Bravo's attempt to turn every remotely artistic human endeavor into its own competition reality show takes an inevitable turn towards dance beginning tonight, with the premiere of Step it Up and Dance (11 PM). Is there room for such a program, with Dancing With the Stars doing nicely, So You Think You Can Dance now firmly entrenched in the summer, and various other subculture-based shows such as America's Best Dance Crew popping up with frequency?

The twelve dancers in the competition will be asked to master different disciplines every week, so the idea is to test versatility, and hope there's at least one person worse than you at every phase. The $100,000 first prize is substantial for a dancer, but not really life-changing, so we can probably assume that like Project Runway, the appeal of the show will lie more in watching the interactions of personalities and the struggle of creativity itself than in the tension of high stakes. And even though it's classy Bravo, we can't discount the potential of semi-intentional comedy in the form of host Elizabeth Berkley, the actress-dancer who set both disciplines back decades with her starring role in Showgirls. Choreographer-mentor Jerry Mitchell looks like he might be quite a character as well.

Miss/Guided (ABC, 8 PM and 8:30 PM): Already the season finale? Well, when you have a six-episode season and are running two a week, it doesn't take long. At 8:00, Becky is roped into directing the high school musical. At 8:30, Lisa asks Becky for dating advice after her divorce is finalized. ABC could do worse than to bring this back.

My Name is Earl (NBC, 8 PM): Back from the strike break, and Earl lies in a coma after being hit by a car. That's no way to spend your first moments of jail. Paris Hilton is among the figures who flit through Earl's unconscious while measures are taken to save his life. NBC Universal head Jeff Zucker pops up too, hopefully to explain why Deal or No Deal is still on the air.

Survivor: Micronesia (CBS, 8 PM): Oh yeah, this is still on. In one tribe, the women consider taking control (shouldn't be too hard considering how badly men have become outnumbered), while a targeted player tries to turn the tables.

Myles of Style (HGTV, 8:30 PM): Kim peps up a living room by adding gold, I assume in the form of paint.

Big, Bigger, Biggest (National Geographic, 9 PM): Guys and their bragging ... Oh wait, this is actually about the development of warships through the years, leading up to the unveiling of the USS George H.W. Bush.

Celebrity Fit Club: Boot Camp (VH1, 9 PM): In the least surprising development in reality history, Dustin Diamond has begun missing appointments. Also, Harvey puts the campers through a rescue mission and introduces them to a commando who teaches Krav Maga techniques.

CSI (CBS, 9 PM): Well, ain't this bad luck: the team is back after almost three months away, and they all have the flu. But it won't stop the CSIs from looking into the deaths of several grand jury witnesses in a gang case. William Petersen is coming back as Grissom for at least one more year, though apparently with a hiatus like the one he enjoyed in 2006-07.

Animal Cops: Houston (Animal Planet, 10 PM): An investigation into a breeder finds nearly 100 bulldogs living in horrifying conditions. Fortunately, hell is not nearly full just yet.

Eli Stone (ABC, 10 PM): Eli represents Nathan after a moment where he experiences the past through his brother's eyes, and later learns some details about the day their father died.

I Know My Kid's a Star (VH1, 10 PM): Parents and kids have to work in teams with others as screen tests are conducted for a horror movie. No truth to the rumor that the horror movie is actually a Danny Bonaduce biopic.

LA Ink (TLC, 10 PM): Trouble in inked paradise: Kat and Orbi are having relationship issues. Kat copes by throwing her effort into her music/tattoo shindig.

Make Me a Supermodel (Bravo, 10 PM): The winner is announced tonight: Ben, Ronnie, Holly, or Perry. The best part of last week's reunion was hearing that judge Cory Bautista, who has ruthlessly criticized any model who dared gain so much as a pound, had to stop reading about himself online because he was tired of being called fat. Hey, Spanky: Suck it up and deal.

Rock the Cradle (MTV, 10 PM): Apparently dedicated to the idea that the children of celebrities don't have enough advantages in trying to build a show biz career for themselves, MTV has rounded some rock kids for a talent competition. Watch and listen to the daughter of MC Hammer, the son of Dee Snider, and the son of Al B. Sure (name: Lil' Al B. Sure). Or weep for the future of television.

Without a Trace (CBS, 10 PM): Missing persons of the world, the Without a Trace crew is back for your benefit! Tonight, Jack goes off on his own to hunt down a doctor who performs abortions on women forced into prostitution. Henry Thomas, who is never going to stop being typecast by E.T. no matter how evil he plays, is the target.

Ace of Cakes (Food Network, 10:30 PM): Duff gets a surprise birthday cake made for him; a pair of medical-themed cakes are concocted.

Lil' Bush (Comedy Central, 10:30 PM): Those naughty Lil' kids ransack the White House while playing a Katrina game, so a disappointed George sends them to New Orleans to help with the real rebuilding.

Jimmy Kimmel Live (ABC, 11:35 PM): A special time for the 1000th episode of this show. Kimmel is an indifferent interviewer and his guest list is certainly not the equal of his rivals, but he's found a nice niche poking fun at the rest of television. I was going to say something here about Matt Damon, but I've run out of space.

Recommend (0)

|  Comments (0)

|  Email

|  Share

Share  Facebook Digg del.icio.us