TV and summer: The light last longer

by Rick Kushman

McClatchy Newspapers (MCT)

24 June 2008

We’re still getting the summer lightweights this week as the networks trot out every feeble reality show short of someone repeatedly getting hit with a pie. Though, that I might watch.

In one nonfeeble exception, ABC launches on Thursday a six-week documentary series. Titled “Hopkins,” it’s an intimate look at hospital life and a follow-up to the 2000 documentary “Hopkins 24/7.”

ABC News shot nearly 1,500 hours of footage tracking the docs of Baltimore’s Johns Hopkins Hospital. And this being both summer and the no-personal-barriers era, this docu-series pokes around in the private lives of doctors - who are stressed and overworked - and their patients.

This program comes from the news department and that’s apparent, because the intimacy makes the doctors seem more human and vulnerable, not just typical reality show, pumped-up characters. It’s easy to care about the people on “Hopkins” because they so clearly are real.

There’s not much new to tout elsewhere, not even on cable, because the 100-day writers strike that ended in February put all the usual big-deal early summer shows - including TNT’s “The Closer” and FX’s “Rescue Me - off schedule.

Some got pushed back later in the summer, like “The Closer,” and TNT’s “Saving Grace,” which start again July 14. “Rescue Me” won’t return until April 2009, but it will offer some mini-episodes beginning Tuesday.

So here’s this week’s What to Watch (or Not), and, sorry to say, a few of these fall squarely in the “Or Not” territory.

Tuesday:

“Celebrity Family Feud” (8 p.m. on NBC): Al Roker hosts, and celebs do their thing in odd pairings. Tonight starts by pitting Ice T’s family against the Joan Rivers clan. It sounds better than it is. Basically, for better or worse, it’s still “Family Feud.”

“Wipeout” (8 p.m. on ABC): This Americanized version of Spike’s “MXC: Most Extreme Elimination Challenge” finds ways for contestants to fall off obstacle courses and splat into the mud. It’s set up like an outdoor game show, but it’s all about the slapstick.

“I Survived a Japanese Game Show” (9 p.m. on ABC): In case you don’t know, game shows in Japan are a cross between “Fear Factor” and “The Gong Show,” except with more injuries. So, ABC sent a bunch of Americans to Japan to get some body parts, and their dignity, pretty much decimated.

“Rescue Me” shorts (10 p.m. on FX): Since we have to wait so long for the series, FX is trying to keep fans a little happy with 10 weeks of five-minute “minisodes” that will be self-contained and have a light touch.

Wednesday:

“The Baby Borrowers” (8 p.m. on NBC): NBC’s been sitting on the show for a while, and must figure this is a good week to slip it in, considering what else is out there. Young couples, ages 18-20, have to care for somebody else’s kids, starting with babies and toddlers, and moving into tweens and teens. The question is, what parent would donate their infant for this stunt? I mean, besides Dina Lohan? On the other hand, they probably got a huge number of parents volunteering their teenagers.

Thursday:

“Fear Itself” (10 p.m. on NBC): This solid and scary anthology series continues with the story of a woman who gets a note on her wedding day that she’s about to marry a serial killer. Even worse, she gets another note saying the Blue thing she’s wearing is actually more greenish.

Friday:

“Dance Machine” (8 p.m. on ABC): Regular folk compete in a dance competition, because there aren’t enough dance competitions on TV.

Saturday:

“Olympic Track & Field Trials” (8 p.m. on NBC): The good news about the trials from Eugene is they’re on NBC in prime time. The bad news is they only get an hour. Coverage will continue on NBC on weekends and on USA late weeknights.

Sunday:

“Olympic Track & Field Trials” (7 p.m. on NBC).

“Olympic Swimming Trials” (8 p.m. on NBC).

“Law & Order: Criminal Intent” (9 p.m. on USA): The new season of “Law & Order” franchise’s purest procedural drama continues to be sharp and original. And Goren is still a mess.

“In Plain Sight” (10 p.m. on USA): Paired with “Criminal Intent,” this smart, ironic new series completes two sterling hours on USA for cop show fans. This week, a married art dealer with a mistress is shot on Mary’s watch, and suspects are everywhere.