Outsourced

During last week's trip to Asia, President Obama did all but get on his hands and knees to beg for India's friendship.  As a surprise to some, India replied with a despondent "maybe."

But how could this be?  Isn't America the popular jock of World Senior High School that everyone is dying to date or at least mimic?  And isn't India the nerd who does all of our homework for practically free? 

Well, maybe India caught a glimpse of NBC's latest addition to Thursday night's lineup, Outsourced, and realized that underneath that star-studded letterman's jacket, America is just an idiot.

Outsourced tells the story of Todd Dempsy, an all-American 20-something who is transferred from Kansas City to Mumbai to manage a call center.  The center sells American novelties from Green Bay Packer cheese hats to glow in the dark condoms to mistletoe belt buckles.  With Todd's ignorance of Indian culture and a few stereotypical characters, the chaos ensues.

This past Thursday night's episode, titled "Home for Diwalidays" focused on India's most celebrated holiday, Diwali.  Todd set out to make his employees work during the festivities regardless of the important season.  The remainder of the episode was full of back and forth cultural slams, with Todd finally changing his mind and manning the phones on his own.

Samantha Urban, television reviewer for The Dallas Morning News, writes "Instead of laughing with its characters, Outsourced laughs at its characters: Todd chuckles at his Indian co-workers' names and struggles to teach them about American humor and culture, complete with an embarrassing montage that includes one Indian employee singing and dancing to the Pussycat Dolls' 2005 hit, "Don't Cha." How fresh."

Urban hits the nail on the head.  The show is continually laughing at its characters and their misunderstandings of each other's backgrounds.  The writers of Outsourced expect the audience to find humor at the same joke over and over again for 30 minutes every week.

Being a successful sitcom is difficult, but this one trick pony shouldn't have made it off the idea board.  For some reason not only has it made it past the pilot, it pushed Amy Poehler's flourishing workplace comedy, Parks and Recreation, to come in mid-season. 

But even more astonishing than NBC's support of the show is its placement.  The show comes on at 9:30 p.m., following 30 Rock and The Office, two award-winning shows with broad and dedicated fan bases.  Both shows are workplace comedies, but have a much more sophisticated undertone than the slapstick that overflows in Outsourced. 

"Outsourced feels like a mistake on the schedule, something that should air on a less competitive night. Fifteen years ago," wrote New York Press television reviewer Mark Peikert. 

Peikert touches on a deeper point.  Fifteen years ago, the show had a better chance of survival.  But that was a pre-9/11 time, when Americans were allowed to be a little more cocky, rambunctious and overly ignorant.  The jock could tape a 'Kick Me' sign to a weaker student's back and still be the coolest guy around.  However, now that we're knee deep in two wars and pretty much broke, it's a different story.  We have to watch our P's and Q's, and even our Kick Me's.

I'm interested to know if the show will be signed on for another season.  If so, hopefully it the characters and plot will evolve to become a little less ethnocentric.  And hopefully we will too.