Mostly, you're better off without Ted

Ted Crisp, the head of research and development at Veridian Dynamics, is a good corporate soldier. So when his department is asked to come up with an itchy, uncomfortable office chair to make employees too squirmy to waste time on Facebook or YouTube, he salutes happily. Weaponizing pumpkins? He's on it. (Opening line at the next staff meeting: ''We need to turn this simple, festive gourd into a killer.'') ''Work's not about right and wrong,'' he explains. ``It's about success or failure.'' Better Off Ted, ABC's new workplace sitcom, is a grimly absurdist satire of life inside the corporate cubicle. It's got some laughs. But if you've ever watched 30 Rock, Arrested Development, The Office or even read some Dilbert comic strips, you're likely to be underwhelmed. Read my full review in Wednesday's Miami Herald.