Cavemen...Only ABC Could Do It

Ever since the first Caveman Geico advertisement was aired in 2004 fans of the cavemen have been glued to their TV sets, hoping for another commercial. And because of the ads' overwhelming success, ABC picked up the rights for Cavemen last spring and fashioned the 30-second ad spots into a half-hour comedy series.

At first, I had serious reservations about how ABC was exactly going to pull this off. The advertisements not only pointed out society's ready acceptance of stereotypes but they also exposed exactly how stupid racism can be. And the advertisements were so direct and to the point. How could they ever drag it out for half-an-hour?

Cavemen on ABC appears promising. The series centers on the lives of three caveman roommates; two brothers and their friend in modern-day Atlanta.

Joel, played by Bill English (Johnson, the oblivious office worker in the Kellogg's Raisin Bran Crunch commercials) is the nice guy who just wants to fit in. He and his blonde, southern belle girlfriend, Kate (Kaitlin Doubleday) have a solid relationship and have just become engaged. But Joel wants Kate's family's approval and feels he'll never get it. He doesn't look like or act like Kate's upper-crust, country club-type family and knows that no matter what he does, he never can be like them.

Nick (Nick Kroll) is the dangerously intelligent, sarcastic caveman who doesn't care who accepts him. He is who he is, all others be damned. His dry, witty sense of humor is absolutely hysterical. It would seem, however, that Nick looks at the world with a real chip on his shoulder. Nick appears to have been rejected by the world so many times that he rejects the world before it has the opportunity to hurt him again.

Andy, played by Sam Huntington (Jimmy Olsen in Superman Returns), is Joel's younger brother. He and Nick constantly put a strain on Joel's relationship with Kate with their emotional demands.

Shawna Malcom of TV Guide said, "Everybody wants to fit in and nobody feels like they do." However, from the promos available, the real underlying theme appears to be stereotypes and racism.

The show appears to rely heavily on the stereotypes that automatically come to mind when thinking of cavemen; notions of stupid, savage creatures incapable of civilized thought, reason or conversation. The show takes these concepts and puts the cavemen in situations that accidentally reinforce those stereotypes in others.

For instance, in the pilot episode, Kate's friends ask her what the sex is like with her caveman. "Is it wild?" she asks with apparent concern, then, dreamily, "I'll bet it's wild." Joel falls into the fire pit, knocking down the roasting pig and setting his shirt on fire. After letting out a wild, caveman roar and beating out the flames, Joel notices the whole party has come to a stop. All are staring at him. Joel addresses the crowd, tells them he understands what they're thinking, but really cavemen ARE just like everybody else. But, in the end, he knows that nobody listened and, if anything, he's only made matters worse.

But it's not only Joel and his fellow cavemen that must battle the "caveman prejudice". Kate's mother even asks Kate, ""Honey, uh, do your friends like their meat cooked?" The show examines the consequences of stereotypes and prejudice and maybe, just maybe, as we watch, we will learn how to better treat one another. It promises to be funny, poignant and thought-provoking. Here's hoping it's mostly funny!

The premier episode airs on October 2 at 8:00 (7:00 CST) on ABC.