ABC commissions the pilot of a sitcom called "Selfie." Because, well, zeitgeist. Or something.
This is how I imagine this new sitcom.
(Credit: Ariele Frizzante/YouTube screenshot by Chris Matyszczyk/CNET)TV networks have a tendency to believe that any technology-based trend should be ripe for comedy. This is a mistake, for so many of these ought to be the subject of tragedy.
ABC seems not to agree, as it has just begged for a pilot of a sitcom called "Selfie."
"Selfie" will be a 22-minute montage of an unknown (but pretty) actor and actress taking pictures of themselves with their phones. He has a Nokia Lumia, she has an iPhone. Actually, that's not quite right.
As Entertainment Weekly gushed on Thursday, it's a "comedy inspired by 'My Fair Lady' (that) tells the story of a self-obsessed 20-something woman who is more concerned with 'likes' than being liked."
Does that sound like anyone you know? Does that sound like anyone you've dated? Or does that sound like everyone you know and have dated?
But this buoyant concept has depth, as this is a story of almost Kardashian-esque depth: "After suffering a very public and humiliating breakup, she becomes the subject of a viral video and suddenly has more social media 'followers' than she ever imagined -- but for all the wrong reasons. She enlists the help of a marketing expert at her company to help repair her tarnished image."
More Technically Incorrect
Very few people have images that haven't been tarnished. Some, though, are more adept at polishing the tarnish than others. Some, moreover, are very, very adept at taking selfies that make them look entirely untarnished.
These days, it's even harder to launch a successful sitcom that it is to launch a successful startup.
The pressures are great, the tolerance levels slight. And the people putting up the money are far less pleasant than, say, Valley venture capitalists.
But I wonder whether anything to do with technology really lends itself to a successful sitcom. Shatnered and then cratered after just one series.
The Web generation may not be so interested in watching TV about itself.
Instead, it commits itself to pedestrian fantasist soap opera, featuring slightly wooden English actors and shot in someone's large back garden. Yes, like "Game Of Thrones."
Put the internet to work for you.
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