We get prehistoric with the ABC sitcom CAVEMEN.

Cavemen as minorities, with all their modern problems. It’s played for laughs, which feels weird, right? Also weird, the actors are white. Joel thinks his date’s embarrassed by his caveman genetics. Sneak and stalk, confront his girlfriend. Stereotypes are bound to offend. GEICO buried this deep in their basement. Let’s dive deep on long-form Cavemen, with special guest Anne Marie DeSimone

TOPICS

Open 0:00
What The Hell is Cavemen? 1:23
-Inspirations 2:12
-Mascots That Went Legit 4:23
— Ernest 4:54
— California Raisins 7:03
— Ted Lasso 8:23
– How It Was Received 10:23
How Well Was It Done? 11:51
– Guest Intro 12:01
– Where Are Cavemen From? 12:21
– Crystal Clear Characters 14:21
– 2007-ish 17:39
– Nick, The Xenophobe 19:17
– Kate and Joel 21:50
Was It Worth Doing? 24:37
Bits and Baubles 27:11
– ARBITRARY SCALE 29:43
Listener Feedback 31:41

LINKS

Cavemen Episode 1
Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer – SNL
99% Invisible Interview
Esquire – The Evolution of the Postmodern Caveman
GEICO Cavemen ad compilation
Nick Kroll & John Mulaney Look Back On ‘Cavemen’ & ‘Mulaney’ | PeopleTV
Cavemen Unaired Pilot
TV Guide Network’s “25 Biggest TV Blunders” Special
Ernest P. Worrell
Ernest Greatest Clips Volume 1
Jim Varney Does Shakespeare
The California Raisins
An American Coach In London (Ted Lasso)
Ted Lasso series trailer
Anne Marie DeSimone (Twitter | Instagram | Etsy)


NEXT WEEK – Mr. T’s Be Somebody or Be Somebody’s Fool

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Transcript

Introduction

Welcome to Weird TV,  the only podcast talking tv with takes that feel downright prehistoric. I’m Bill Meeks, coming to you from a cave in sunny Los Angeles, CA. Today, we’re discussing Cavemen, A TV SHOW FROM 2007 STARRING NICK KROLL, SAM HUNTINGTON, and BILL ENGLISH as the titular cavemen.

What The Hell Is It?

DRAMATURGY/SOCIAL CONTEXT

It all started… as an ad. The famous 2004 GEICO Caveman ad campaign was inspired by a short story by a George Saunders short story about employees who work as “cave people” at a failing theme park.

In the popular series, a “Caveman” plopped in a modern setting uses the GEICO website to purchase car insurance.

So easy, a caveman could do it. But could ABC? The ABC sitcom, much like the commercials, is set in an alternate reality where cavepeople survived alongside modern man as a persecuted minority.

INSPIRATIONS

Credited or not, you can’t deny the similarities between the GEICO Cavemen and Phil Hartman’s SNL character Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer.

Roman Mars of 99% Invisible talked to the team behind the ads back in 2012. CLIP

You might be thinking these ads don’t feel very politically correct, and you’d be right. Marketing guru and Cavemen co-conspirator Joe Lawson said the ads were a response to political correctness. To quote:

“The cavemen on a very subtle level are reflecting and commenting on something that’s going on in culture, yes. The ad campaign acknowledges the world we live in, and ours is a politically correct country. People seem to feel victimized in some way no matter who they are, and that’s reflected in the ad.” That’s from an esquire interview.

The GEICO Cavemen aren’t the first character from an ad campaign to graduate to fictional works based around them. You have your “McDonald’s Land” VHS tapes and the like, but I’m only counting stuff that outgrew the promotional tie-in like the Cavemen TV show.

Ernest
First up, I have to give up for my man Ernest P. Worrell.

The star of Ernest Goes To Camp, Ernest Saves Christmas, Ernest Goes To Jail, Ernest Scared Stupid, and a few other Ernest movies we won’t mention, got his start as a character, played by Shakespearean actor Jim Varney in hundreds of local commercials for producer John Cherry. This was back in the 80s. They had Ernest ads for local contractors, regional chains, and anybody else willing to pay.

Eventually, the character became so popular he got his own sketch TV show on Saturday morning TV, as well as the ten movies in the Ernest film franchise. Take that, Marvel!

The California Raisins

I heard it through the grapevine that the California Raisins are another great example, a group of Motown-inspired singing raisins first created to promote Sun-Maid raisins on behalf of the California Raisin Advisory Board.

The commercials became so popular, they spawned several Claymation primetime specials and a Saturday morning cartoon show from Vinton Studios.

Ted Lasso

My most relevant example? The Apple+ hit Ted Lasso, which started life as the series of sports promos from NBC we just heard a clip from.

Now running its second season on Apple+, Jason Sudekis’s Ted Lasso has captured the zeitgeist with its perennially positive “fish out of water” football coach.

INTENDED AUDIENCE

You’d think they’d target potential GEICO customers, but there is nary a mention of GEICO on the show itself. Really, they were targeting the folks who look forward to Super Bowl commercials like I look forward to new Doctor Who.

That being said, there is a definite alternative comedy vibe to the episodes, thanks to contributions by alternative comedians like Nick Kroll, who briefly touched on Cavemen while talking about failed projects with John Mulaney back in 2016

Considering even one of the stars is making fun of it, it’s no surprise the show didn’t do well.

HOW IT WAS RECEIVED

It probably isn’t a good sign refilmed the pilot after the original one stunk up the room. The original pilot, unaired, but available on YouTube, was accused of a lot of the same things we’ll be accusing the aired pilot of tonight. Cavemen is… a little racist? Basically, it maps the problems of minorities onto the Cavemen. Problem is, all those cavemen are played by wh== –ite guys. It’s weird.

Racism wasn’t the only issue critics had with Cavemen. TV Guide said of the show that it “taught us that buying insurance is easy enough for a Caveman, but audiences were uninterested in watching them for longer than 30 seconds.” Ouch.

Ultimately, critics look back at Cavemen as misguided at best, racially insensitive at worst, and one of the worst primetime series in recent memory.

 

How Well Was It Done?

Where Are They From? (Anne Marie)

I’m just confused…where are they from? Within the first 5 minutes it is clearly established that they are a minority and that they have always been around (the opening with pictures throughout history featuring cavemen).

They mention that where they are isn’t like “Back home” which makes it sound like home has more Cavepeople vs Sapiens but they don’t give any more details

There is a really odd juxtaposition at the beginning of the show. One guy tells a joke about a car made of stone or something (i didn’t really follow) while the guy next to him is constantly texting.

Crystal Clear Characters

The best characters in comedy ring the same bell over and over again.

One thing Cavemen got right was sketching out clear, consistent characters. You know who these guys are as soon as you meet them, and while they change slightly every episode, they’ll always be pretty much the same cavemen “bros” we meet in episode one.

But who are the cavemen?

Nick, played by Nick Kroll, is the artsy dude, with a touch of xenophobia.

Andy is the caveman with low self-esteem, who won’t let go of his ex.

And Joel, the main caveman, is a work-minded straight man who won’t let his desires stand in the way of his friendship.

Are there any other clearly-cut characters you liked in the episode?

2007-ish (Anne Marie)

They really leaned into the pop culture references, which I guess makes sense – this show screams 2007 and some of them are less than wonderful.

 

Hump Day is just referring to another series of successful commercials for Geico – it’s Wednesday for those of you who may not know.

 

RKelly – “get out of the closet” – If memory serves, this was around the time when R Kelly was getting in all sorts of trouble.

 

Looking for the phone base of the landline – that phrase was weird to even type/say

Razer phones – ahh the simpler time before smartphones.

 

Wii – Im/ kinda love that them playing tennis (which you only did when you first got the Wii)

 

Top 8 on FaceSpace – I am pretty sure every show has made this joke

IKEA Cavemen

MNORSKBILD, the store where Joel works, is an obvious IKEA parody. Simple furniture, silly names.

While it might seem a little random now, IKEA was pretty trendy back in 2007.

The retailer came to America in 1985, but didn’t really capture the “hip young tech professional” demographic until the late 90s or early 00s.

I loved the perspective shot where they flipped the camera while they were making out on the carpet that was hanging up.

It’s an odd job for the main character of a GEICO-inspired sitcom. I’m shocked none of the Cavemen work as insurance agents.

The IKEA stuff isn’t the only thing that dates this show. What dated references stood out to you?

 

Kate and Joel

They don’t have a relationship…they just make out at IKEA.

 

What is with the weird camerawork with the rug scene…it took center stage vs the actual scene.

 

They seem to even be uncomfortable talking with each other.

 

This is going to go one of three ways:

 

• They break up in the next two episodes and then later she dates one of the other guys
• They are going to be like Ross and Rachel and on again off again
• He is going to reform her quick jumping relationships

 

Nick, The Xenophobe

Nick’s obsession with who Joel chooses to date is a big obstacle in the episode, and it’s one that suggests a person we’ve all met. Actually, it’s pretty blunt.

We’ve all known somebody who refuses to look outside of their own race, class, or religion for love or friendship. It’s a limiting perspective best left in the last century, or course.

It’s an interesting twist that Kelly doesn’t have a problem with Joel’s cavemanity… FAR FROM IT, but it brings up a point about the fetishization of diversity that I’ve heard minorities in the dating scene struggle with.

As for the Nick character, it’s implied near the end he’s going to improve as the show goes on.

I was curious if the writer’s room for Cavemen had minority staff, so I went and looked, and it turns out Peter Saji, a black writer, did several episodes before moving on to more successful ABC sitcoms like Black-ish and Mixed-ish.

Does the fact that a writer known for dealing with race in comedy in a nuanced fashion make these jokes land any better for you, or is it still a little weird?

Everybody’s Got A Rap!

Back in 1984, everybody was rapping. Actors, dishwashers, even grandmas.

The oddest thing about this segment is after Mr. T tells the kids why they should express themselves with rap, he never gives them the chance to do it! Instead, he ruminates on the toxic effects of news media.

Then, he wraps it all up with a “Children are the future” rip-off.

Now, I can’t really throw stones here, since I open every episode of Weird TV with a rap, but at the very least he should have let the kids rap! Let them rap, Mr. T! They’ve got to be better than you.

Was It Worth Doing?

At The Time It Was Made

BILL: The series hues close to the ad campaign, even if it doesn’t mention GEICO, and it does help that the writers room had some diversity in it, but time, and the audience, proves it was a misguided attempt from ABC.

 

Anne Marie: Sure!! I remember those commercials being so popular so I can see why they made it.

 

Now

BILL: Oh, God, no! If you made this series today, the internet would jump on it and kill it before it ever got shot. Just the implication that minorities and cavemen are alike is enough to shut this whole thing down.

 

Anne Marie: NO NO NO. I was offended multiple times during just the first 5 minutes. I don’t even know if anyone is brave enough to pitch this in 2021.

 

Let’s Reboot It!

It’s so hard, not even a caveman could do it.

 

You can’t reboot this. It was a time, where advertising mascots roamed the earth, and corporations weren’t afraid of controversial humor.

 

At best, I think the team involved was competent, and would put together a strong sitcom with a new premise, clear characters while leaving the racist stuff in the past where it belongs.

BITS AND BAUBLES

 

Bill

• “Yabba Dabba Doo” as an offensive slur was kinda funny
• Loved Julie White as Leslie McKinney, the apartment manager. Another clear character, but one that makes a comment of society instead of offending it. She’s been in a ton of stuff, including Netflix’s Big Mouth animated series, where she reunited with Nick Kroll. Several writers even came along with them.
• I love the Wii as a plot point. They were so hard to get back then.

Anne Marie

• WTF with the travelers checks?!? It just felt so random. I’ve only seen one once in my life and I can’t believe that they were SUUUPER popular in 2007
• Girls night and they all just basically ignored the spectacle he made of himself? They didnt react at all
• Cave wall painting on the wall in the living room…nice touch

 

ARBITRARY SCALE: 13, which is the number of episodes this got, Deformed Cats