“You Deserve a Break Today:”
An Analysis of CBS’s The Crazy Ones “Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits, the rebels, the trouble makers, the round pegs in the square holes, the ones who see things differently” (Kelley 1). The Crazy Ones is a CBS sitcom starring the late Robin Williams as a mildly insane, but brilliant owner of one of the world’s best advertising companies, Lewis Roberts + Roberts. His daughter, played by Sarah Michelle Gellar, helps him to run the company, and with the assistance of their dream team staff, they meddle their way into and out of sticky situations in the advertising industry. The opening scene of the pilot episode helps to set the stage for these types of sticky situations and sets the mood for the whole, and…show more content… It is critical for this scene to attract and keep the attention of the viewers. If this scene fails, then the audience changes the channel, or turns off their television and the show fails too. This scene takes place during modern times inside of the creative department of Lewis Roberts + Roberts, in Chicago, Illinois. Had the setting been in New York, or Los Angeles, viewers may have thought of Simon and his employees as minor celebrities, comparable to the women of Sex and the City. The location of the office is put in the Midwest to be more relatable to the average American population. In further episodes, Andrew’s loud sisters, who are all school teachers, invade the office, giving the audience an even more real feeling from the sitcom. The office is shown as part of the Trump International Hotel and Tower, even though the tower is mostly residential. The conference room has a wall of windows through which you can see the city of Chicago. The whole office has a very modern feel, but is not stuffy like a business office. It has multiple creative and artistic aspects. It is important to the audience and to the show that the office is so modern because of its creatively decorated walls subconsciously make us think that the office is a place for free thinking, flowing thoughts, and bright new ideas. This leads us to believe…show more content… At the forefront of the cast is Simon Roberts, an aging man, but a marketing genius. His character is known for his crazy ideas that just happen to work almost flawlessly. He is incredibly eccentric, but it works for him and quite frankly his character “. . . is Williams being Williams. . . “ (Goodman). His tightly wound, more conventionally thinking daughter is his business partner on the creative side of Lewis Roberts + Roberts. Despite being part of the creative side of the business, she seems to be the rational one of the pair and is Simon’s second in command. Unlike her father, who usually appears happy, Sydney looks stressful. Her hair is often worn up and she purses her lips even more than she nervously smiles. Every now and then, she will try to embrace her father’s spur-of-the-moment personality, but her ill-fated attempts at being as spontaneous as her father usually ends up causing more problems than they solve. Working for the pair are Zach Cropper, a handsome, charming man; Andrew Keanelly, an awkward, insecure Art Director for the company; and Lauren Slotsky, the ditsy, sometimes accidentally brilliant secretary. The mesh of these characters is the fabric that holds the series together. Simon and Zach often tag team as the creative geniuses for an ad while Andrew and Sydney are often behind the more logical ideas. The main team members of Lewis Roberts + Roberts are