I guess I’m a sucker for any show that wants to be Mythbusters, so when I heard about The Rock & Roll Acid Test on music network Fuse from Nat I quickly set a recording.

Overall, Acid Test does a much better job of matching the format of Mythbusters than the Discovery Channel’s disastrously-bad Mythbusters clone, Smash Labs. When they do research into their “myths” they either go to sources who make sense and who communicate some good information or they start a fact gathering project that shows the cast breaking down what they need to learn, much like the Mythbusters crew do. Overall, there’s a clear focus on answering a question, something the narrative of Smash Labs loses track of quickly.

However, while they match the style of Mythbusters, there are some small problems that tell me The Rock & Roll Acid Test just isn’t for me. While the early fact-finding segment captures the knowledge-seeking spirit of Mythbusters they also skip over the middle part too often. In one story, a throat doctor was visited. While the show took time to discuss why they were visiting him and what they hoped to learn, only a little bit of time was spent with the doctor and the segment quickly jumped ahead to the narrator summarizing the doctor’s conclusions with very little time spent with him discussing how he reached that conclusion.

On the other hand, there’s definitely potential. Another episode I watched tried to ask if musicians can perform better while under the influence of hallucinogenics. In order to simulate an acid trip, they created a “sensory overload chamber” which was interesting to see. Unfortunately, that, too, was truncated and after one experiment the show jumped ahead to a point where they had a complete design. As engaging as the segment was, it would have been better to see more of how they conceived and built the device.

Another problem for me is that some of the questions tackled by the show aren’t interesting to me. In one of the two episodes I saw, the Acid Test team asked if one could permanently damage their vocal chords by straining them and if loud music could hurt one’s hearing. I don’t really consider these “myths” or mysteries, myself, so those segments came off as boring and clunky attempts at a PSA.

There’s also The Acid Test’s attempts to come off as “rock & roll” and edgy. While sometimes it feels natural, sometimes the show just feels like its trying too hard.

These problems might work themselves out if The Rock & Roll Acid Test finds an audience and lasts long enough to improve. If the show were expaned to an hour (Acid Test is a half-hour long) would hopefully include more footage of the team working through problems and allow expert interviews include a little more depth. Also, if the show lasted a few more seasons, they’d hopefully have to seek more interesting “myths” to question as basics like “can loud noise hurt your ears” are tossed in the “used” pile.

However, in the meantime, I’m just not in the right audience for this Mythbusters clone, even if it shows a lot of potential.

Sometimes it’s hard to tell if Bill O’Reilly is the buffoon he seems to be or if he’s a some comedian pulling the longest running Ali G prank on the world.

One of the running gags with Bill-O is his history with the Peabody Awards. First he tried to debunk the tabloid reputation of his former show, Inside Edition, by claiming it won two Peabody Awards… which, turned out to be Polk Award when pressed. Of course, he continued to claim those were Peabodys for a little while after the truth came out, because the joke is so much better that way.

Then The Colbert Report, a show that clearly takes a lot of inspiration in mocking him, won a Peabody, a nice mix of insult and injury.

Well, now he’s realized why he’s never won a Peabody. See, there are liberals on the Peabody committee. What this really means, though, is “Nyah, nyah, nyah, I don’t hear you!” At least, that’s what “liberal bias” has come to mean — if an unflattering statistic comes out in… say, The Nation, they’re a liberal publication. Saying “liberal bias” is so much easier than looking at the statistic and seeing if it holds up to double checking. Also, it means the Peabody committee needs partisan conservatives looking to award conservative media for the sake of awarding conservative media, regardless of actual quality.

Sigh. He’s only funny when you don’t think too much about him.

When I first saw the trailer for Wanted (as part of my look at the sexy guys of the summer blockbuster films) I thought it looked pretty cool. Then I realized that it was based on that comic Mark Millar kept blathering about, a realization that killed 90% of my interest in the film. I tried to convince myself back to excitement — after all, the effects look so cool and it stars James ::sigh:: McAvoy.

Well, Graeme McMillan reminds me that my initial bit of Millar-antipathy was probably the right track, noting reviews that criticize the film as misogynist and reminding me of that in the original series Millar is his usual cretinous self.

Sigh. Who remembers when Millar was the nicest guy in comics before his homophobic turn on The Authority. I feel like such an idiot for defending that run when it started.

I’m pretty thrilled to hear that Wyatt Cenac will be joining The Daily Show’s roster of correspondents. Cenac’s made two appearance on The Daily Show before and his recent appearance discussing the flooding in the midwest was an instant classic:

Oh, this could be interesting. Fox just ordered a “put pilot” (meaning that the odds favor this one becoming a series) adapting an Argentinian gender-bending telenovela, Lalola. The concept reminds me of the Jimmy Smits movie Switch, where a misogynistic jerk suddenly finds himself as a woman and forced to endure the kind of treatment he used to dish out.

Watching a subtitled trailer, at the least, has me hoping that Telemundo (with the English closed captions) picks up the original:

It’s going to take a bit for me to get excited about Fox adapting it. Sure, Fox seems to be trying to claim it’s “edgy” title back under new entertainment division president Kevin Reilly, but I can’t get over how the network thought Kristie Alley would be able to fill Dawn French’s shoes when they tried to adapt The Vicar of Dibley… or that McG should be involved in adapting Spaced. I could take some comfort in the knowledge that Journeyman creator Kevin Falls is involved in this adaptation, except that I was pretty mixed about the first few episodes of Journeyman. To paraphrase Dorothy Parker, I enjoyed having watched those early episodes but really hated watching them — by each episode’s end the destination was worth the journey, but it was not a fun journey.

Still, the concept will make this one worth checking out. Hopefully Fox will make a good translation for once…

Tonight ABC debuts two new summer series that I’ve been feeling a mix of eager anticipation and mild dread about.

Wipeout is a show where people run through obstacle courses. The ads make it look like the anti-American Gladiators as the emphasis in ads isn’t on athleticism but on well-padded contestants bouncing off of obstacles and falling into muddy water. With one challenge looking like a human plinko board, this could be cheesy fun. Hopefully, no one at ABC decided that the sound effects guy from America’s Funniest Home Videos needed a summer gig.

On the other hand, I Survived a Japanese Game Show looks likely to be silly fun or a show built on stereotypes about Japan. The series takes a group of Americans and has them tackle stunts on Japanese TV shows. As much as I love to gawk at the fabulous strangeness of Japanese TV, attempts to import and Americanize it (Fox’s appalling Banzai and Spike’s Most Extreme Elimination Challenge for example) quickly crosses the line of disbelieving affection and racist humor. (If you want examples on how to do it right, check out G4TV’s translation of Ninja Warrior or the original Iron Chef.) While I love the idea behind I Survived a Japanese Game Show just a look at the cast — where nary an Asian-American face can be found (since, y’know, Asian-Americans aren’t really Americans and won’t experience the same kind of culture shock, even the ones who aren’t of Japanese heritage) — sets my expectations low.

I was a pretty big fan of George Carlin, the man was usually witty and able to cut right to the heart of a matter. While he was best at angry, cynical sarcasm, he also showed a skill with language that let him also sneak in some additional snark (see his appearance on Coundown where he called it — and I’m paraphrasing — the best fifty minutes of news on cable TV, subtle insulting the last part of the show that usually focuses on some celebrity gossip).

Early this morning I was working on an AfterElton post and the news came in on my feeds. It was such a shocker my first impulse was to wake up the Spouse, simply because I immediately wanted to tell someone else who appreciated his work. Then I realized his reaction would have been similar to what one would expect out of Carlin if he were woken up to be told that some celebrity he didn’t know had died.

Okay, so I used to love the Food Network but I almost never watch it nowadays. Part of that is because the new programs have been bloody boring (no surprise considering that Paula Deen seems to be their new star) and lacking any aspect that makes me want to cook, the other part, however, comes from watching The Next Food Network Star which, sadly, makes it clear why the network’s programming is so damn boring. (Of course, there’s also the sponsorship issues — what packaged food company is going to buy ads on a show that emphasizes how you should make it yourself.)

The one show I still watch with any frequency is Alton Brown on Good Eats, which usually manages to be entertaining and educational (episodes where he makes use of unitaskers excepted) and it’s sounding like the next season could get even more interesting:

“I’ve spent the last nine years influencing what people do with food, but I haven’t taught them about the real essence of feeding themselves, and I feel that it’s high time to step up to bat,” he says. “I’ve been busy being clever, but now I want to use what credibility I may have to help people think about sustainability.”

Brown has a way of making tasks that are perceived as daunting seem easy, so it should be interesting to see how he handles issues like eating locally and sacrificing quantity for quality on the dinner plate. Hopefully he makes it all seem more accessible than his espresso-making lesson.

Over at AfterElton, I’ve been writing about ABC Family’s new superhero drama The Middleman, a show that looks funky enough earn a gay following… and not just because of hunky lead Matt Keeslar. The show focuses on a woman who gets recruited into a superhero-policing agency, and if Alan Sepinwall liked it, it’s probably worth checking out.

Okay, I’ve had an eye on the Lifetime pilot Rita Rocks not only because it stars the hilarious Nicole Sullivan along with the hunky Richard Riccolo. The comedy project also has the inspired casting of taking Degrassi’s Lauren Collins and casting her as Sullivan’s daughter.

Well, Rita Rocks got a 13 episode order. The bad news? The show is being paired with Reba so I’m guessing Sullivan’s comic talents won’t get properly used.