Kevin Pollak, courtesy Showtime

THE LITTLEST SUSPECT – KEVIN POLLAK

Friendly Rating: Middle school and older.

Safety Rating: Some language issues, but mostly mild.

Quality Rating: Slow start, but ultimately funny.

One-hour special airing on Showtime at 11 p.m.

I’m surprised this special airs so late at night.  Unlike most stand up comedians, Pollak is not dropping f-bombs every which way or making jokes about his or other genetalia.  Okay, there are a few naughty words, but they’re minimal.  That he’s a bit of a stinker, well, that’s comedy.  And he is very funny.

Pollak has been known mostly for the celebrity impressions he does – William Shatner, Peter Falk and Alan Arkin are the three most featured here.  The advantage here is that even if your kids never saw Columbo or Little Miss Sunshine or any of the above guys, Pollak is funny enough that his bits are funny standing on their own.  Such as calling a TV interview show as the guest star and claiming that the guy being interviewed is a fake.  The bit, itself, is funny.

Hopefully, it won’t inspire any phone pranks from your offspring.  And you may want to emphasize that Pollak is playing jokes on friends of his.  But, hey, if phone pranks are the worst your kids get into (and I mean the harmless “is your fridge running, better catch it kind.”), then you are golden.

Louise Roe with Subject, courtesy The CW

PLAIN JANE

Friendly Rating: Teen chicks and older.

Safety Rating: Borderline – gender issues, some mild sex joking, and questionable tactics.

Quality Rating: Blah, blah, blah.

Series premieres tonight on The CW at 9 p.m.

Makeover shows have their place on the planet.  I guess.  The

Continue reading Plain Jane Plainly Blah, July 28

Kristin Alioto and Tony Robbins

BREAKTHROUGH WITH TONY ROBBINS

Friendly Rating: Middle school and older.

Safety Rating: Some bleeped language under duress.

Quality Rating: Pop psychology 101 – if that’s fun, you’re gold.

Series premieres tonight on NBC at 8 p.m.

My biggest single thought while watching this show was “Do as I

Continue reading Breakthrough With Tony Robbins, Tuesday, July 27

Gordon Ramsay and Faruq Jenkins, courtesy Fox Networks

MASTERCHEF

Friendly Rating: Elementary and older, depending on interests.

Safety Rating: Lots of bleeped language and some flirting.

Quality Rating: Compelling and yet….

Series premieres at 9 p.m. tonight on Fox.

I think my husband summed it up best.  He wandered by as I was

Continue reading Masterchef, Tuesday, July 27

DOGS VS. CATS

FriendlyRating: All ages and species.

Safety Rating: Totally safe.

Quality Rating: Fun, informative, but competitively pointless.

Special airing tonight on Animal Planet at 8 p.m.  Please note, no pictures were available from the network and I thought posting pictures of my crew would be too precious.

The good news about the

Continue reading Dogs Vs. Cats – But Why?, Saturday, July 24

Michael Symon, Courtesy Scripps Networks

COOK LIKE AN IRON CHEF

Friendly Rating: Teens, maybe elementary age.

Safety Rating: Very safe.

Quality Rating: Mostly fun, more informative.

Series premieres on The Cooking Channel tonight at 10 p.m.

Finally, a cooking show that has some application to real life.  Don’t get me wrong.  I

Continue reading Cook Like an Iron Chef Will Help Just Cooking, July 22

It’s a light week for new shows (although I’m sure there’s something I’ve missed).  So, since I need to rest and recreate before the Television Critics Association Press Tour, not to mention watch all the upcoming fall shows so that I can ask intelligent questions during the press conferences, I’m taking a few days

Continue reading YourFamilyViewer is Taking a Few Days Off

PENGUINS OF MADAGASCAR: THE LOST TREASURE OF THE GOLDEN SQUIRREL

Friendly Rating: All ages.

Safety Rating: A fair amount of slapstick comedy.

Quality Rating: But it’s soooo funny!

Half-hour special airs tonight at 8 p.m. on Nickelodeon, kicking off a week of new Penguins cartoons.

The Penguins of Madagascar has always been one of

Continue reading Penguins of Madagascar Off Again, Monday, July 19

Justin Kelly, Kellie Martin and Brady Smith, Courtesy NBC

THE JENSEN PROJECT

Friendly Rating: All ages except the very youngest viewers.

Safety Rating: Perfectly safe.

Quality Rating: Would be really good, but for the ham-fisted dialogue.

Series premieres with a special two-hour episode tonight at 8 p.m. on NBC.

On one hand, there’s

Continue reading The Jensen Project A Family Show, Friday, July 16

So I’m skimming through my email and find a story, via Mediaweek’s online link, that a U.S. Appeals Court has shot down the Federal Communications Commission guidelines for fleeting expletives on live broadcasts.

So the next time a rap star or football player drops the f-bomb on a live show, the network or stations

Continue reading F-Bombs Okay? Wednesday, July 14