The Life & Times of Tim

"The Life & Times of Tim," created by Steve Dildarian, is another show about a twenty-something New Yorker working at a monolithic corporation and just trying to get by without totally embarrassing himself.

Except this show is totally hilarious.

"Tim" is sort of like an animated version of those "The Most Awkward Boy in the World" comedy sketches (starring Zach Woods, now of "The Office" fame)... somehow, no matter what Tim does (or doesn't do), it's gonna get pretty uncomfortable. And rip-roaringly funny. Just in the first season Tim somehow gets cornered into fighting an old man, and taking his boss's daughter to her senior prom.

Watch this show.

The animation is a little... simple, like something you might come across on Newgrounds, but don't let that dissuade you. This is a cartoon in which the characters wear different outfits (but still have a consistent wardrobe/style), and one that has many little background details never mentioned, but that are sincerely pause-worthy, such as little posters and reminders hung up on the cubicles at Tim's work, or a sign on the wall of an AA meeting - a picture of a person "losing their lunch" in a toilet, with the caption, "You Need Help." There is also continuity between episodes, recurring characters, notable guest stars (Tony Hale, Trevor Moore, Lizzy Caplan, Cheri Oteri, Jeff Garlin, Bob Saget...), references to Wes Anderson and "Felicity," and many, many hilarious jokes.

"Tim" could be criticized for its use of vulgar situations (and language), but none of it is used gratuitously, or without creativity and originality. Vulgar? Yes. Tasteless, lewd, or uncouth? Hell no. A prime example is an alcoholic priest, a recurring character, and in the age of parish sex scandals, a skewed version of a new kind of archetype. Yet "Tim" does not use this character as a chance for a cheap shot at religious institutions. No, the priest's "wild" antics instead just lead to more opportunities for Tim to have to deal with awkwardness and embarrassment - and that's what the show is about.

Watch "The Life & Times of Tim" or else live with the knowledge that you're missing out on something wonderful.

Each thirty-minute episode consists of two fifteen-minute segments.

The second season, currently airing on HBO, has a snazzy new opening-sequence, but is not lacking in any of the goodness mentioned above.

It doesn't take itself seriously at all, and never comes across as self-indulgent or forcing humor onto the viewer. It's easy comedy, not in the sense that no effort was put into it, but rather that even on your worst day, coming home after exhausting work, you'd still find enthusiasm for a quick episode. It's smooth viewing, funny and intelligible, and the story makes sense and is consistently straightforward yet fresh. The plots are funny and offer enough variety, but it's the specific situations in each episode that are at times hilarious. Tim is just doing his best not to be singled out, not to be noticed, and he somehow finds himself in the spotlight in the worst possible way every time.

One of the funniest moments I can remember is the very first scene and Dildarian (creator and voice of Tim) really did an excellent job capturing what the show was about in that opening scene to get the audience hooked. Other moments include any time some super exaggerated story is made up of Tim that makes him look like a miserable little creature, any scene involving Tim and his girlfriend Amy's family (the best by far being his phone call with the mom about the cook book), usually any moment involving the Boss and just the mere fact he's simply known as "the Boss", when he pretends he's got 'tell the truth' syndrome and verbally assaults everyone in the office under orders from the boss, most of the scenes with the priest...

The ridiculous, crummy animation is absolutely perfect given the type of humor in question, and you can tell Dildarian had fun with just the animation alone in certain scenes, for eg when Tim's on the bus and the old man challenges him to a boxing match and repeatedly slaps him in the face, and the scene lasts about 5 or 6 slaps too long on purpose. It's so underwhelming and flat it's hilarious to watch.

The animation is arguably symbolic of how exactly underwhelming and ordinary life is. How unimpressive, and flat (literally as flat as a child's 2D drawings) life is.

I know that cartoons aimed towards adults generally don't get the attention they deserve, because they get written off as childish or don't capture interests as quickly as attractive/famous real-life characters can. But PLEASE, give this show a chance! I promise that just one episode of this show will have you hooked. I haven't laughed out loud this much since arrested development (R.I.P.) and the humor is similarly fast paced and, at times, absurd. The show is a half hour long, divided into two 15 minute episodes, which makes the show very watchable even for people who don't think they can devote an entire 30 minutes to a cartoon.

Everything about this show is hilarious--the scenarios, the dry dialogue, the buildup to inevitable madness, and the horribly drawn but wonderfully fleshed-out characters. The show follows Tim, who is frequently caught in admittedly outlandish situations, although they always seem to spiral out of control so realistically. He and the supporting cast of characters all have their own stand out performances, including Debbie the friend/hooker and Amy the girlfriend, who is perpetually disappointed in her well-meaning but just plain awful boyfriend. So before you write it off simply because it's an adult cartoon, watch just ONE episode. Hell, even watch one half of an episode. That's 15 minutes of your time that will quickly lead to you watching every episode, I promise.

Tim is a very nice and very boring person and only bad things happen to him. His reactions to other people is my favorite part. They will say something crazy and he stays calm and says something hilarious. Love it.

3 series & still nobody has ever heard of The Life & Times of Tim. It's not even released on DVD in the UK. If you want it you'll have to get it on import.

The humour is similar to Curb Your Enthusiasm with Tim getting into difficult situations (not always his fault) and then making them worse as each episode progresses. It's dry & understated, even when the situations become crazy. The characters are all brilliant, even minor ones such as Helen, Debbie or Stu's Dad. Tim's friends Rodney & Stu are idiots who invariably land him in trouble while keeping out of it themselves.

If you like adult cartoons, check it out.