Time Enna Boss!? review: Poor attempt at comedy falls as flat as its canned laughter

Amazon Prime's new series, Time Enna Boss!?, had gotten this reviewer's hopes up, primarily due to its quirky concept where four time travellers land up in a bachelor's flat in 2019, arriving through the toilet door. This premise promised interesting social experiments, poignant life lessons or, at least, lots of laughs. Sadly, nothing shines through.

Bala (Bharath Niwas), a software company employee, has the unfortunate task of playing host to individuals who have slipped the bonds of their respective epochs as the underlying logic governing the spacetime continuum is eviscerated. Or as the personification of time, in the voiceover, intones, "I was bored."

Thus, Killi (Robo Shankar), Bharathi (Priya Bhavani Shankar), Hannah (Sanjana Sarathy) and Buggy (Karunakaran), denizens of the second millennium, the 1970s, the late 20th century and the late 21st century respectively, come to exit Bharath toilet and enter an incomprehensible world. 

At least it should be incomprehensible to them. But in no time, they seamlessly integrate themselves into the modern world, apart from a few minor hitches. In fact, Buggy, who is from 2075 AD manages to instantly land a job in Bharath's company and even gets a promotion. Barathi, who has a PhD in nuclear science, sets out to build a time machine but, for reasons best known to her, never really bothers to seek help from the others. As a matter of fact, the characters opt to while away the hours loitering about in the present rather than trying to return home. Killi, a warrior from the Chola era, ends up working in a restaurant with some hilarious results, while Buggy inexplicably decides to run a marathon. All the while, Bharath has his own life to live and thoughts of marriage to ponder on.

Some hijinks raise a few smiles but are undermined by the faux laughter track that drowns out every comic quip. The dialogues are stale and land dully. The gags and gibes fade off after the first few episodes, while the story lingers on with little dramatic movement. This is not to fault the actors. Robo Shankar, Karunakaran, and even Alexander Babu (as watchman Santosham) make a sincere effort to bring in some laughs. Bharath Niwas, Priya Bhavani Shankar, and Sanjana Sarathy are let down by the flaky nature of their characters, and their lacklustre development. Overall, the storyline and plots generate little interest. 

Then there is the canned laughter. Content creators should never try to evoke an emotional response with the aid of such blatant background tracks. It feels especially dated in the context of a time-travelling show.

With 10 episodes lasting 20 minutes each, the series should not feel long but it does, which is a stark indictment of the writing quality. While the production values of Time Enna Boss!? are quite good, the series is devoid of dynamism, wit and comedic flair. The show's squandered potential is lamentable.