The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret

It is stupid, tasteless and I love it. Sometime TV has to be like this so I can relax from the all to real world. Everybody has a little Todd in them, I certainly do. They way he lies and keeps digging deeper and deeper is very funny to me. If you do not like stupid slap stick or never got Monty Python like my wife, you will not like it. It is not supposed to be anything but what it is.

In somebody's review they said how can this gets picked up while Arrested Development gets dropped. The same reason this will get the Axe after a while. It it can only go on for so long before it runs out of good plot lines.

I have always found David Cross to be pretty entertaining and humorous, but this show made me a huge fan. He was great on Mr. Show & Arrested Development, but he shines here in a show that was his own creation. Much of the show is about a man trying to find himself in a foreign country, but by doing so, he tries to hard and fails miserably at points, actually a lot. He is completely ignorant to the new culture and since he doesn't understand it, he doesn't grasp that he is insulting every one in sight. The supporting cast is great, including one of the main kids in "The Inbetweeners", another great show. Will Arnet is hilarious as usual and gets funnier as the show progresses through-out it's 6 episodes. The humor is intelligent, although it's hidden in the stupidity, I can almost compare it to South Park in that way, but live action and a little less subtle. Well worth a watch!

Whether or not you like this depends on what kind of humor you like. Though I have enjoyed a few chuckles, the jokes are mostly eye-rolling at best and nose-wrinkling at worst.

On the other hand...

This is my boyfriend's favorite new show. He nearly falls to the floor laughing at every episode, and often we have to pause it to let him wipe his tears of laughter away and compose himself before we can continue. He awaits each new episode eagerly, each and every week.

Truly, I have more fun watching him that the show...but, it's worth checking out and making your own opinion if you're looking for something new and supposedly humorous to watch. Depending on who you are, it'll either be a love or hate scenario!

This is a refreshingly hilarious comedy of errors. If you liked the humor of Arrested Development then this is the show for you! David Cross play the biggest liar ever and as everything crumbles under his lies, he just tells more of them. The whole story takes place in 14 days and backtracks over how Todd Margaret ends up in a huge mess. The cast of characters is wonderful, there is Todd's vile boss who spouts politically incorrect comments at everyone in sight, the trashy neighbor who keeps pawning her kids on everyone, Todd's mysterious employee who seems to be behind Todd's misfortunes and Todd's love interest who wants nothing to do with him. Supporting characters add to the mystery of Todd's predicaments.

If ever it was possible to have an American show with a strong dose of British humor (or should this be humour?), 'The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret' is it. I admit I was put off by the name of the show (shortened to just 'Todd Margaret' by my DVRecorder), petty I know, committing the error of judging a book by it's cover, which I suppose is actually an inside joke in itself. This is definitely one of those 'love it or hate it', shows, so be warned. Caveat: I have sometimes found myself not liking something at first, but come to appreciate it over time. Likewise, some things I like immediately prove to lack staying power. 'Todd Margaret' brings a mix of these moments, and I'm curious what I will think of this show in a couple of years, even if I were to never see another season. (I am just hoping, to the producers, PLEASE Please please don't try to drag five seasons out of a two or three season story arc, which has become a fatal flaw in all too many shows in the past.)

I like to think of myself as being reasonably sophisticated and eclectic, yet found at some points the show becomes so edgy that I can't bear it, and have to pause the show and go watch something else for a while before returning. While some possibly more prudish viewers might read 'bad' here and not 'edgy', fine. Go watch something else like I did, and come back to it or not. The show isn't trying to be either G-rated or aimed at social conservatives, so if you find it offensive, go count your blessings, warn your fellow church goers not to watch, and leave this behind you. No harm, no foul.

Many parts of the show are intentionally melodramatically exaggerated, which if they weren't being obviously absurd might otherwise not care for, but after adjusting my brain from 'Normal' to 'Todd Margaret', I don't find off putting. After all, no one expects 30 open cans of tuna to precipitate a biologic hazard that condemns an entire apartment block and sets off an international manhunt, but in Todd's world, it's just one more way that world conspires against him.

If any loyal Season One viewers are having trouble tying some of these diverse pieces together, I recommend 'The Increasingly Necessary Recap of Todd Margaret'. (Sorry if I got the exact title wrong, I'm working from my ever-decreasing memory.) While the description informs us in advance that this is "an animated special, in the Korean visual style" (again, from memory) which I found agonizing since I don't like anime or anything like it, try not to be put off by this description as I was for so long. It really lends insight to some of the most subtle humor (much of which admittedly will miss many American viewers like me), which Cross freely admits aren't really expected to be discovered by viewers anyway.

In the final analysis, there are far to many derivative productions that I just don't or no longer find entertaining (recent example 'Persons of Interest'), or which drag on long after their 'Use By...' date (Law and Order season 100). Other than its classification as comedy/other, 'Todd Margaret' can't be pigeonholed into any category—it is different from almost all other shows out there, which to me is in itself is meritorious in this age of derivative entertainment. Love it or hate it, I'm pretty sure that after you've seen it, you can't forget it.