‘Driver’ melds NASCAR, dating

Wed., June 9, 2004

Joel Brown New York Times Syndicate

Two of America’s current TV passions — dating games and NASCAR — come together tonight at 5 and 9 when the Speed TV cable channel debuts — buckle up, now — “I Wanna Date a Race Car Driver.”

(It’s funny when you think about it: A lot of people tune in each of those types of shows not to see a smooth win but to watch the crashes.)

Contestants will be put through their paces — expect some driving-related tests — to win a chance to date one driver in each of four episodes.

The drivers: Jon Wood of the NASCAR truck series; Super Bike racers Eric and Ben Bostrom; and Late Model driver and sometime stuntwoman Leilani Munter.

Seriously, it’s June, and unless your ball team is playing tonight, there isn’t much else to watch.

Highlights

ABC at 8: Two “My Wife and Kids” reruns (the Hawaii trip), two new episodes of the moribund “Drew Carey Show” at 9, and an hour of “The Ultimate Love Test” at 10.

“60 Minutes II,” CBS at 8: Bob Simon profiles a Hugh Hefner for the new generation: the publisher of Maxim magazine.

“The Simple Life,” Fox at 8: Minimarathon of four reruns, intended to get you excited for the upcoming second-season debut. Watch Paris and Nicole live with the little people and act like jerks. It all seems so last year.

“Last Comic Standing,” NBC at 8: Round two of “Last Comic Standing” brings comedians from the eight regional searches to New York for a chance to perform for Colin Quinn, Kim Cole and season one’s “Last Comic Standing,” Rich Voss.

At the end of this episode, 20 comedians will move on to the next round in Las Vegas. Jay Mohr hosts.

“Star Trek: Enterprise,” UPN at 8: Two episodes, one about a virus, and one about a slave-girl who’s spying for the Xindi.

“King of Queens,” CBS at 9: Carrie loses her job and finds a new home on the couch. Repeat.

“Still Standing,” CBS at 9:30: When a boy must learn to drive, he turns to his mom? Repeat.

“48 Hours Mysteries,” CBS at 10: Did the police chief kill his own wife?

“Law & Order,” NBC at 10: Repeat. A motivational speaker is pushed off a balcony.

Cable Cast

Major league baseball, ESPN at 4.

“Blazing Saddles,” Family Channel at 8: Well, we’ll see how much they have to cut, but this Mel Brooks western parody is still one of the funniest movies ever made. With Cleavon Little, Gene Wilder and Alex Karras as Mongo. self end

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