Marc Thibeault This show wasn't very good, and wasn't funny or well written or well acted. I was quite disappointed. Maybe expectations were too high?

deannalc I am a huge Coupland fan, and loved the book. I find that often movie or TV adaptations ruin the books, however, in this case, even though the show isn't "true to the book", I find it very amusing. It is easy to watch, the characters are fun and diverse..Alan Thicke is an absolute gem. When I watch it, I don't think..."you can totally tell this show is Canadian"... I am sure you all know what I mean by that. I think its a show that Canadians can be really proud to call their own. Way to go Douglas Coupland and cast and crew of Jpod. I look forward to next weeks adventure . Perhaps next we can see Girlfriend In a Coma on the screen!

kabojnk First off, some other comments seem to miss some key ideas behind the show. First off, the "lack of originality" alluding to various parallel plot devices in the movie "Everything's Gone Green" is misconceived. jPod was released as a novel prior to said movie, so the apparent lack of originality in the series seems more of a reflection of poor timing when optioning a book for a series right after making a movie that uses similar elements from the book.As for the series itself, I find it far more enjoyable than the actual novel jPod, mainly because the novel donned the mantle of its predecessor, Microserfs, which differed quite a lot. While the characters seemed annoying and almost purposeless in jPod as a book, which may or may not have been an attempt to contrast the world of 1995 (Microserfs) to the world of today in the tech industry, the characters nonetheless come across as entertaining on television. When I watch the show I no longer try to correlate jPod to Microserfs, and I therefore lose the biggest hangup I had about jPod.The plots that occur in each episode are absurdly unrealistic, even for Douglas Coupland who manages to weave together great tapestries in his novels revolving around chance, coincidence, and philosophical insights into mundane objects and foods. But as long as someone isn't looking for a plausible story in each episode, it will be far easier to enjoy the series. I'd hate to really toss out such a misnomer, but this show is probably the best example I can think of for a great situational comedy that doesn't revolve around the same old characters who live in the same drab world and fall victim to the same cliché'd plot lines.Whether or not there is a sense of verisimilitude in the reflection of the game industry is somewhat irrelevant to me as I am not in the industry. But considering I've known people who have worked at Electronic Arts (they're all disgruntled ex-employees) can attest to similar working conditions of being pieces of a massive company that takes pleasure in overworking and underappreciating their employees--which easily reflects in their turnover rate. As for the interactions between the actual co-workers in the Pod, I doubt it's realistic but how entertaining is an average day working for a video game company? Even if the characters aren't believable employees I think they fit the role quite well for what's needed to be translated to television.While this review is poorly written and disheveled, I maintain that this is an excellent series to try watching if you enjoyed Coupland's books, or the movie "Wonderboys" (or the book it was based on by Michael Chabon), or just happen to enjoy an entertaining movie that brings almost a Seinfeld-like attention to some of the things and situations in life that most of us overlook or don't even think about.

mercurybrain I have not read the book but I found JPOD to be a rather pointless show. It had moments of laughter but the attempt at humor just seemed lame for the most part. One is left wondering about the relationship of the main character and his odd parents, but the rest of them are just THERE. It is trying to be another quirky CBC prime-time show. It's quirky but perhaps trying too much. I would much rather be watching "This is Wonderland" but the CBC ditched that one unfortunately. Other new shows such as "Chuck" and "Reaper" were attention grabbers. With JPOD, I found myself just wanting an hour of my time back to make lunch for the next day or anything. I was left uninspired, bland and pretty much brain-dead. What was the point if it didn't do anything for me intellectually or emotionally. Either a show has a message or it is entertaining or both. I see neither here. I cant say it is horrible, but if you don't have cable and there is nothing else on the other 3 channels, and you don't have to make lunch the next day, you might kill some timewith this. Better yet, read the book, I here it is good.