Watch It Again, Sam.

Some of the new fall TV shows seem vaguely familiar. Three UPFRONT readers sort out what's worthwhile and what's a must-miss.

If imitation is the greatest form of flattery--and your mother says it is--then this season, Hollywood has fallen madly in love with itself. This fall, the networks have created a lineup of shows inspired by other shows. Like the X-Files? Try Freakylinks. If The Blair Witch Project-meets-Survivor makes your heart palpitate, then Fear could leave you screaming in your sleep. And Jackass's Johnny Coxville proves that MTV can find someone even more offensive than Tom Green.

Still, the question remains, are these shows any good? Fortunately, we have the answers.

We drafted three unsuspecting UPFRONT readers and forced them to watch all of the new shows so you won't have to. Deploying the time-honored thumbs-up, thumbs-down technique used by critics around the world, our bleary-eyed reviewers present their opinions of the new fall series. Sarah Groff-Palermo

                          FEAR

                          (MTV) Thursdays, 10 p.m.
                          MTV equips contestants with
                          video cameras, then scares them.

J.J. STRANKO, 16          [thumbs down] "The premise of the show
Pittsburgh, Pa.           is very interesting, but
                          the writers are going to
                          have to come up with a scary
                          place with more-pressing and
                          tangible dangers, like any club
                          that Puff Daddy is in."

RYAN COLEMAN, 17          [thumbs down] "A bunch of 18-year-
Bozeman, Mont.            olds screaming because
                          they think they see a
                          ghost. By the way, they don't.
                          I have no idea how this can be
                          made into a successful series.
                          Eventually people will get sick
                          of the same people not seeing a
                          ghost every week."

HALEY PECKETT, 17         [thumbs down] "Fear attempts to
Altamonte Springs, Fla.   attract viewers through
                          real-life ghost stories,
                          but the lack of audience
                          involvement degrades the show. I
                          never feel scared or relate to
                          the shallow characters."

                          FREAKYLINKS

                          (Fox) Fridays, 9 p.m.
                          Young hunters of the paranormal
                          and their Web site.

J.J. STRANKO, 16          [thumbs up] "Attention Fox: You have
Pittsburgh, Pa.           yourself a winner.
                          Freakylinks is a show
                          that will thrill absolutely
                          anyone. The concept, a veritable
                          less-violent X-Files, can lead to
                          so many different episodes and
                          so much success."

RYAN COLEMAN, 17          [thumbs up] "I see this show as
Bozeman, Mont.            either having a great
                          deal of success or being
                          one of those Gene Roddenberry
                          shows with a cult following
                          made up of those who live in
                          their parents' basement.
                          Attractive nerds ... go figure."

HALEY PECKETT, 17         [thumbs up] "This show manages to
Altamonte Springs, Fla.   combine the
                          entertaining elements of
                          a drama with the suspenseful
                          engagement of a big-screen
                          thriller. It keeps the viewer on
                          her toes and anxious to solve
                          the mystery."

                          GROSSE POINTE:

                          (WB) Fridays, 8:30 p.m.
                          A satirical look at life behind the
                          cameras on a teen soap.

J.J. STRANKO, 16          [thumbs down] "A satirical look behind
Pittsburgh, Pa.           the scenes of a 90210-
                          type high school drama. If
                          the aim of the show is to be
                          funny, it misses its mark. But it
                          does succeed in making a joke
                          out of high school drama, both
                          oncreen and off."

RYAN COLEMAN, 17          [thumbs up] "Entertaining. The
Bozeman, Mont.            characters came across
                          as two-dimensional, but
                          that made the show funnier
                          since it's about shallow actors.
                          Grosse Pointe has the same
                          promise of greatness as the
                          major network shows, even
                          though it's on the WB."

HALEY PECKETT, 17         [thumbs up] "Grosse Pointe captures
Altamonte Springs, Fla.   the complicated twists of
                          life behind the camera.
                          Though some of the characters
                          are superficial, they still involve
                          the audience with drama and
                          comedy, l also like that it
                          addresses relevant issues, such
                          as eating disorders."

                          HYPE

                          (WB) Sundays,
                          9 p.m.
                          The WB gives
                          sketch comedy a go.
                          Even the President
                          can't escape.

J.J. STRANKO, 16          [thumbs up] "A parody festival that
Pittsburgh, Pa.           could get more laughs
                          than SNL. The first episode
                          spares no person, no group from
                          ridicule. The show is one of the
                          funniest I've seen in a long while,
                          showing the WB has finally picked
                          a winner."

RYAN COLEMAN, 17          [thumbs down] "Hype is a cheap knock-
Bozeman, Mont.            off of Fox's Mad TV, which
                          was a knock-off of Saturday
                          Night Live. If Hype were on any
                          other network, it would be
                          canceled before the first episode
                          ever aired."

HALEY PECKETT, 17         [thumbs down] "The motto of Hype
Altamonte Springs, Fla.   should be, `We will do all
                          that we can to assure the
                          viewer will be deeply offended.'
                          Only the most immature could
                          enjoy this show, and this is only
                          because they don't realize they're
                          being insulted."

                          JACKASS

                          (MTV) Sundays, 9 p.m.
                          Twisted people doing twisted things
                          for laughs.

J.J. STRANKO, 16          [thumbs down] "Here comes MTV, yet
Pittsburgh, Pa.           again showing us how low
                          they can qo. I like low at
                          times, but this show goes so low
                          that the end result is perhaps the
                          least funny half-hour ever created.
                          I truly wish much failure to MTV
                          on this poorly crafted show."

RYAN COLEMAN, 17          [thumbs up] "An assembly of people
Bozeman, Mont.            doing mildly funny stunts
                          in an effort to see their
                          faces on MTV. People running
                          through a car wash naked while
                          MTV tapes them is quite funny and
                          should definitely be encouraged."

HALEY PECKETT, 17         [thumbs up] "Jackass is completely
Altamonte Springs, Fla.   shallow and pointless, but
                          it still makes me laugh. It is
                          the perfect brainless show to
                          watch every once in a while.
                          Warning: it is highly disgusting and
                          may be offensive to many people."