There's certainly nothing more basic a critic could do than describe a show with “base” in its name as a base. But it's hard to find a more fitting word to describe Fox. Universal Basic Guysa cartoon that, at least initially, seems to be rooted in all the most overused clichés of 90s sitcoms.
The series, created by Adam and Craig Malamut, occasionally reveals glimpses of potential to become something more distinctive, usually when it veers off the beaten path into weirder, wackier, and often downright fantastical detours. But such moments are spread too thinly across a 13-episode first season best described as beautiful rather than funny.
Universal Basic Guys
The conclusion
It's a basic thing, of course.
Air Date: 8:00pm Sunday 8th September (Fox)
Launch: Adam Malamut, Craig Malamut, Talia Genevieve, Fred Armisen
Creators: Adam Malamut, Craig Malamut
The “basic” in that title actually refers to the concept of universal basic income, which ostensibly drives the plot. As explained in the opening credits of each episode, South Jersey brothers Mark and Hank Hoagies, both voiced by Adam Malamut, have been drafted into a UBI pilot program after their jobs at a hot dog factory are made redundant by AI-powered robots. With $3,000 in no strings attached to spend each month and no gainful employment to absorb their time, the Hoagies spend their days getting into outlandish mischief. Most of it is driven by Mark’s misplaced ambition or oversized ego, while the much more laid-back Hank is generally just along for the ride.
Despite a premise that would seem to touch on salient political issues, Universal Basic Guys has no interest in pointed social commentary. If anything, UBI works as an excuse to avoid talking about anything too real. You never have to wonder why Mark isn’t looking for a new job or how he’s paying for all his wacky projects when UBI is there to dismiss your questions. (And if you’re wondering whether that money wouldn’t just replace the paychecks he was getting from work, or whether some of his ideas wouldn’t cost a lot more than three grand to make, stop, you’re already thinking about that a lot more than the show ever did.)
Unfortunately, the comedy does less than it could with that freedom. The first half hour sets the tone with a plot about Mark purchasing a decrepit lab chimp from a Joe Exotic-type figure. The twists that follow aren’t necessarily easy to guess: They involve Mark literally having his entire face torn off, and then refusing to undergo facial reconstructive surgery out of sheer stubbornness. But they’re not surprising, rooted as they are in the old stereotype of Mark as the swaggering buffoon and his wife, Tammy (Talia Genevieve), as the disapproving killjoy.
References to the likes of Britney Spears and Seal aren't enough to dispel the impression that the series is stuck circa 2002. Nor is the next episode, in which Mark tries to sneak in some fishing during a romantic dinner cruise. Husbands, am I right?
Universal Basic Guys ultimately reveals a few saving graces. One is that it's rarely mean. Mark may be stubborn and reckless, but he's never willfully cruel. The jokes may not be particularly fresh, but they also avoid the faux-sharp provocation of, say, Netflix Tiresset in a similar working-class environment of dudes-will-be-dudes. If its characters tend toward stereotypes, they are treated with more amused affection than contempt. Even Mark's neighbor, David Jinglebells (Fred Armisen), an effeminate ex-New Yorker whose disinterest in Eagles football and love of books like A Delicate History of Parisian Daisies they make him stand out as an eyesore, treated like just another eccentric neighbor rather than a punching bag for Mark and his friends to take down. (Although Murph, an alpha male type in a pink polo, does try sometimes.)
Mark's marriage to Tammy finally gets a more palatable edge as she establishes herself as a protagonist. A midseason episode opens with the couple arguing over chicken wings about whether Gremlins or Oompa Loompas would be better nurses. The conversation isn't the slightest bit plot-relevant, but it's a fun little reminder that underneath all their bickering, these two genuinely enjoy each other; I just wish it had come sooner, because by then I'd already spent several episodes wondering why she wouldn't leave a man who causes her so much headache.
The other big plus is sweet, innocent, and well-meaning Hank. As crazy as Mark's plans are, there's also a certain predictability to them. You know the moment someone tells Mark he can't do something, he'll insist on doing it in the most reckless way possible, whether it's passing himself off as a pilot after a few hours in a flight simulator or “saving” a bunch of citizens with the help of a scrap metal robot suit. Hank is the real wild card, possessing an almost pathological level of cool that allows him to deal with everything from sirens to human sacrifices to Navy Seal BUD/S training with ease.
I understand why Hank can't be the main character; drawing references from an era that this cartoon could understand would be like making Kramer the main character of Seinfeld or Dwight the main character of The office. But the show is at its best when it follows suit and lets its characters go off on bizarre paths. My favorite moments tend to be the most outrageous, like when the “Jersey Devil” turns out to be a real devil who befriends Mark’s disaffected teenage stepson, Darren, or when the Philadelphia Eagles stadium turns out to contain a secret “mascot and fan engagement lab” filled with horrifying sci-fi abominations.
These are the moments when Universal Basic Guys finally lets his imagination run wild, and the show is better for them. But too often, he seems content to just chill in his garage, reverting to the same old nonsense day after day.