ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, February 7, 1997 TAG: 9702070006
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JAMES ENDRST THE HARTFORD COURANT
There's dumb, there's dumber, and then there's a singular kind of dumb only to be found on Fox Broadcasting.
Can you say Pauly Shore?
Actually, you don't have to be that articulate. A simple, drooled-out ``Pauly'' will do.
The people at Fox know better than to challenge the ``Married ... With Children'' types they're hoping to lure with several new shows.
We must, however, begin with ``Pauly'' because the new half-hour starring the king of brain-dead comedy, Pauly Shore (``Encino Man'' and ``Son-In-Law''), is in a classless class all by itself.
It's the rare show in the age of Jerry Springer and Jenny Jones that can still stun with stupidity. But ``Pauly'' is somehow up - or down - to the task.
The setup is so prurient, so leering; the production values so low, so cheesy; the execution so blaring and bludgeoning, that historians in years to come will no doubt consider it TV's ultimate manifestation of the excremental vision.
Or what Fox calls ``offbeat.'' It all takes place in Brentwood, where Pauly Sherman (Shore) has been sponging for years, playing the little boy in the big house with his widowed dad.
Then comes Dawn (Charlotte Ross).
Dawn is a way young, way blond, gold-digging, hard-bodied, silicone-inflated bimbo who Pauly, on first introduction, thinks is a present from his dad, Edward (played by David Dukes, who should be embarrassed unless he is making a huge pile of dough).
We're supposed to believe that Dawn actually loves Edward, if we could just see beyond her breasts, which is difficult considering the wardrobe choices. (``She has the looks of a supermodel and the style of a streetwalker,'' Fox enthusiastically explains.)
What comedy is supposed to ensue from all this is borne of the byplay, interplay and suggested foreplay between Pauly and his stepmother-to-be.
She wants him out of the house - and, hey, who can blame her? He thinks she's a tramp - and, hey, who can argue the point?
Other people co-star, but why drag everybody's career through the mud? Maybe they'll get out without anybody noticing.
Which brings us to ``Lawless,'' an hour-long action-adventure drama starring Brian ``The Boz'' Bosworth as Special Forces operative - now private eye - John Lawless.
Fox doesn't have anything in the way of clips to offer, so for all we know this could be the next big thing. On the other hand ... it's not too hard to figure out where they're going with this. It's bing-bang-boom TV all the way from Frank Lupo (a creator/executive producer of ``The A-Team,'' ``Riptide,'' ``Raven,'' ``Hunter,'' ``Wiseguy,'' ``Werewolf'' and ``Stingray'').
Not to be cruel about it, but there are some people who have such a vague recollection of the Mohawked, earring-bedecked ``Boz,'' the once-famous and infamous All-American turned (``Stone Cold'') actor that they think he's dead.
Actually, it's just the hype that died around the former linebacker - best known for an $11 million contract with the Seattle Seahawks, a spectacularly short career and an NCAA suspension for steroids.
Glenn Plummer (``Speed,'' ``Showgirls'') gets to play sidekick and do the heavy lifting in the acting department as daredevil pilot Reggie Hayes. Hayes is part-time con artist, part-time investigator. Clearly, an inspiration to all the kids who'll be watching.
The good news is that ``Lawless'' is set in Miami's South Beach, so the visuals should be good.
Finally, there's Fox's ``Secret Service Guy,'' a sitcom starring Judge Reinhold (``Beverly Hills Cop'') as dim-witted, low-level Secret Service agent Steve Kessler, a real Gomer who cops the big job after he trips over his feet, accidentally takes a bullet and saves the president of the United States.
Michael McKean (``Saturday Night Live,'' ``Dream On'') plays Kessler's boss, Frank McClellan, a man greatly put out by the brainless Kessler.
We're guessing there's some typecasting going on here based on a little scene that took place at the January Press Tour in California. Just moments before taking the stage for a news conference, Reinhold fretted and fussed loudly about the reporters he was about to meet.
``I heard they only care about the food that's being served,'' said Reinhold. ``You know, who's got the biggest shrimp cocktail and all that.'' Reinhold was standing outside the press room, where a dozen or so television critics were walking and talking when he made the remark.
Uh, duh, Judge.
It should be noted, however, that Fox has not set a broadcast date for ``Pauly,'' ``Lawless'' or ``Secret Service Guy.'' So maybe the people who work at Fox aren't that dumb after all.
LENGTH: Medium: 88 linesby CNB