Disjointed is a Netflix Original about a medical marijuana dispensary. This show is created by Chuck Lorre, the creator of The Big Bang Theory and Two and a Half Men. I find interesting the depth of similarity between this show and The Big Bang Theory. They play out as the same dated sitcom through the lens of whatever pop culture trend is current, whether it be nerdiness becoming “in” or weed. I believe these two also feature a fundamental dishonesty in advertising.
One character of Disjointed, in a tongue in cheek joke, labels herself the “token asian”. Unfortunately, this show is composed of stereotypes all throughout. In fact, she is the asian archetype who is really anxious about her strict parents. The show also features a black character described as being “thirsty for white woman.” Cue laugh track. Of course, all the stoners of the show are complete morons. And where would we be without the will-they-won’t-they romantic tension between two coworkers? These stereotypes don’t offend me, they just aren’t funny. Offensive would be a welcome change of pace. They are so played out and tedious that they bore me. This follows the formula shown in The Big Bang theory, a show featuring a dumb blonde and socially awkward nerds. Do I even need to tell you there is a will-they-won’t-they? This layout is by no means only practiced in these two shows. This is 90s cheap sitcom material being dyed in a new shiny dye.
These shows give the expectation and image of being subversive, but really have the reaffirmation of typical values in nauseating, over the top “moral of the story” sitcom style. I never before realized the importance of my friends and family! Disjointed is so not subversive, that by the third episode they had illustrated how weed is a gateway drug. Disjointed gives off the promise in its image of being a show for stoners, as The Big Bang Theory does with nerds. However, these shows aren’t designed for the groups they represent; they spend the entire show mocking these groups. They are the weirdos who are socially awkward and dumb whom we laugh at. The “other.” Who would want to relate to that? As a nerd, The Big Bang Theory felt like it was against me, not on my side. Disjointed suffers from the same failings.
I have expressed worry that with Netflix being so guided by analytics, they would continue to create content that gets the most bang for its buck, and favors the lowest hanging fruit. Disjointed only follows this trend. It’s impressively by the numbers. However, it’s not all bad: If you are a fan of Chuck Lorre’s other works, you’ll probably enjoy this show. Seeing as how, you know, they are the same show.
Well that's just how big studio executives work Burns. They take one idea that works and say it's backed by science because people are just too stupid to look for something else.They see one funny stereotype work once and go "Hey that's true", and then they milk it like cow that lactates gold Burns. See what I'm trying to say it works because no one ever tries anything new. Everything has already been done so why bother spending the extra time when you can just slap together an easy script for stupid people laugh at. Too long didn't listen? creativity is a lie, but production value isn't.
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