Wednesday, August 26, 2009
McClatchy Newspapers
Reason to watch: Hosts Orlando Jones, Dan Cortese at 9 p.m. on ABC.
What it’s about: That’s an easy one, dude — “Wipeout” on wheels! That same snarky tone, that same rip of contestants, that same sense that someone could actually be killed or seriously maimed in the production of this prime-time entertainment. On the reviewing stand we have Jones and Cortese — more on them below — while those being reviewed are two-person teams who must undergo various driving challenges aboard souped-up cars that “are reinforced to withstand the most dangerous of crashes.” (Which begs the question — really?!)
Each team has to advance through — nice way of saying “survive” — a course before heading to the next round; as in “Wipeout,” the winner gets $50,000. Teams include mother-son, husband-wife, roommates and so on, while the courses include such stuff as “Catch Me If You Can” or driving the car onto a moving flatbed truck while being pelted by huge ball-like objects. All this is accompanied by the patter of our hosts, who find little to say that’s particularly commendable about the contestants’ IQs, and perhaps rightfully so.
Bottom line: Most recently, TV veteran Jones spent a few years in the witness-protection program on Fox’s “Mad TV,” while TV journeyman Cortese had a gig on “Surviving Suburbia.” In other words, these are not the world’s most recognizable celebs, but they are durable and seasoned pros who know what they have to do to score some laughs — cheap or well-earned does not much matter here — to get this show across the summer finish line for ABC. The wisecracking Jones here is reminiscent of the one who starred in those amusing 7UP ads; remember the one with the “blind taste test” where someone is asked whether 7UP tastes better than dish detergent? See, Jones quips, “7UP does taste better!”
The bottom bottom line: Jones-Cortese simply aren’t as consistently funny as “WO’s” John Anderson and John Henson, who work off scripts; this shtick is, or seems to be, improv. And call me crazy, but when did car crashes become fodder for TV comedy?