‘Tommy Lee’ grim excuse for a show
Sometimes, truly horrible shows are the most thought-provoking.
Exhibit A: “Tommy Lee Goes To College” (9 p.m., NBC), a reality retread so thoroughly unfunny it got me wondering: Just who’s minding the shop at the once-proud Peacock network?
I simply refuse to believe that a group of “creative” executives sat around a boardroom, screened “Tommy Lee” and didn’t see the same depressing spectacle that I did. I refuse to believe that anyone laughed. And I refuse to believe that they know who their audience is anymore or what that audience might enjoy.
“Tommy Lee Goes to College” is truly shocking – not for its rock or its raunch but for the fact that it is so mind-boggling in its tedious banality.
“Tommy Lee” follows the former Motley Crue front man while he matriculates at the University of Nebraska as if he were just another 18-year-old freshman. Of course, he’s not; he’s a 42-year-old tattooed veteran of jail, rehab and the gossip pages who’s had a decadelong on-and-off thing with former “Baywatch” star Pamela Anderson.
As a college freshman, Lee is simply pathetic, and I’m not talking about his study habits. A wrinkled old rooster in a teenage henhouse, Tommy merely seems sad.
The Oscar-winning documentary “Born Into Brothels” (7 p.m., Cinemax) began as an effort by photographer Zana Briski to spotlight the horrific conditions in Calcutta’s red-light district and to draw attention to the global plight of prostitutes. But along the way, Briski and her fellow filmmaker, Ross Kauffman, met and befriended the children of the prostitutes. Soon they were teaching the kids photography and helping them enter school and receive medical attention. But not all can escape the grim life into which they were born.
An Oscar-nominated film, “Hardwood” on “P.O.V.” (10 p.m., KSPS), explores filmmaker Hubert Davis’ complicated relationship with his father, a former member of the Harlem Globetrotters basketball troupe who fathered him out of wedlock during an adulterous relationship with a white European woman in the 1960s.
Other highlights
Hilary Duff and Rob Schneider co-host “The 2005 Teen Choice Awards” (8 p.m., Fox).
On back-to-back episodes of “Gilmore Girls” (WB), an empty garage (8 p.m.), and the silent treatment (9 p.m.).
The mother of a reported rape victim is found slain on “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (10 p.m., NBC).
A founding partner (Candice Bergen) returns on “Boston Legal” (10 p.m., ABC).
Bruce spends some time with cannibals on “Going Tribal” (10 p.m., Discovery).
“Apprentice” castoff Danny Kastner (the guitar-strumming marketing guy with the Prince Valiant locks and offbeat personality) appears on “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” (10 p.m., Bravo). So does Donald Trump.
“The Smoking Gun” (11 p.m., Court TV), the humorous program inspired by the Web site devoted to celebrity mug shots and obscure legal documents, returns for a second season.
Series notes
An apparent suicide adds up to murder on “NCIS” (8 p.m., CBS) … Gender roles reversed on “Meet Mister Mom” (8 p.m., NBC) … On two episodes of “According to Jim” (ABC), unsolicited advice (8 p.m.), and spellbound (9 p.m.) … Singing with New Edition on “One on One” (8 p.m., UPN).
On two episodes of “Rodney” (ABC), the wages of jeer (8:30 p.m.), and truck memories (9:30 p.m.) … Red-carpet critiques on “Eve” (8:30 p.m., UPN).
Julie Chen hosts on “Big Brother 6” (9 p.m., CBS) … The search advances on “R U the Girl” (9 p.m., UPN) … Auditions continue on “Rock Star: INXS” (10 p.m., CBS).