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SizzleTV by Mark Stone

ABC's new driving fantasy reality show debuts tonight (photo: abc.com)

Wouldn’t it be cool to drive your car into bowling pins the size of a double-decker bus? Crash Course, airing tonight at 9 pm on ABC (channel 13), is a new competition series that features cool-looking crash and burn stunts that indulge our wildest driving fantasies.

The series promises us driving stunts with the speed of NASCAR and the bizarreness of a Japanese game show. Orlando Jones (Mad TV) and Dan Cortese (Veronica’s Closet) do the hosting duties on this show that was taped in Detroit, Mich.

But where’s the drama, you ask? Producers have casted teams who are already friends, siblings, lovers or married. It’s a scenario that ensures tempers will get out of control. The show’s executive producer Arthur Smith told The Hollywood Reporter: “Nothing brings out the worst in people than putting somebody in a passenger seat.”

In tonight’s premiere episode, five teams, including a pair of single mothers, two best friends, a married couple, siblings and a pair of roommates, tackle an extreme driving course to try to win the top prize of $50,000.

Wondering why I’m giving this show so much SizzleTV space? Truth be told, there really isn’t much to watch tonight. Other than Crash Course, ABC has Wipeout at 8 pm and NBC continues ramming America’s Got Talent down our throats with two new episodes at 8 and 9. On Fox and CBS it’s rerun city.

Fans of Criss Angel can watch the Mind Freak levitate a whole crowd. I’ve seen him levitate one person before, but an entire crowd? May be worth watching even for non-fans. Criss Angel Mindfreak airs on A&E at 7 pm on channel 17.

On the late night circuit, Conan O’Brien will probably probe tonight’s guest Bradley Cooper about his dating life with Jennifer Aniston and/or Renee Zellweger. Jimmy Kimmel has two manic comedians on his show, both Robin Williams and Bobcat Goldthwait. Williams is starring in director Goldthwait’s new comedy, World’s Greatest Dad. The two are good friends, but I’m not sure if we’ll see them together on The Tonight Show, even with Conan O’Brien hosting. That’s because Goldthwait is banned from Jay’s former show for deliberately setting a chair on fire during an appearance with Leno. Over on Letterman, Dave welcomes Hung star Anne Heche. Hung started out flaccid but has really built up momentum lately.

TV Tidbits: I participated in a live chat with House star Hugh Laurie this afternoon. Story coming.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 26th, 2009 at 4:01 pm and is filed under Entertainment. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.