Guy Stuff Two New Talk Shows With A Comic Flavor Are Aiming At All Those Manly Men Of Gen X

It’s not exactly a tidal wave of testosterone.

Yet.

But guys talking about guys, men focusing on manly obsessions like beer, broads and baseball, are suddenly occupying space on the airwaves. And two new comic-flavored talk ‘n’ guffaw shows targeted specifically at Gen X guys are vying for viewers this summer on cable.

“It’s OK to be a guy again,” says Mark DeCarlo, one of the four wisecracking hosts for “The X Show,” a male bonding variation on “The View” that debuted at 11 p.m. weeknights on the FX channel June 2.

“There was a political correctness tidal wave that washed over everything and obliterated anything that was edgy or funny. Now the pendulum is swinging back,” says DeCarlo. “You’ve got to celebrate the differences between the sexes.”

Here’s how they celebrate those differences on “The Man Show,” Comedy Central’s latest walk on the wild side, which debuted at 10:30 p.m. Wednesday following “South Park.”

Every week, the show will end with pretty girls jumping on trampolines.

If you’re saying “Awright!”, you are probably a guy.

“The Man Show” aims to be provocative in its own goofily sophomoric way.

Each weekly half-hour, which Kimmel proclaims “a joyous celebration of chauvinism,” opens with the hosts doing their “Manologue.” They rant against the “Oprah-ization” of America on the premiere.

Other regular features? The Juggy Dance Squad of young wiggling women; “Household Hints from Adult Film Stars” like Jenna Jameson and Nikki Tyler, and a piano-playing, beer-chugging jester named Bill (the Fox) Foster, who leads the raucous studio audience in choruses of bawdy limericks.

“It has sort of a frat house meets soccer hooligan feel to it,” says Carolla. “It’s kind of fun.” Sort of an “Animal House”-flavored, testosterone comedy carnival, if you will.

Meanwhile, “The X Show” appears more relaxed and casual, like a tongue-in-cheek, Gen X updating of Hugh Hefner’s Playboy philosophy. The informational, talk show focus is on sports, money, gadgets, clothes, office survival tips and sex, sex, sex.

“What makes it new and revolutionary,” says DeCarlo, “is we’re taking a daytime format a la `The Rosie O’Donnell Show’ or `The View’ and putting a male twist on it for late night.”

What sort of twist?

Well, DeCarlo and his manly man clubhouse compadres, actors Derick Alexander, Justin Walker (“Clueless”) and John Webber (“The Hughleys”), recently judged the “1999 Miss X Show Flight Attendant” pageant. The contestants competed by serving drinks, putting on life preserver vests and sliding down an inflated airline escape ramp.

“We don’t embarrass anybody.” says DeCarlo. “We’re just trying to enjoy ourselves.”

It’s not like men have been rudely ignored by television.

Why do you think God invented “Monday Night Football” and ESPN? And from “Home Improvement” to “Everybody Loves Raymond” to “The Drew Carey Show,” there have been significant guy-friendly, male bonding sitcom heroes during the 1990s.

Plus, wiseguys like David Letterman and Craig Kilborn regularly mix sarcasm, satire and frat boy foolishness for male appeal laughs in late night.

But “The X Show” and “The Man Show” are something new and a little different.

“We’re trying to push the envelope in a certain way,” says Carolla. “We’re setting out to do a show that makes us laugh. But sometimes, what makes us laugh may be a little bit cruel or a little bit sexist or a little bit misguided.”

Girls jumping on trampolines? Sounds genius to me.

So far, however, the reality is somewhat less inspired.

“The Man Show” arrives as a very mixed bag of lowbrow lampoons and self-consciously manly chest-thumping. The spirits are high, but the laughs are rather flat.

With “The X Show,” there’s a more easy-going, more casually self-deprecating sense of silly humor. “Everybody’s real happy with the mojo on the set,” says DeCarlo.