NBC to premier a "comedy" this fall called Outsourced

[liberal N proud]

At a time when many peoples jobs have already been outsourced to India and China, NBC seems to think we are all going to find this subject FUNNY?

How long do you think this series will last?


A young manager deals with culture clash in a very personal way when he's transferred to India to manage a call center.


http://www.nbc.com/outsourced/

[Ishoutandscream2]

1. Not. Funny.

I like dark humor, but this crosses the line.

[rurallib]

2. I am frankly surprised they have not pulled it already

[Bunny]

3. It does seem like an incredibly tone-deaf idea for a series.

[leftstreet]

4. That's sick. Why not make a comedy, "Homeless!" or "No Medical Care!"

lolololol

Jeebus

[FiveGoodMen]

53. Those will be reality shows rather than comedies.

[TexasObserver]

5. Based upon a funny and insightful film of the same name.

I doubt the sitcom will be as good as the film, and maybe not good at all.

[Merlot]

54. Yes, that was a good movie.

I'd be afraid to see what prime time teevee will do with the concept.

Fortunately I don't have teevee, just netflix ; )

[TexasObserver]

62. The film handled culture clashes well.

I suspect this new show will stink. Where the film went for sincerity, this will probably go for snickers.

The film did a great job of showing how all these people - Americans, Indians, Chinese - are merely pawns working for faceless, distant bosses who make cold, harsh economic decisions, pitting the poor against the poorer.

[Fumesucker]

6. And next on the storyboard..

A comedy about the gas line explosion in CA..

[OhioChick]

7. Poor taste given the economic climate here n/t

[Orrex]

8. It's like the office-comedy they piloted for late fall 2001

Upward Immobility, about a guy all set for a huge promotion just before his office building is destroyed in a terrorist attack.

[lunasun]

9. Well it could be a reality show now !!!! not funny nt

[seattleblue]

10. When TV writers have their jobs outsourced we'll see how funny they think it is

[GreenArrow]

11. Misery loves company.

Probably be a smashing success.

[Nye Bevan]

12. I guess the "not funny" brigade didn't like M*A*S*H either?

If we can laugh at events at a mobile army field hospital why can't we laugh at events concerning outsourced employees?

[Fumesucker]

20. Because the great majority of people have never been in an actual field hospital..

However there are *plenty* of people around who have been outsourced..

Not to mention that M*A*S*H had some of the most brilliant writers who have ever done a TV show.

[eShirl]

21. or "Hogan's Heroes"

imagine, humor in poking fun at Nazis

[dflprincess]

25. Hogan's Heroes was on 20 years after WWII ended

It would not have been especially humorous had it aired during the war.

[eShirl]

32. ..

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=9122898&mesg_id=9123078

:eyes:

[Recursion]

61. Hogan's Heros got a LOT of pushback

They very nearly canceled it before it started.

[liberal N proud]

28. MASH used comedy to protest the Vietnam War.

[Merlot]

55. Will we be laughig at Indians and how "funny" their culture is?

[Nye Bevan]

56. Humor can be found in anything.

I guess this does not apply to many of the stern-faced DUers posting in this thread, however.

[Merlot]

57. Humor is great, I'm all for it. It's prime-time teevee I don't like.

I think the premise of this show is based on the movie "Outsourced" which is a very charming movie without a laugh-track.

[Divine Discontent]

58. yep, depends on how it's done. Just like someone mentioned, this was a movie, and there's lots of

subjects that on their face sound horrible, but ultimately are funny. This probably won't be good because it's on a major network, but ya never know. I've enjoyed Seinfeld, Will & Grace, The Office, and some other great shows from network TV over the years.

[flvegan]

13. ...and it'll probably be a huge hit.

Oddly, folks tend to watch shows that seem to focus on things they normally would disapprove of or dislike.

[PSPS]

14. It's probably a real knee-slapper with the millionaires on the GE board.

[iamjoy]

15. It Might Be Funny

It depends on how it is done. Like in the Al Brooks movie Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World he visits a call center in India. In addition to the typical credit card and tech support calls, at one point we overhear this Indian accent say, "thank you for calling the White House." Funny because it's so absurd. And yet, it may not be.

This is our reality, and it's either laugh or cry. People who have had to work with folks in India and help integrate them into a business may be able to relate to this. It's challenging because of the culture difference and the fear of where we are headed. If we couldn't laugh we would all go insane.

Although, cheap jokes that rely on stereotypes of India's culture may not be so PC.

[Rosco T.]

16. Been done already, UK Comedy called "Mumbai Calling"..

http://www.comedy.co.uk/guide/tv/mumbai_calling/

[hatrack]

17. I'm still waiting for the next generation of home-flipping shows on HGTV . . .

Maybe "Courthouse Steps!" or "Foreclose On That House!"

:eyes:

[femmocrat]

18. It already got poor reviews in the fall preview articles.

Sounds totally tasteless.

[Nye Bevan]

24. So comedy can never be tasteless?

I guess you're more a Jay Leno type of person as opposed to George Carlin.

[Confusious]

49. Comedy can be tastless

You just have to give a little time, not while it's still happening, and affects so many people.

Usually, to soon and tasteless is "republican comedy"

[L0oniX]

19. Stupid stupid stupid.

[Journeyman]

22. The only comment I can make to your disgust is to point you to this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K08akOt2kuo

the most well-known tune from Mel Brook's The Producers.

And no, I've no illusions some sitcom will prove as enduring or as side-splittingly funny as this masterpiece, but it's always well to remember, Mel Brooks began his career writing scripts for television comedy shows.

[RKP5637]

23. It's the capitalistic way, just good old boys making hard cash off others despair. It's the

American way for many.

[dflprincess]

26. And NBC is (was?) owned by GE whose former CEO,

a pioneer in outsourcing - sort of appropriate that that is the network airing this.

[RKP5637]

29. Yeah, might as well make money full cycle off the serfs. n/t

[iamjoy]

39. That Means Very Little

The Simpson has a definite liberal slant, and it is on the network owned by Rupert Murdoch. For that matter, so is Family Guy

I wouldn't read any kind of Conservative bias into the airing of this show, even on the Network owned by a big fan of outsourcing. The show could have a more Liberal outlook. In general, writers aren't as conservative as executives, but the executives are businessmen, so it's about making money. Therefore, they'll sometimes air (or publish in the case of newspapers and periodicals) views contrary to their own.

[onehandle]

27. Not going into details about an old corporate job, but that 'premise' is a common reality.

I know a lot of managers who went to India for anywhere from a month to a year or so.

[Skittles]

35. it's called OFFSHORE WHORING

[onehandle]

48. Most of these had no choice.

They were promised 'exit packages' after they completed their knowledge transfer.

[Skittles]

51. I refused a TDY to Brazil

f*** that

[eShirl]

30. I suppose none of you people enjoy the topical humor of Daily Show or Colbert Report either?

sometimes you have to step back for a little while and laugh at the horror all around you

[Skittles]

60. oh yes

I LOVE watching good people walked out the door while putting up with overseas nitwits :rofl: NOT

[JVS]

31. The Onion predicted this.

[jannyk]

33. The movie it's based on was very good - poignant and funny. nt

[Common Sense Party]

45. Yes, it was--and it showed the downside to outsourcing and globalization

Especially when the call center that was outsourced to India was then outsourced to China.

[Skittles]

34. fucking disgusting

and if it depicted TRUE outsourcing you wouldn't understand most of what was being said

[proteus_lives]

36. Meh, doesn't surprise me.

No outrage here.

[Billy Burnett]

37. Donald Trump declaring "YOU'RE FIRED" was the #1 show as the job losses were accelerating.

Netwerk TV simply sucks. Period.

[kentuck]

47. Bingo...

Just what I was going to say...

[fishwax]

38. I dunno -- could be good if it has some satirical bite

As with most concepts, it could be good or it could be bad--it all depends on the execution.

[ThoughtCriminal]

40. All of you should check out the movie

that the series is based on before rushing to make negative comments. It was funny, not offensive at all.

A very good look at culture clash, preconceptions and the absurdities of stereotyping. It also took a bite at companies that do this.

Now I can't guarantee that the TV show will live up to the messages in the movie, but these attacks on a program that has not aired yet are actually a bit ironic.

[emmadoggy]

42. I really liked the movie too.

I doubt the series will be anywhere near as good, but I'm curious to see how they handle it and plan to carry it out over multiple episodes and, potentially, seasons (although I think the chances of it going that far are slim.)

[Nye Bevan]

41. And "Six Feet Under" is about *dead bodies*. Even more horrible!

All comedy should be totally inoffensive and slapstick!

[JamesA1102]

43. Remember this is the network that let go Letterman and Conan

for Jay Leno. They don't know what is funny.

[Common Sense Party]

44. It's based on a movie, which is rather funny and well-acted

You can see the movie on Netflix instant view. It's worth a watch.

[Stevenmarc]

46. I think I'll wait till I see an episode before my knee starts jerking

[Taverner]

50. Karposis Sarcoma - THE MUSICAL!!!!

[NobleCynic]

52. Sounds like the perfect target for humor

Good comedy is commentary on the tragedy of the human condition.

Now if their writing team is up to par, it might actually be decent.

[Art_from_Ark]

59. Even if it's decent, it might end up like "Ivan the Terrible"

http://www.tv.com/ivan-the-terrible/show/16139/summary.html

[petronius]

63. The commercials I've seen look really lame - I won't be going out of my way

to see it...

[WinkyDink]

64. Indians are the latest "funny." CF: "Big Bang Theory"; commercial with "Peggy."

[6000eliot]

66. I thought "Peggy" was Eastern European?

[TheWatcher]

65. Some of the responses in this thread are classic examples....

of how utterly clueless this country can be to how the Establishment likes to use "Entertainment" to laugh AT you, not with you.

[6000eliot]

67. Then I guess we're all lucky to have someone to point out

what clueless dupes we all are.

[TheWatcher]

68. You're Welcome.

You'll still keep sleeping probably, but it's always worth a try. :hi:

[AngryOldDem]

69. I hope it does worse than My Mother the Car, and gets cancelled ASAP.

That said, I may watch the first few episodes to find out which advertisers to avoid.

Classless and clueless on the part of NBC. They've been running promos since about spring. No wonder my teeth are becoming permanently clenched.