I have recently become a Douglas Coupland fan and was very excited to find out that jPod was going to become a show. I actually only started reading the novel after the show had been advertised. I feel the need to address that a television show and a novel are two different forms of mediums and I will treat them as such. As a television show I find it very entertaining and am actually impressed that a television show that actually holds my interest can be Canadian. The only other Canadian show (of fiction) I am a fan of is the Kids in the Hall. For years I have given up on television but thanks to jPod and the show Reaper I have reasons to watch TV again. I recommend this show and want nothing but the best for this great Canadian show.

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.

Some elements are entertaining, however this series seems completely out of touch with the industry it's portraying. Working in the games and Animation industry myself I'm aware of the funny and entertaining aspects, and this hits none of them.The series appears to have two tangents, If i was the creator I would focus on the side story involving one of the employees, as the 'work' side of it COMPLETELY misses. Yet another example of a lack of research and advisers.The characters themselves aren't bad, production quality good.Completely out of touch with reality, and not in the interesting and entertaining way.

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.