jPod is the only show that's caught my fancy in years. Based on the novel by Douglas Coupland, its intelligent, edgy characters make you crave more. The show truly sucks you in and makes you feel as though you're a part of that zany, geeky world.jPod centers around a group of young computer programmers creating a computer game called Board X:a gory skateboarding game featuring Dwight the turtle as it's hero. The personal lives of the "podsters" are intertwined with work life providing for some hilarious adventures. Unfortunately, CBC has just decided to cancel the show. I feel as though I'm loosing a group of friends. Watch it though to increase the ratings and we'll see if we can save jPod. I promise you'll like it!

I haven't read the book, but I have read almost every other work of fiction by Coupland and I am a fan of his earlier novels. Coupland's movie Everything's Gone Green was majorly disappointing, so I had hoped for better when watching the first two episodes of jPod. The show has the feeling of Microserfs(Coupland's 1995 book) updated for 2006-2008 - with Coupland once again having his finger on the current culture(ex: googling your co-workers). The young characters who work in jPod are reasonable facsimiles of real people, except for the character of Cowboy. Their work environment in the gaming industry is relatable to anyone trying to be creative while in a corporate climate. I found myself laughing a bit when looking around the office in various scenes, especially in Bree's work area and when looking at the graphics of the game being produced. There are many quirky element that made me want this show to work.But jPod doesn't come off as very original because it has too many elements of Everything's Gone Green: the parents who had lost their jobs and so now grow marijuana, the brother in the real estate business who provides the main character with a free empty condo owned by rich Hong Kong citizens(in case they need to flee China), and instead of the Yakuza in EGG there is a dangerous Chinese criminal boss in jPod which the main character has to contend with. Instead of a potential girlfriend who works as a set designer in the movie business(EGG), the father in jPod is a movie extra, so we can look at bad movies being produced. Alan Thicke is over the top in the role, and I really wish they could of found an actor with a bit more subtlety to work with the wonderful Sherry Miller as the main character's mother. Alan Thicke isn't boring to watch, but all his scenes are excruciatingly terrible.As well, I found the pacing of the episodes to be slow and boring and the main character to be blank(though the main character of many of Coupland's novels are blank while the friends and family around them are more eccentric and interesting). The role of Steve the boss could have been written/or acted better (it's hard to tell who to blame the writers or the actors), because I've seen better versions of this type of character on many British sitcoms who actually manage to make you hate them and feel sorry for them at the same time....instead of just feeling like they do nothing to help the story. I've had bosses who could just be themselves and provide more laughter to the audience and irritation to the other characters that Steve does.ADDENDUM: I stick by what I wrote about the pilot and second episode. Since then, I've read the book and watched more TV episodes. I've discovered that this show has grown on me. The quality of comedy and writing varies from episode to episode, but I have laughed much more than I expected. This is much better than most Canadian made TV comedies(even Corner gas went downhill after the second season),a pity jPod wasn't renewed.

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.

OK, so I read the book a few months ago and really enjoyed it. I actually have a friend who works in a similar job to the "podsters" and found a lot to relate to with the characters. However after seeing the first two episodes of the series, I've got to say it's a major let down. First off the humour just seems to fall flat. Areas of the book where I was laughing out loud, once converted to the small screen, lose their edge and wit.Unfortunately the characters haven't converted well either, not only is one of my favourites, Evil Mark missing altogether but Ethan's character development and relationships seem rushed. Worst of all he appears a lot less compassionate and therefore less likable. Other major characters don't live up to their literary cousins either, whether this is due more to poor scripting or bad acting I can't quite decide yet.All in all, a clever and witty book has been stripped of its best qualities, leaving us with unlikable characters which have lost their clout in translation and therefore meander from one wacky plot turn to the next.After episode three, the series could grow on me like a new haircut you hate at first.....but I seriously doubt it.Your only hope with this series is to have not read or intend to read the book. but I wouldn't recommend that.