Tim (Steve Dildarian) is a New Yorker in his 20’s who works at OmniCorp and has a girlfriend, Amy. He tries to go through his day-to-day life without causing any problems but situations always arise in which Tim does have to deal with one predicament after another. He can never impress Amy’s parents, truly get ahead at work, or have uneventful friendships.

CRITIQUE

Though certain animated series have appeared on television that were better for audiences other than young children (The Simpsons comes to mind), there seems to have been a surge recently in these types of shows, and in fact these are even more solely aimed at adults. Unpredictable and a bit profane, the raucous series The Life and Times of Tim makes for a decidedly adult and funny entry into the animation medium in its first season.

The first thing the viewer needs to know about this series is its adult content. Even adults who aren’t parents may care to know that the TV-MA rating is entirely justified, mostly for the dialogue and language. If the viewer is prepared for this, the full effect of the humor that stems from the show will be fun to experience. I usually don’t consider vulgarity funny, but the jokes here are drawn more from creating inappropriate situations than just that fact that it’s mature language. In truth, it’s those awkward scenarios that Tim constantly finds himself in that make you laugh, because he never ever catches a break!

Steve Didarian, as the mind behind this series and the voice of Tim, proves himself to be as sharp with comedy as any writer of a show like Everybody Loves Raymond. That is actually what this show feels like, a very adult sitcom. As a matter of fact, when Tim messes up his Valentine’s gift to Amy, it is quite reminiscent of the Raymond episode where Ray used Robert’s idea for Debra’s Christmas gift.

As for the other aspects of the series, they are also successful overall. The actual look of the animation is very unique, and while the style of the drawings feels rudimentary it is also fully realized at the same time. You can’t imagine the characters looking any other way, and what memorable characters they are! Dildarian smartly crafts little pieces of comedic gold, like the neighborhood priest or Tim’s boorish co-worker Rodney, and brings them back again and again. The plotting throughout, as each episode is divided into two stories, is unpredictable and the final episode surprisingly makes the audience emotionally invested in wanting to see a second season.

The Life and Times of Tim is funny and distinctive, providing a first season full of strong writing and unique animation.

THE VIDEO

The first season is presented in its original broadcast widescreen format, enhanced for 16x9 TVs. There are English, French and Spanish subtitles offered on this two-disc set.

THE AUDIO

All episodes are presented in English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, and while most of the audio is front heavy, it gets the job done as far as animation goes. The only other language track is a Spanish 2.0 dub track.

THE EXTRAS

Awkward Moments: A Collection of 10 Animated Shorts: Tim interacts with various other characters from the series in this collection of brief scenes. These are all as hilarious as the episodes themselves, with the same satirical tone. The best is probably the scene on the plane titled “Exit Row.” It features another appearance by Amy’s grandmother and a new male character that should pop up again. Definitely watch these.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The Life and Times of Tim delivers a first season that is very mature but also frequently very funny, with memorable writing and animation. Solely for adult audiences, this series adds up the laughs on these two discs because viewers can watch the whole season all the way through. The single bonus feature on this set adds value to it, being wonderful scenes that would fit right in with the series itself. As long as a viewer is aware of the adult nature of this series, the humor of The Life and Times of Tim will satisfy.