New on the tube: "Aliens in America," "TMZ"

Yes, I know "TMZ" has been on the air for a while — it took me this long to screw up the courage to tell people I actually like it.

All times Central.   “Aliens in America”   7:30 p.m., CW (KCWE)  

I will confess to something that no self-respecting TV critic should admit: I never cared for “Freaks and Geeks.”   Oh, yes, it's easy now to say I saw the future brilliance of Judd Apatow in the Peabody Award-winning sitcom he produced about the kids who get picked on at high school in the year 1980. Not only did I not see a great future in Hollywood for Apatow, who would go on to write “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” and “Knocked Up,” I found “Freaks and Geeks” actually painful to watch. In hindsight, I guess that was a good sign that Apatow had hit his mark, but reliving scenes from my own years in prime time was definitely not my idea of entertainment.  

So I'm sure one reason I enjoy “Aliens in America” -- another show about a socially challenged high school boy in the Upper Midwest -- is that its creators have decided to stay away from the verisimilitude (thank you) and instead pursue an interesting little fantasy: What would happen if your parents agreed to host an exchange student from abroad, in the belief that since you had no friends at school they needed to import one for you? And then what if it turned out that the exchange student was a Pakistiani Muslim, and therefore even more toxic than you were? What would you do? Would you embrace him? After all, by comparison, you're not such a dork. On the other hand, he's your roommate.  

And that's just for starters in this lightly subversive sitcom set in modern-day Wisconsin. Dan Byrd stars as young Justin Tolchuck and Adhir Kalyan as Raja, the tunic-wearing, Mecca-facing observant Muslim curiosity who comes into his life. Culturally tone-deaf, headstrong and yet strangely peaceful, Raja is somebody Justin, in his 16-year-old fog, does not immediately see can be his ally and a source of strength, and out of that tension comes the comedy of the first two episodes. The show does not shy away from using 9/11 or Islam as fodder, though in general Raja's faith is treated respectfully. The rest of the family will strike you as a slightly subdued version of the “Malcolm in the Middle” clan, with Scott Patterson (“Gilmore Girls”) as the goofy dad and Amy Pietz as the crazy mom.  

“TMZ”   10:30 weeknights on Fox 4  

I sometimes get asked if I have a “guilty pleasure” on TV. I usually say no, because asking a TV critic if he watches trash TV is like asking Emeril if he eats fast food. Of course I do -- all the time.   But if there was ever a show that fit the definition of something I shouldn't be watching, but can't help watching, it's the new nightly syndicated catalogue of celebrity bad behavior inside the “TMZ” (which stands for “thirty mile zone,” an industry term that defines a perimeter around Hollywood).  

I will be the first to say there is no worthwhile reason to be watching stalkerazzi video from the night before of Lindsay Lohan dropping F-bombs, or of walking train wreck Tara Reid getting turned away at an exclusive , or of drunk chicks in the parking lot of some Sunset club flashing themselves for the cameras (it's pixellated), or of George Clooney chatting with “TMZ's” photographer for 10 seconds, tops, while walking out of a restaurant.  

What's so compelling about “TMZ” is its attitude. It is openly hostile to foul-mouthed celebrities, out-of-control celebrities, inebriated celebrities, even just old celebrities (they made fun of Mike “Mannix” Connors recently just for going to a trendy bistro where they happened to have a camera). They specialize in showing celebrities at their absolute worst. Paradoxically, they also make fun of paparazzi herds that currently swarm around LiLo, Britney or Paris whenever they show their faces inside the TMZ. Without these brave, amoral shooters, “TMZ” would have no video tonight.

But I must hand it to the folks at “TMZ”: They don't care. No other TV newsmagazine would dare do anything to get on a celeb's bad side because the publicists would cut them off. “TMZ's” 50 -something producer Harvey Levin will tell anyone who asks that he couldn't care less if PR flacks talk to him -- which of course is why they all do. Brilliant.  

Each episode opens with Levin leading a team meeting at some insane hour of the morning (according to the screen graphic, one recent meeting began at 6:33 a.m.). He writes story ideas on a clear plexiboard as they are yelled to him by staffers. It's all very loose and low-budget, but people are watching; it's the highest-rated new syndie show so far. Thanks to TMZ.com's reputation on the Internet for showering its users in celebrity muck round the clock, its fans are tuning in to see the TV version, a half-hour of video clips, teases and smackdowns thrown together into a fast-paced and (for me at least) irresistible show.

Comments

[Dave]

I haven't seen TMZ yet, but I expect it is a professional news show.
I'm going to assume you have seen Access Hollywood and Entertainment Tonight?
What is the difference between these "pop news" shows and the Networks?
The quick answer is;
COMPETENCE.
How many "man on the street" stories do you see on entertainment news?
None.
How many stories do you see on Network News in which the "journalist" has *not* turned over their report to some unidentified "witness" - almost none.
Which is a more professional news show?
TMZ or NBC Nighty News?
Without even viewing TMZ, it's a likely choice - the former.

[Ryan]

I'm very unclear about the point Dave is trying to make. Is he slamming legitimate newscasts because they interview witnesses?

Surely he jests about the entertainment shows not doing the "man on the street" stories. They might not ask Joe Citizen about what they think about Lindsay's latest shinanigans, but they'll do a celebrity version by asking Heather Locklear or some other celeb who has no connection whatsoever to the story at hand.

I watched five minutes of TMZ on TV and that was more than enough for me. It was all mildly amusing, but it didn't push itself on to my DVR's season passes.

[Jeff Davisson]

I've tried to watch TMZ and maybe 20 years ago when I was 31 and still interested in celebrities I would have enjoyed it. I'm at the age now where I don't care who's getting into a car or walking into a restaurant. When one grinning TMZ'er teased a coming segment with "Who has worst hair, Amy Winehouse or her bodyguard?" I knew I was done.