"SUPERHERO" A RIDICULOUSLY
GUILTY PLEASURE

August 18, 2006

The warm months of '06 may as well have been nicknamed the "Summer of Guilty Pleasures," considering the incredibly high amount of cornball reality programming that has found an audience this summer. It seems each new evening features two or three "American Idol" wannabe talent shows, filled with people singing and dancing and doing whatever it is they think can get them their 15 minutes of fame.

Being the cultured TV viewer that I am, I try to avoid all that junk, but, alas, even I was snared this summer, sucked in by a reality series that may, in fact, be even worse than "So You Think You Can Dance," "America's Got Talent" and "Hell's Kitchen" all combined. It's called "Who Wants to Be a Superhero?" It airs Thursday nights at 9 on the Sci-Fi Network. And it is patently awful.

And yet, for some reason, I watch the stupid thing every week.

"Superhero" is a reality show contest hosted by legendary comic book scribe Stan Lee. It started with 11 entrants, each the creator of their very own superhero identity that they live out on the show. And by "live out," I mean they dress in spandex, call themselves names like "Major Victory" and "The Iron Enforcer," and compete in challenges where their moral fiber is tested by Stan himself. Every week, Stan eliminates the heroes he doesn't feel are up to snuff, and at the end of the series, the one hero left standing will star in their own comic book and be featured in a Sci-Fi Network original movie.

The whole thing is ludicrous. Stan never appears in person -- he only pops up on TV screens located around the mansion that serves as show headquarters, as well as on rooftops and in back alleys and anywhere else the heroes may turn up. I haven't yet made up my mind whether the contestants are putting on a good show of acting like total dweebs who believe they're superheroes or if they actually are total dweebs who believe they're superheroes. Either way, watching them try to convince Stan that their flesh and blood creations deserve comic immortality has somehow hooked me.

One selling point is the challenges, which are tailored to fit the whole superhero theme of the show. In an early episode, the contestants ran an obstacle course (which they were told about) while a little lost girl planted by the producers (which they weren't told about) yells for someone to help her find her parents. Only one of the contestants actually gave up on the race to help the girl - a trait Stan was looking for in a would-be superhero. In another episode, the heroes have to help an elderly lady get into her house by crossing the backyard and getting in through the back door. Only one problem -- two trained attack dogs patrolled the yard. So the contestants, armored up with Kevlar protection, attempt to make it to the door while being viciously dragged around by the dogs.

True, that last one's not too different from something you'd see on "Fear Factor, " but for some reason, watching it all go down while the contestants passionately pretend that they're some lame superhero makes the whole thing addictive -- a fact of which I'm reluctant to admit. As a matter of fact, don't consider this column a recommendation of the show. Consider it an admission of guilt. Anyone else ready to fess up?