“Big Brother”
Tuesday 9pm, Wednesday & Sunday 8pm, CBS
Due to the strike (which is over! Yay!), CBS brought back its tacky summer reality staple early this year. The twist this time around is “’Til Death Do You Part,” meaning that the players have been grouped into couples via personality tests, and then forced to play the game together—they win together, vote together and are eliminated together. This has sparked quite a bit of drama already, including a fake lesbian relationship, secret bathroom sex, illicit nighttime blowjobs and one of the most hellacious screaming matches ever caught on tape, in which the entire house descended like a pack of hyenas on one poor, dim houseguest. In a word, it has been awesome. The TV equivalent of greasy fast food: You’ll feel disgusting after you watch it, but it’s so good going down.
“Oprah’s Big Give”
Sunday 9pm, ABC
Since Oprah has more money than God, she’s decided to share a little more of it—with a catch. The Almighty O created this reality show in which a bunch of well-meaning contestants are given a hunk of cash and then instructed to give it away in the most creative, life-improving ways possible. It’s kind of like Richard Pryor’s Brewster’s Millions, in that the twist is that whoever gives away the most money the best ways wins $1 million for themselves. Oprah’s big celebrity Rolodex has also been opened, and stars like Jennifer Aniston, Jada Pinkett-Smith and John Travolta will make appearances. Why can’t Oprah just give all of us $1 million and call it a day? That’d be a big give right there.
“Unhitched”
Sunday 9:30pm, Fox
The Farrelly brothers (Dumb & Dumber, There’s Something About Mary) have been stinking up the box office for about a decade now, so it’s only natural that they would turn to TV for refuge. Their new sitcom is kind of a mean-spirited “Friends,” or a less annoying “Seinfeld.” It concerns four 30-something singles on the dating scene and all of the horrible encounters that necessitates. The cast is good. Likable, handsome Craig Bierko (“Boston Legal,” Jazz Guy from “Sex and the City”) and the ravishing Rashida Jones (Karen from “The Office”) headline along with two guys you’ve never heard of. Every preview I’ve watched made me at least smirk, so this is totally worth a peek.
