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[UPDATE; A rep from ABC says the network had nothing to do with the shoot. Details here.] Since last month's contentious TCA panel in which some TV critics accused Cavemen, the upcoming ABC sitcom/race parable that will change the face of integrated primetime auto-insurance advertising, of being a little too preoccupied with hilariously deconstructing the tired stereotypes of just one group, we haven't really had an occasion to think about the much-anticipated series. This afternoon, however, a Defamer operative's lunchtime brush with the network's hard-working Cro-Magnons has once again drawn our attention to the ambitious project. Reports our Special Correspondent on Promotional Neanderthal Encounters:

Me: Lunchtime, Gower Gulch, the usual walk-thru. I see a small crowd with some tallish guys with really bad hair, so I assume it's a band getting ready for a local club gig. Boy, are they UGLY. Oh, it's the Geico Cavemen! One is in a blue argyle sweater and the other in a white button-down shirt. They only have a small crew and they look like they're going to ambush people, so I walk thru the parking lot over to the Rite Aid.

One of my coworkers walks by and I said, "Did you see the cavemen?" Having her sunglasses and headset on, she walked by and had no idea. I head to Coffee Bean, and see them walking down the sidewalk. I quickly cross the street. Luckily it seems like they are only keeping it "to the Gulch." On my way back, I see a security guard helping himself at craft service ... which is the back of a minivan.

Then J goes out and immediately gets it.
"So, do you like cavemen?"
J: "Yeah, I like cavemen."
GC #1: "Good, cuz cavemen like you!"
Caveman: "So tune in and watch us."
J: I will.
Caveman #2: Just tune in and catch the one ep before it goes off the air!
J: mm-hmm, (walks away, and gets accosted by a clearance person - oh, the irony - and she refuses to sign.) "Aww, come on, it's a new TV show for ABC!" smartly, she still refused.

Just one episode seems like a depressingly pessimistic outlook, even for a show that's already been extensively retooled. We hope that ABC's Steve McPherson will take immediate measures to lift his cavemen's morale, perhaps by unexpectedly showing up to the set with some special frozen treats for his cast, delivered with a promise that he'll give the series at least four episodes to prove itself before succumbing to panic and replacing it with reruns of According to Jim.