‘Howie’ follows a familiar format
Further proof that Larry David is the most influential man in television comedy arrives in the form of “Hidden Howie: The Private Life of a Public Nuisance” (11 p.m., Bravo), a show so brazenly patterned on David’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm” that it almost amounts to a case of intellectual property theft.
Just as “Curb” chronicled David’s misanthropic misadventures, this new series follows comic Howie Mandel, as himself, through the ups and downs of his life and career. Julie Warner plays a character based on Mandel’s real-life wife, and Estelle Harris (George Costanza’s mother on “Seinfeld,” a show co-created by Larry David) plays Mandel’s grandmother.
And just to confuse fiction and reality even further, Mandel’s real-life son plays Alex, his real-life son.
“Hidden” follows Mandel in “unscripted” fashion as he plays hidden-camera tricks on unsuspecting civilians. His idea of humor is to rummage through a craft shop in search of heavy-duty tape to mummify his grandmother.
A helpful clerk offers advice, unaware that Mandel has a small camera hidden in his glasses. The resulting hilarity unspools on “The Tonight Show,” whose host, Jay Leno, appears frequently here.
Between pranks, “Hidden” retreats into fictive comedy involving Howie’s relationship with his family and the outside world.
In tonight’s episode, he performs a comedy routine for Holocaust survivors, and in Episode 2, his needy cousin exposes himself in public. Laughs not included.
“Howie” will air on Monday nights beginning Monday.
People get entirely too close to snakes, crocodiles and sharks on “Dangerous Encounters: Dens of Danger” (7 p.m., National Geographic).
Bravo forces the “stars” of “Battle of the Network Reality Stars” to work overtime on “Celebrity Poker Showdown” (8 p.m., Bravo). “Showdown” enters its sixth season with Jonny Fairplay (“Survivor: Pearl Islands”), Andrew Firestone (“The Bachelor”), Charla Faddoul (“The Amazing Race”), Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth (“The Apprentice”) and Trishelle Cannatella (“The Real World”) drawing cards.
The synergy continues next week when Howie Mandel appears on the cable card party. The marketing geniuses at Bravo may think it’s smart to recycle the same personalities on every series, but at some point Bravo will begin to resemble the old Sammy Maudlin show on “SCTV,” or the Krusty the Clown show on “The Simpsons,” where the same stock characters show up every week.
Madchen Amick guest-stars as a love interest on “Joey” (8 p.m., NBC). Last season, she also appeared as a love interest on the John Stamos comedy “Jake in Progress.”
Next season she’ll join the cast of “Freddie,” starring Freddie Prinze Jr.
Other highlights
The New Orleans Saints host the New England Patriots in preseason NFL action (5 p.m., Fox).
Jennifer Love Hewitt and Jackie Chan star in the 2003 action comedy “The Tuxedo” (8 p.m., ABC).
Murder matriculates at a coed dorm on “CSI” (9 p.m., CBS).
On back-to-back episodes of “Scrubs” (NBC), and malpractice malaise (9 p.m.), and battles with the ice queen (9:30 p.m.).
Complications and dark revelations ensue when an extended Indian family gathers for an arranged marriage in director Mira Nair’s superior 2001 drama-comedy “Monsoon Wedding” (6 p.m., Independent Film Channel).
Scheduled on “Primetime” (10 p.m., ABC): an inside look at the day-to-day operations of a Louisville, Ky., family court.
Series notes
Julie Chen hosts “Big Brother 6” (8 p.m., CBS) … Wrestling on “WWE SmackDown!” (8 p.m., UPN) … Jane Seymour guest-stars on “Smallville” (8 p.m., WB, TV-14,D,S,V) … Sharon Stone guest stars on “Will & Grace” (8:30 p.m., NBC) … A trip to Manhattan on “Everwood” (9 p.m., WB) … A rural teen vanishes on “Without a Trace” (10 p.m., CBS) … A hunger strike becomes life-threatening on “ER” (10 p.m., NBC).