LASSOED
/“Doing the right thing is never the wrong thing.”
I know Ted Lasso is not a real person. (He’s almost too good to be true.)
I know this sensational series is only on AppleTV+. (And, who isn’t subscription poor these days with Netflix, Hulu, Peacock, Paramount+, Discovery+, Disney+. All those pluses add up. But, get a free AppleTV+ trial and binge it.)
I know the narrative is profanity-laden. (It’s a shame because the writing is so good it’s clear the creative minds could have leaned less on that worn crutch.)
Otherwise:
We’re only a few episodes into the second season and I have already listed in it “Pops’ Top Eleven Ensemble Comedies, Post 1980”. (listed alphabetically to avoid a best-of-the-best debate):
Arrested Development
The Big Bang Theory
Frasier
Friends
Modern Family
Newhart
The Office
Parks and Recreation
Schitt’s Creek
Seinfeld
Ted Lasso
Look at the list and the recipe for success becomes apparent: great writing, rich character development, a stellar cast, an endearing storyline, plenty of silliness and enough tenderness to make it matter.
For those of us who grew up living deep in daydreams, where the line between real and fantasy was blurry, we tend to make these characters near-human. We care what happens to them. We value the experience we have with them as we sit in a corner of their world and watch and listen and laugh.
Ted Lasso himself is sort of a mix of Mister Rogers, Ulysses Everett McGill and Andy Griffith. It’s a fish-out-of-water story. Of course Ted would say he’s a goldfish. In an episode where one of his players has a particularly bad game, Ted says,
“You know what the happiest animal on Earth is? It’s a goldfish.
You know why? Got a 10-second memory. Be a goldfish, Sam.”
I know it’s not real life; but neither is the world portrayed on CNN, Fox News, MSNBC and that ilk. I tend to view politicians and fundamentalists as an ensemble cast in a show of their own, except theirs isn’t funny, hopeful, or humanizing.
Part of what makes Ted Lasso, the show, outstanding is its timing—it came along when we needed it most. It is the antithesis of what our national discourse has become. It is a breath of fresh air. A hope that there are still purveyors of good and kind and beautiful.
Let me say again: I know it’s a show, an ensemble of characters. But still it tells a story, one that makes people better.
And, hasn’t the power of storytelling proven to be a way to learn some of the most important life lessons? Who was it that told stories about mustard seeds, seed-sowers, hidden treasure, lost sheep and many, many more.
Real life is real though. Still it’s made up of chapters and verses, beginnings and endings.
Without a doubt the ensemble and episodes I love most and treasure deeply are the real ones; the ensemble of family and friends, and the episodes are the moments we share together.
Here’s one more from Ted:
“Be curious. Not judgemental.”
— Ted Lasso quoting Walt Whitman.
P.S.: At least be curious enough to watch the trailer on YouTube.