CBS hasn’t had a runway hit sitcom since “Two & Half Men” so it’s no surprise that the eye network had it’s eye on the Chuck Lorre penned sitcom “The Big Bang Theory.”

This is actually the second incarnation of “Bang,” as the network passed on the pilot they saw last year. But I guess CBS was satisfied enough with this new version that they picked it up for the 2007 season. Either that or they are so desperate for another big hit sitcom that they would have picked up anything Lorre wrote.

In any event, “The Big Bang Theory” is a multi-camera sitcom that is a little bit like “Two & A Half Men,” except instead of a kid there’s a chick, and instead of a playboy and his brother, our two protagonists are mega-nerds.

Best friends Leonard (Johnny Galecki) and Sheldon (Jim Parsons) are the most stereotypical nerds this side of Lewis & Gilbert of Revenge of the Nerds fame. The show starts with them at a sperm donor office trying to make a few extra bucks so they can afford to increase their internet bandwidth. And that’s just the first of about a thousand “nerd jokes” you get throughout the pilot episode.

Upon returning from the clinic they are introduced to their new neighbor Penny (Kaley Cuoco ), a hot and somewhat ditzy blonde who has moved to Los Angeles from Nebraska to follow her dreams as a screenwriter. In the meantime she works at the Cheesecake factory. Leonard is immediately smitten with his new neighbor.

And that’s basically the story. Nerd falls for hot chick. Which is fine, whatever. What didn’t work for me were the tremendous amount of nerd jokes, physics jokes, Einstein jokes, etc.. We get it! They’re nerds!! But, as if having two brainiacs wasn’t enough, half way through the show we meet Leonard and Sheldon’s two friends who are, you guessed it, nerds!

To be fair, I did laugh more than a few times; there are some legitimate funny lines sprinkled throughout, and Chuck Lorre along with Bill Prady know how to keep the jokes coming at a rapid fire pace, but I have to say I was tired of the nerd jokes pretty early on.

Johnny Galecki pretty much saves what is a one joke show, yet I am hopeful that future episodes don’t rely as heavily on the nerd jokes because as the old equation goes:

7/18/07

Last season NBC found themselves with a surprise hit on their hands with the sci-fi phenomenon, "Heroes." This year the network is going to roll the dice with a comedy/spy/action thriller called, "Chuck."

I had no idea what this show was about when I put in the bootleg DVD. In fact, I thought it was going to be a straight-up comedy based on the clip I briefly saw on NBC.com, but I shut off the preview before I could find out the actual plot so I had no idea what I was in for.

Speaking of plot, "Chuck's" goes a little something like this: Computer dork Chuck Bartowski gets an email from his one time college buddy Bryce. Bryce, who everyone thinks is an accountant, is actually a spy for the CIA and when he finds himself in a jam he emails Chuck thousands of images that are "encoded with government secrets." Chuck's life is now forever changed.

Once the CIA realizes who Bryce emailed, they set out to find Chuck. I don't want to spoil the rest of the plot, but let's just say action, adventure, and a hot blonde all factor their way into the story.

I really wasn't sure if I liked the show when I was done. Like, it was enjoyable enough, but I wasn't so excited that I couldn't wait to see what happens next. The show had some laughs, but not enough. I think they are hoping Chuck's nerdy quirks will suffice as funny. I would say the show reminded me of "Alias," but since I never watched "Alias" that really wouldn't be fair. So instead I'll compare it to a show from 1981 - "The Greatest American Hero." In that that show, the main character was a normal guy who was forced into being a superhero, and he had visions that helped him put away the bad guys. Chuck is the same. Except "The Greatest American Hero" had a much better theme song.

Anyway, some of you will like this show, some of you will not. How do you like that as a review?!

7/16/07

As sure as the sun will rise, as sure as seasons will change, as sure as TAG will run out of box wine, you can guarantee that every year a network will pick up a sitcom that is a total piece of crap. That sitcom this year has got to be ABC's "Cavemen."

"Cavemen" is based on the Geico commercial cavemen. Yes, that's right, ABC learned nothing from the "Baby Bob" debacle that CBS went through, and based an entire sitcom on a television commercial character. The result is a very bad sitcom.

ABC calls "Cavemen" a 'unique buddy comedy that offers a clever twist on stereotypes and turns race relations on their head.' I call that a load of bullshit. First of all there is very little "comedy" to be found. Secondly there is nothing clever about this show. And finally, there is no twist of stereotypes here. It basically replaces the offensive fetch-and-step black characters of the 1940's with Cavemen. It's really quite terrible.

It is my understanding that the "Cavemen" pilot is being retooled, and that really comes as no surprise. What comes as a surprise is that ABC picked up this mess in the first place. But since I have only seen the original pilot, that's what I'll review.

The pilot has very little story to it, which is just one of the show's many problems. But it's something about a modern day caveman named Joel who has a hot normal girlfriend whose family belongs to a prestigious country club and Joel is invited to attend. His cavemen brothers end up coming along with him and reverse stereotype jokes ensue with little to no laughs.

There is really no point in going on with the plot description since there really is no plot. This show is really bad. And I understand we are supposed to accept the concept that cavemen somehow coexists with modern day people, and I get that there is comedy potential here. But instead of going with a "3rd Rock From the Sun" idea, where these cavemen have to adjust to our modern society, these cavemen just exist and people know it. They are in our modern day world, and it's accepted. Except they are looked down on for being Neanderthals. Does that sound funny to you?

There is a big cheesy "I'm just like all of you" speech at the country club from Joel the caveman, but it's totally ineffective, as I want nothing to do with this show.

Cavemen haven't existed in over 700,000 years. I suspect this sitcom won't exist more than three episodes.

The Cliff's Notes concept is that Samantha, played by TV's Kelly Bundy (Christina Applegate), gets hit by a car, goes into an eight day coma, and wakes up with amnesia. She doesn't remember her family, her friends, or who the hell she was. She can still function as a normal adult, she just doesn't remember who she was.

The show starts with Sam waking up in the hospital surrounded by her parents, played by Jean Smart (bonus points already!) and Kevin Dunn. After "introducing" themselves to their daughter, they suggest Sam might want to go stay with her boyfriend Todd (Barry Watson). Sam is a bit freaked out by the idea and decides to go home with her parents. Back at her folk's house Sam also meets her boozy friend Angela (Jennifer Esposito). That's when Angela lets Sam in on a little secret - Sam and her parent's haven't talked in two years.

Sam then decides to go stay with Todd, and slowly but surely Sam starts piecing together her past and learns that the old Sam was a total snatch. With this new realization, Sam decides she doesn't like who she used to be, and now it's her goal to be a better person.

I think the future looks bright for this single camera comedy. Except for the fact that it's sandwiched between two terrible reality shows on Monday nights, "Dancing with the Stars" and "The Bachelor."

Coming Soon: "Pushing Daisies."