Still most famous for TV’s Family Guy, Seth McFarlane’s initial cinematic release as writer/director turned into a hit. With a relatively modest $50 million budget, 2012’s Ted made a whopping $549 million worldwide and turned into the year’s biggest comedy in the US, no mean feat for a flick with an “R” rating.

Inevitably, this led to a sequel via 2015’s Ted 2. While still likely profitable given a $215 million total take, it made a surprisingly low $88 million in the US, a figure that left it in 37th place on the US charts, 28 spots lower than the original movie.

Which likely explains why we never got Ted 3. However, the property snapped back to life via a 2024 Peacock Channel series.

Conveniently titled Ted, the show acts as a prequel, one that focuses on the movies’ John Bennett (Mark Wahlberg) as a 16-year-old high school junior in 1993. This two-disc Blu-ray includes all seven of Season One’s episodes, with plot synopses from the show’s official site.

Just Say Yes: “When his father Matty (Scott Grimes) makes Ted (voiced by MacFarlane) go to school with John (Max Burkholder), Ted immediately decides to get expelled.”

I never saw the sequel, but I thought the original Ted offered a mixed bag. When MacFarlane explored clever domains, it amused, but he stayed with cheap gags too much of the time.

At least through the first episode of Ted, MacFarlane manages to stay on the right side of that line. Sure, “Yes” takes on some crass elements, but it usually does so in a manner that shows interesting twists.

Maybe the series will falter down the road, and I admit I go into MacFarlane projects with skepticism. However, “Yes” launches S1 on a surprisingly funny and positive note.

My Two Dads: “Ted and John’s plan to exact revenge on school bully Clive (Jack Seavor McDonald) inadvertently puts them in a parental role.”

At no point does “Dads” follow a particularly original path, as we’ve already seen stories of bullies who get humanized. I feel pretty sure Simpsons hit similar territory in the past.

Still, “Dads” becomes a fairly enjoyable episode. It manages a few curveballs in terms of the plot and conjures enough humor to work.

Ejectile Dysfunction: “Ted and John go to extraordinary lengths so that John can watch his first adult film.”

Given the availability of all forms of lewd content via the Internet, kids these days don’t appreciate how much work their predecessors in the 80s and 90s needed to put in just to see some porn. Cue me yelling at a cloud.

“Ejectile” manages to offer a clever twist on the teen search for dirty movies, and it throws in some other fun curveballs along the way. Add the sight of John’s mom Susan (Alanna Ubach) as she ineptly tries to look sexy and the episode becomes a winner.

Subways, Bicycles and Automobiles: “Ted’s Halloween plans with John are thwarted when Blaire (Giorgia Whigham) forces him to be her designated driver.”

Halloween feels like an obvious target for the series’ comedy, and it does… okay with the themes. While “Subways” still churns some laughs, it doesn’t live up to expectations.

Desperately Seeking Susan: “Blaire asks Matty and Susan to let Ted be their marriage therapist. Susan pursues a past career.”

Matty and Susan offer a fairly standard “blowhard dad/eager to please mom” so it’s nice to see a little shift in their dynamic here – not a lot of a change, but at least we see a little more from them. Ted’s stint as “therapist” amuses and this turns into a pretty solid episode, especially when Ted and John go down a warped dissection of “The Monster Mash”.

Loud Night: “Matty’s unorthodox Christmas wish is granted, completely upending the Bennett family dynamic.”

Two straight episodes that focus on Matty/Susan feels like a bit of a misstep. Still, “Night” comes with some good moments, especially when Ted thinks he might actually be Jesus. Another “toy come to life” adds nuttiness to the program as well.

He’s Gotta Have It: “As the end of the school year approaches, Ted plots to help John lose his virginity.”

S1 concludes with an episode that leans a bit more dramatic than most. Not that “Gotta” turns into Schindler’s List, of course, as it comes with plenty of the usual comedic antics.

Still, John’s “coming of age” adds some extra depth to the roles. Though not the year’ funniest show, it largely works and ends S1 on a good note.

Ted appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.78:1 on these Blu-ray Discs. The episodes offered positive visuals.

Sharpness usually appeared acceptably accurate and detailed. At times, however, I found slightly lesser definition seen in some of the wide shots. Nonetheless, the episodes mostly appeared clear and appropriately focused.

Moiré effects and jagged edges presented no concerns, and edge haloes remained absent. No source flaws materialized, so the series remained clean and fresh.

In terms of colors, the flick went with a subdued set of tones, with a light mix of amber and teal. Within those parameters, the tones looked fine.

Blacks were dark and firm, while shadows appeared clear and well-developed. The images worked fine.

As for the series’ DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack, it offered a functional effort and that was all. Of course, I didn’t expect a dazzling soundfield from this sort of comedy, and I got exactly what I anticipated.

Surround usage stayed limited most of the time. A few “action” scenes opened things up in a minor way, but the rear speakers really had little to do here.

In those forward channels, the music provided decent stereo separation and opened up the mix reasonably well. There wasn’t a whole lot of activity or movement, but they conveyed a passable sense of space and place. The track functioned appropriately for the shows.

Audio quality appeared fine. Dialogue was consistently warm and natural, and speech displayed no concerns related to edginess or intelligibility.

Effects were a minor component of the mixes, and they seemed appropriately subdued and accurate. There wasn’t much to hear, but the various elements were clean and distinct.

The music came across as acceptably distinctive. The series boasted a standard “comedy mix” and this became a decent reproduction of the material.

While I thought the original movie delivered an erratic experience, Season One of the Ted TV series proves surprisingly satisfying. It largely avoids the cheap gags of the film and gives us pretty solid comedy. The Blu-rays offer very good picture and adequate audio but they lack bonus materials. S1 of Ted offers a largely amusing affair.