These days a creative genius in television is somebody who can design a new reality show that duplicates a previous hit in all but one or two noteworthy details.
Just as Joe Millionaire gave The Bachelor a twist, the shamelessly derivative For Love or Money takes the same matchmaking format and adds two dollops of deception. The June 2 debut of the six-episode series introduces 15 young women vying for the affection of Dallas lawyer Rob Campos, a tall, dark and handsome type in the mold of Joe's Evan Marriott.
What Rob doesn't know is that the woman who wins his heart qualifies for a $1 million prize; what the competitors don't realize is that the one Rob chooses will be forced to ditch him if she wants to keep the dough.
Fans of the genre undoubtedly will want to see how this entry turns out. But the padded two-hour premiere will have you wishing you could fast-forward to the finale. The growing cattiness of the beautiful contestants, the kid-in-a-candy-store comments of the dazzled bachelor--America knows the drill only too well.
BOTTOM LINE: Please, just skip to the payoff
BOTTOM LINE: Please, just skip to the payoff
FOX (Tuesdays, 9 p.m. ET)
Eddie Arlette (Mark Valley) is your basic fish out of water, a brash New York City cop sent to London to work for comparatively staid Scotland Yard. He finds himself sharing a flat and trading barbs with a pretty young woman (Sienna Miller) who insists unconvincingly that she doesn't want him around. Everything about Eddie, including his funny-looking little dog, is so made-for-TV. But this new series, premiering June 3, uses flashy film editing and offbeat humor to disguise its formulaic nature and give us a lively diversion. Only when the show takes the occasional dramatic turn does its lack of credibility become a bit of a bother.
BOTTOM LINE: Eddie's fast enough to get by
BOTTOM LINE: Eddie's fast enough to get by
Showtime (Sun., June 1, 10 p.m. ET)
Critic's Choice
Why do so many TV and movie scripts feature characters who work in the entertainment industry? Well, there's something to the adage "Write what you know." Created by husband-and-wife screenwriters Donna and Wayne Powers (The Italian Job), this five-week series about a troubled Hollywood marriage has a core of truth that compensates for its lapses into gimmickry.
Out of Order (moving to Mondays as of June 9) focuses on Mark (Eric Stoltz) and wife Lorna (Felicity Huffman), who collaborate professionally on screenplays for what he calls popcorn movies. Their personal life is where the heavier drama takes place, as Lorna sinks into depression and substance abuse. Meanwhile, Mark seeks sexual release and less demanding companionship with a desirable soccer mom (Kim Dickens). Stoltz and Huffman are so good at conveying the emotional intimacy and festering resentments of a long-term couple that I can tolerate Mark's distracting habit of imagining his life as a movie.
BOTTOM LINE: Well-played scenes from a marriage
BOTTOM LINE: Well-played scenes from a marriage
Sunday, June 1 SECOND CHANCE NBC (8 p.m. ET) A rappin' granny and other seniors perform in a talent-contest special.
Monday, June 2 THE GOLDEN GIRLS: GREATEST MOMENTS Lifetime (8 p.m. ET) Bea Arthur and company reminisce in a 90-minute salute to the sitcom.
Tuesday, June 3 AMERICAN JUNIORS FOX (8 p.m. ET) Don't sit idle. Catch the debut of an American Idol-style competition for kids 6 to 13.
Wednesday, June 4 AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL UPN (9 p.m. ET) Yikes! The finalists have to pose with snakes.
Thursday, June 5, MTV MOVIE AWARDS MTV (9 p.m. ET) Will Smith and Cameron Diaz are on the star list for the only award show with a Best Kiss category.
Friday, June 6 BABY BOB CBS (8 p.m. ET) The talking-infant sitcom returns for an eight-episode run.
Saturday, June 7 ICE AGE HBO (8 p.m. ET) Ray Romano is the voice of a woolly mammoth in the cable debut of this 2002 animated hit.
Saved by the Bell Reunion
The hookups, the meltdowns, the memoires
The case reveals what was really going on what they think of each other now!
