Roundup of New TV Shows (Part 1)

An Idiot Abroad: In this Science Channel series, Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant send their buddy/comic foil Karl Pilkington around the world to visit the seven wonders. I wanted to like this show, I really did, especially since I loved the "Ricky Gervais Show" podcasts so much. The podcasts basically consisted of the two comedians busting Pilkington's chops the whole time. I tried but I just couldn't get into Pilkington on his own, and while the phone calls from Gervais and Merchant helped, I kept thinking I'd rather just watch the 3 guys in a studio B.S.'ing about this stuff than to watch the actual journey. So I'm passing on this for now, but maybe I'll change my mind and give it another shot sometime in the future.

Ebert Presents At the Movies: The two critics on this revamped version of Roger Ebert's movie review program are fresh, at least on a national TV basis, and they are appealing, but they still need to work on their chemistry. Or I should say they need a chemistry to develop, and I think that's quite possible if they get the time to establish it naturally. I'm willing to give them that time because, well, I just like the idea of a movie review program on national TV.

In addition to the chitchat between the two critics, there are segments featuring various contributors talking about themes or specific films they like. Ebert himself, voiced by Bill Kurtis (what happened to the artificial voice he unveiled on Oprah's show?) even adds to the mix and is always welcome. A nice little treat is the tacked-on vintage clip of Siskel and Ebert that runs over the end credits. Yeah, there is a risk that it'll expose how unlike Siskel and Ebert the new hosts are, but I think it's worth it to give viewers a nice treat to close each episode. I will admit, though, I see those clips and I think, "Boy, I wish they'd put original episodes of THAT on somewhere."

By the way, you may notice I'm not mentioning the hosts by name. That's because the dude has a really complicated foreign-sounding name, and I don't trust myself to spell it right, so I'm doing it the American Way and just not bothering. And since I am not mentioning his name, I am not mentioning the woman's name, either. That seems like the gallant thing to do.

Perfect Couples: Yet another NBC Thursday sitcom that fails to bring back memories of "Must-See TV." In fact, this show barely brings back memories of itself--I forgot most of the pilot about 10 minutes after watching it. The show purports to focus on the adventures of 3 couples at different stages in their romantic lives, but ABC's "Better With You" does it much better (at least I'm assuming it does based on the two episodes of THAT I saw). I just don't like any of the "Perfect Couples," and that is kind of a problem. One weird thing I notice, and maybe it's just me: Olivia Munn somehow looks different in every scene. I mean, some of it is just hair and makeup, but really, at least in the first episode, she looks different in every scene. That's not particularly interesting, maybe, but I thought I'd point out. It's not particularly funny, either, like much of this new comedy.