People, people, what is it going to take to please you?
Let’s review the nascent and already disappointing TV season. You weren’t crazy about children left to fend for themselves in the desert (“Kid Nation”) or post-Katrina cops in the Big Sleazy (“K-Ville”).
You were notably ambivalent about catty Manhattan teens (“Gossip Girl”) and Cleveland newscasters (“Back to You”). Time-traveling reporters (“Journeyman”) and brain-altered nerds (“Chuck”) left you cold.
OK, so you mustered a little enthusiasm for a Florida sugar dynasty (“Cane”), but even that qualified success didn’t manage to win its time period. You checked out the tough chick (“Bionic Woman”) and “Grey’s Anatomy”-lite (“Private Practice”). But I question your long-term commitment to both shows.
The only thing you really want to watch so far this season seems to be “Dancing With the Stars.”
Well, I hope you’re happy: You’re giving the networks ulcers.
The farce be with you. Did you catch “Family Guy’s” cracked homage to “Star Wars” on Sunday? Funny stuff, with spoofs of everything from “Deal or No Deal” to “Dirty Dancing,” from Grey Poupon commercials to Rush Limbaugh.
The Fox cartoon likes to push the envelope at every opportunity, so you also had Bush/Cheney bumper stickers on the Imperial cruisers and an Obi-Wan Kenobi with a leering taste for young boys.
And were my eyes deceiving me or was that a cartoon cameo of Leslie Nielsen?
With a side of satire. This is my favorite time of year. Is it the weather, with days as sharp and crisp as sparkling cider? Yes, in part. Is it the overlap of the NFL and baseball’s playoffs? That doesn’t hurt, either.
But the real appeal of early fall is that my favorite celebrity-skewering shows, E!’s “The Soup” and VH1’s “Best Week Ever,” are both showing fresh episodes on Friday nights. After a hard week at work, this two-course snarkfest really hits the spot.
Can’t get it out of my head. The idea of a season debut for “Heroes” with “limited commercial interruptions” sure sounded good. But sole sponsor Nissan found a way to spoil it.
At each commercial break, the carmaker showed the same spot (with very minor alterations) for its new Rogue SUV over and over and over again.
That’s right, three ads in a row with city streets turned into a giant version of the Labyrinth board game while a Muzak version of Toots & the Maytals’ “Pressure Drop” drones on.
Personally, I’d rather have a full complement of ads than have to sit through repeated airings of a single commercial. Nissan’s strategy gave new meaning to the phrase “ad nauseam.”
Like a horse and carriage. The highlight of the week was E!’s announcement that it is developing a sitcom, “Tales of the Hoff,” built around the ineffable David Hasselhoff. But wait, this just gets better: The show is being produced by Ryan Seacrest. Isn’t that perfect?
David Hiltbrand is TV critic for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
