Ed and the Beauty of the $10 Bet

Some great news for fans of semi-obscure and long cancelled shows everywhere- It looks like Ed is coming to DVD at long last. Ed really started my obsession with television. It was the first show I followed on a weekly basis. I even taped it so I could rewatch episodes in those quaint days before Hulu and DVD. From there, my fascination with T.V. grew to the obsessive peaks that I have now reached (gotta give Tivo its due as well). 

One of the highlights of every episode was the $10 bets between Ed and his best friend Mike.

Nothing was out of line for these guys when $10 bucks were on the line: 

chugging an entire bottle of syrup, ordering a shirley temple on a first date, or even asking where the lettuce was in a super market (only catch was Ed had to pronounce it as "letoos"). I would never do any of those things for $10 bucks, but it was a ton of fun to watch Ed and Mike do it every week. 

I loved the things that these guys would come up with simply to try and find their best friends point of no return on the embarrassment scale. The whole thing felt like something two friends would do, which was kind of the whole point. 

What set Ed apart was that the characters laughed with each other like real people while having conversations that felt genuine. It did not feel like actors reading from a script waiting to get to a punch line. I have to say I am a sucker for shows that can do that. 

All the bizarre stuff they did on Ed, including the bets, wouldn't have been nearly as funny or memorable if the characters hadn't been "real" enough to be embarrassed about having to do something really stupid for $10 bucks. 

A guy ordering a Shirley Temple on a first date is not funny unless he is really uncomfortable doing it. Actually, I guy ordering a Shirley Temple is funny anytime but I am thinking you get my point. 

Comedy is always important but you have to create great characters for any of it to work. For 4 years, Ed was an awesome example of what happens when great characters and great comedy meet.