Will ABC's New Caveman Series Throw People Back to the Stone Age?

Apparently being the executive that green-lights pilots for the American Broadcasting Company is so easy... yeah, you know where I'm going with this.

The Hollywood Reporter posted the other day that ABC, in its efforts to kick their race to the bottom of the ratings pile into high gear - has picked up the Cavemen pilot as a mid-season replacement for some other show in their lineup that will tank just as bad.

You read that right, kids. The thin-skinned, overly-sensitive Neanderthals from the Geico commercials are going to be a half hour situation comedy series.

The original commercials produced by the Martin Agency for Geico Insurance were actually pretty funny and creative (here is a website that has all the spots). Each one has made me chuckle, which is really all you can expect from a 30 second spot. They were memorable, which is what the Martin Agency wanted. But I dont think there are many people out there that dont agree that these hairy, protruding brow sophisticates have run their course.

We've seen the spots. We get the joke, move on.

So naturally, at the point where we've all pretty much had enough of these guys, ABC decides that now would be a good time to turn it into a mid-season replacement sit com.

Ain't it Cool News recently figured out a way to have someone catch a screening of the pilot episode and its just what you would expect:

"Cavemen" is literally a thirty second commercial expanded to twenty-two minutes. But... it's actually much worse than that. ...We meet these humanoids already fully integrated into society and living in a mid-west apartment with a bunch of Ikea furniture. Think about it, a show based on a commercial is bound to have a lot of product placement."

Its all part of what I like to call "lowest common denominator television." Something ABC is apparently very passionate about. Sometimes it can be entertaining to see the desperation of a multi-billion dollar corporation attempt something so mind-numbingly stupid. Other times, is just really sad.

Expect the creatively-titled "Caveman" to be on sometime this fall.