CRIT-O-MATIC COOKIE-CUTTER REVIEWS FOR COOKIE-CUTTER TV.Byline: David Kronke RUN OF THE HOUSE - Two and one half stars Logline: ``Party of Five,'' only there's four of them. And instead of the lachrymose posturing, viewers get standard-issue sitcom gags. Siblings ranging from their teens to their 20s (Margo Harshman Margo Cathleen Harshman (born March 4, 1986) is an American actress who is most famous for her role of Tawny Dean on the Disney Channel series Even Stevens. She also starred on the short-lived shows Run of the House and Center of the Universe. , Joseph Lawrence, Kyle Howard and Sasha Barrese Sasha Barrese (born Alexandra Barrese 24 April 1981 Maui, Hawaii, U.S.) is an American actress best known for her role in the WB sitcom Run of the House. She is the daughter of actress and model Katherine Barrese. ) take charge when their parents move to Arizona for health reasons. A nosy nos·y or nos·ey adj. nos·i·er, nos·i·est Informal 1. Given to prying into the affairs of others; snoopy. See Synonyms at curious. 2. Prying; inquisitive. neighbor (Mo Gaffney Mo Gaffney (born Maureen E. Gaffney on November 5, 1958) is an American actress, comedienne, writer and activist. She hosted two of her own television talk shows: Women Aloud! (which was shown on the Comedy Central network) and The Mo Show. ) fails to keep them in line. Noteworthy performances: Harshman of the Disney Channel's ``Even Stevens'' is appealing; other characters are pretty familiar. Originality: Two stars Credibility: Two and one half stars Laughs per episode: Two in the one episode available for review. Inadvertent laughs: Well, there's the queasy QUEASY - An early system on the IBM 701. [Listed in CACM 2(5):16 (May 1959)]. teen sexuality issue as Harshman's character takes a boy to her bedroom - is such flagrant irresponsibility funny or distressing? Where: The WB (Channel 5). When: 9:30 tonight. In a nutshell: The wish-fulfillment aspect of the show (no parents? no problem!) may appeal to some younger teens not hooked on ``The O.C.,'' but there's not much to recommend it to anyone else. STEVE HARVEY'S BIG TIME - Three stars Logline: ``Ted Mack's Amateur Hour'' meets David Letterman's ``Stupid Human Tricks.'' The comic/radio personality hosts a variety program filled with oddball talent. Noteworthy performances: The guy who washes himself along with his clothes in a Laundromat-style washing machine (storage) washing machine - An old-style 14-inch hard disk in a floor-standing cabinet. So called because of the size of the cabinet and the "top-loading" access to the media packs - and, of course, they were always set on "spin cycle". is pretty cool - and he saves lots of time, too. Originality: Two stars Credibility: Three stars Laughs per episode: Hard to say, since tonight's episode is an hour long but The WB only supplied us with a half-hour of program. Several good laughs in what we saw, though. Who should lose their job: Harvey, if only to keep him complaining that he's not being paid as much as he should because he's black. Maybe he's not being paid as much because he's on opposite ``Friends'' and ``Survivor'' and very few people will actually be watching. Where: The WB (Channel 5). When: 8 tonight. In a nutshell: Unassuming fun, assuming the quirkiness level of the guests can be maintained. THE MULLETS - One star Logline: They're really stupid! They like wrestling! (Wait, is that redundant?) Their surname describes their hairstyle! And their mom is Loni Anderson! Noteworthy performances: As the unfortunately coifed coif n. 1. also A coiffure. 2. A tight-fitting cap worn under a veil, as by nuns. 3. A white skullcap formerly worn by English lawyers. 4. siblings, Michael Weaver and David Hornsby bravely render the desperation of the working class - just kidding. They're just enjoying the paychecks while they can. Originality: Idiocy IDIOCY, med. jur. That condition of mind, in which the reflective, or all or a part of the affective powers, are either entirely wanting, or are manifested to the least possible extent. 2. Idiocy generally depends upon organic defects. in TV is scarcely a groundbreaking concept. One star Credibility: Well, it's supposed to be stupid. It succeeds. Laughs per episode: I think this show actually managed to take back a laugh I had once enjoyed, so it's in the negative numbers. Inadvertent laughs: No point in counting, since the Mullet mullet: see silversides. mullet Any of fewer than 100 species (family Mugilidae) of abundant, commercially valuable schooling fishes found in brackish or fresh waters throughout tropical and temperate regions. boys wouldn't know what the word ``inadvertent'' means. Who should lose their job: Any network executive anywhere along the development process that didn't stop this. Where: UPN UPN User Principal Name (Microsoft Windows 2000) UPN United Paramount Network UPN Unión del Pueblo Navarro (Navarrese People Union) UPN Umgekehrte Polnische Notation . When: 9:30 tonight; hereafter, 9:30 p.m. Tuesdays. In a nutshell: With wrestling as a lead-in, ``The Mullets'' might be able to find an audience. On Tuesdays, surrounded by actual TV shows, it's a harder sell. Anyone to whom this sounds remotely promising isn't reading a newspaper. CAPTION(S): 3 photos Photo: (1) no caption (cast from ``Run of the House'') (2) no caption (Steve harvey) (3) no caption (cast from ``The Mullets'') |
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