessor, even though he doesn’t come across as the type of guy who would spark such venom. He isn’t pushy with Meredith, hanging around but waiting for her to come to him. He also seems the only one not participating in the game, standing by with a smirk as Meredith makes a fool of herself. He’s a normal, sane guy in a world populated with stereotypes.

Of course, as a series like this must, Meredith finds a heart at the end of the pilot. Unfortunately, there is no build up or character growth to support this. For the entire half hour, Meredith acts like a selfish jerk, and then, without any warning or catalyst, she suddenly pretends to care. If the first episode can’t give her even a hint of an arc, it’s unlikely the rest of the series will correct the mistake.

It isn’t unusual for CBS to present a crass, unfunny comedy. It’s not even unheard of for them to land really good actors and force them into parts that are beneath them, though seldom has been assembled on a bad project a group this good (being a fan of Gilbert, Davis, Graynor, Hansen, and a number of non-central cast members), wasted immensely. But BAD TEACHER has barely any redeeming qualities and is certainly worth no one’s time.

The Big Bang Theory Takes a Break

     CBS's The Big Bang Theory has undergone some significant changes in its fourth season. Though you hate to see anyone mess with a good thing, these changes seem to be keeping the show fresh, and it may not have stayed that way if it hadn't made them. The most important is the signing of two new female characters, Bernadette (Melissa Rauch) and Amy Farrah Fowler (Mayim Bialik), who are listed as full-time, but do not appear in every episode. Bernadette is the one woman who can deal with Howard's (Simon Helberg) creepy ways, while Amy Farrah Fowler is the female version of Sheldon (Jim Parsons). Now all we need is a female counterpart for Raj (Kunal Nayyar) and this Chipmunks-Chipettes parallel will be complete.

     In the fall finale this past week, Amy and Bernadette were not in sight, but strangely the male version of Penny (Kaley Cuoco) showed up Zack (Brian Thomas Smith). Early in the show, Penny frequently had dumb guys hanging around her, but as this was Zack's third appearance (he was in the week prior and last year's season finale), he seems geared to bring something else to the table. Unlike Amy and Bernadette, I find it unlikely that Zack will be a serious love interest for his counterpart. Penny has already expressed disinterest in him, having previously accused Leonard (Johnny Galecki) of ruining her for stupid men. No, Penny and Leonard will undoubtedly be the lone opposites-attract example of the series. But I like Zack, and as he is already calling the four main guys 'friends'. I hope that's a sign he will be sticking around, unlike the female version of Leonard, Leslie (Sara Gilbert), who was said to be added to the main cast, and then soon after disappeared.

     This week's episode was pretty sad. The main depressing parts came from Penny, clearly pining over Leonard, although not ready to do anything about it. The show can't let the two get too chummy too easily, or the series may lose steam. They already dated for awhile, and now they're taking time off. But Penny admitted to only keeping Zack around because of loneliness.

     There was also a new side shown to Leonard, Sheldon, Howard, and Raj when they picked on Zack. Bullied all their lives, when they clearly outnumbered a dumb guy, who was just trying to be friendly to them, they turned mean. It was a little hard to watch, as Zack exhibited real hurt feelings, though they were able to make it up to him pretty quickly. Mean is not an adjective I would have thought to apply to those characters before now, but clearly, they can be under the right circumstances. I hope it's not something we see too much of. They certainly made an effort to make him feel welcome after that.

     This sitcom is one of the funniest shows on television, and I don't see that changing. The dynamic between the main group is solidly hilarious, and not at all stale. The new characters circling around them have only bonded in ways that makes those connections stronger, rather than breaking them apart. As long as the show keeps doing what it's doing, they can have many more great years on television. The Big Bang Theory will return in early January.

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