State of TV: Tuesdays

I'll let you in on my dirty little secret about Tuesday nights: I watch both "The Biggest Loser" and "Beauty and the Geek." I find it very motivating to watch "The Biggest Loser" while I'm working out on my step machine, and as for "Beauty and the Geek," what can I say? I have a soft spot for geeks. And stupid women. And while I'm admitting to watching crappy TV, I'll also admit I watch "Carpoolers." The thing that got me to watch in the first place it it was created by Bruce McCulloch of "The Kids in the Hall," so I figured it was worth at least one viewing. It's not nearly as funny as anything on "Kids in the Hall," but it does have a small dose of absurdity that I appreciate.

At nine there's the "Dancing with Stars" results show which I usally don't watch at all, instead skipping to the very end to see who has been eliminated. And then there's "Reaper." That show had so much potential, and it's fallen short week after week. It's painfully formulaic, offering the same story structure week after week. (Weird things start to happen to Sam; he soon realizes what that means in regards to the soul he needs to recover; he gets the recovery vessel, which is usually something wacky; he can't tell the girl he likes what he does, and she gets pissed about his secrets; after several attempts and near death experiences, he captures the needed soul. Oh, and the devil makes an appearance at one point or another.) The one time they kind of strayed from the formula, in the episode with Patton Oswalt, it worked really well, so I don't know why they don't keep doing that. And Ray Wise continues to be the highlight of the show, which tempts me to say they should have more of him per episode, but I think that could also ruin it; too much of a good thing and all that. In all, the show has failed to meet the promise of the pilot, which is ironic since that episode was directed by Kevin Smith, and is thus the only thing Kevin Smith has ever done that didn't annoy the hell out of me.

Finally at 10 is the return of "Nip/Tuck." The doctors have moved their practice from Miami to Los Angeles, and so far that's been an improvement. They've been able to inject a lot of Hollywood satire into the show, which has been a welcome change from the personal craziness that had been the focus the past few seasons. And if you like seeing Julian McMahon partially naked, there's still plenty of that going on, although he seems to have put on a few pounds since arriving on the left coast...