10. Non Sequiturs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKRu-xH58E8 MacFarlane's story ideas are sometimes interesting and sometimes not. But
hecertainly never seems that interested in them. Non sequitur-based comedy is the norm for MacFarlane projects, from Family Guy on down. A Million Ways To Die In The West at least maintains some sense of theme by making most of the non sequiturs about how hard Western life can be. MacFarlane's animated shows are about seventeen minutes of plot held together by five minutes of cutaways, with nothing more profound tying the digressions together than "I like lots of old movies and TV shows." The Ted films follow the same general model. But even when the shows themselves aren't digressing, the characters are. Ted can't maintain interest in his own legal personhood long enough to avoid a legalese-shouting contest with his lifelong "Thunder Buddy" John or getting hung up on how his lawyer, by some sheer coincidence, has the name "Sam L. Jackson." Often, these non sequiturs aren't as funny as something a little less improv would've been. Ted's claim that Samuel L. Jackson is "the black guy in every movie ever" might've had more bite if his own movie didn't have several black guys, most prominently Morgan Freeman.