Meet Gene, Shannon, Nick and Sophie

medialifemagazine.com

TV This Week
Meet Gene, Shannon, Nick and Sophie
By Diego Vasquez
Aug 7, 2006, 01:00

Who would have thought, when “The Osbournes” premiered four years ago, that MTV was starting a new trend in reality. Since then, former popular music performers such as Flavor Flav, Dave Navarro, DMX, Rev. Run, Foxy Brown and P. Diddy have starred in their own shows on MTV, VH1 and BET.

Now tonight at 10 p.m. the genre spreads beyond musically inclined networks to A&E, where KISS lead singer Gene Simmons stars in “Gene Simmons Family Jewels.”

Like the Osbournes, Simmons and his significant other, former Playboy Playmate Shannon Tweed, have been together for eons in show business terms, more than 20 years. They’ve never married but they have two children.

Kids Nick and Sophie seem less bratty than Osbourne offspring Jack and Kelly, which isn’t necessarily good for reality television. Viewers would rather see celebrities who act like oddballs at home as well as work, such as love-pup Flav or constantly flummoxed Ozzy, rather than those whose life seems relatively normal, such as Venus and Serena Williams on the short-lived and dull ABC Family series “Venus and Serena: For Real.”

The network describes Simmons as a dad who supplies the Gatorade at Sophie’s soccer games and attends Nick’s band's concerts.

There best be something a bit more unexpected if this show is to work. Early reviews have described the show as blah voyeurism that will only appeal to the biggest KISS fans.

The show has a decent lead-in in “Driving Force,” another new reality show following former NHRA champ John Force, at 9 p.m. and "Dog the Bounty Hunter" at 9:30. A&E averaged 953,000 primetime viewers during second quarter, according to Turner Networks analysis of Nielsen data.

A look at this week’s top TV draws
MONDAY, AUGUST 7
Time	Network	Program	Description
8 p.m.	History Channel	"Black Box UFO Secrets" (N)	Recordings from pilots and astronauts who have seen UFOs.
9 p.m.	Fox	"Hell's Kitchen" (R)	Each of the final three gets an opportunity to run the kitchen, but one of them doesn't get the job done.
9 p.m.	Lifetime	"Lesser Evil" (M)	The police can't nab a rapist, so one of his victims takes it upon herself.
9 p.m.	Bravo	"Tabloid Wars" (R)	Opposite extremes: One reporter covers a murder while another reports on the release of the latest Harry Potter book.
9 p.m.	TNT	"The Closer" (D)	A mother claims negligence when her son dies during surgery.
9:30 p.m.	ESPN2	"Basketball" (S)	Team USA takes on Yao Ming and the Chinese national team as both gear up for the world championships.
10 p.m.	ABC	"One Ocean View" (R)	The house welcomes two newcomers, including a Playboy model who shakes things up.
TUESDAY, AUGUST 8
Time	Network	Program	Description
7 a.m.	NBC	"Today" (N)	Author Alexandra Robbins and actor Matt Dillon guest.
8 p.m.	NBC	"Fear Factor"(R)	Two teams of couples in their 20s face off against two teams of couples in their 40s.
9 p.m.	Discovery	"Dirty Jobs" (N)	A demolition crew works at a college campus and coal miners try to avoid black lung.
10 p.m.	ESPN	"The Contender" (R, S)	Shane Mosley visits and motivates the 12 remaining contestants.
10 p.m.	Bravo	"Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" (R)	The Fab Five fab up a father, a son and a grandson.
10 p.m.	FX	"Rescue Me" (D)	Franco tries to make nice with his new girl's brother, who is mentally challenged.
10 p.m.	MTV	"The Real World" (R)	Tyler does his best to wreck a visit from Svetlana's boyfriend.
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 9
Time	Network	Program	Description
8 p.m.	NBC	"Last Comic Standing" (R)	Season finale. Former host Jay Mohr graces viewers with an appearance and this season's winner is selected.
8 p.m.	ESPN	"Major League Baseball" (S)	Playoff implications abound as the Yankees battle the White Sox.
9:30 p.m.	NBC	"America's Got Talent" (R)	The wild card round, in which viewers get to select a ninth finalist.
10 p.m.	FX	"30 Days" (R)	A mother of four stays with a hard-core evangelical Christian family for a month.
10 p.m.	Spike	"Blade: The Series" (D)	Blade tries to find the killer of a cop who once cared for him.
10 p.m.	MTV	"VMA 06" (A)	A rundown of the nominees for this year's MTV Video Music Awards.
THURSDAY, AUGUST 10
Time	Network	Program	Description
7 a.m.	NBC	"Today" (N)	“Friends” flashback: Courteney Cox-Arquette visits her old network.
8 p.m.	Fox	"NFL Football" (S)	The high-powered Colts take on the Rams in a preseason game from St. Louis.
8 p.m.	CBS	"Big Brother" (R)	It's elimination night, meaning yet another houseguest will be bounced.
9 p.m.	Sci Fi Channel	"Who Wants to be a Superhero" (R)	Like you didn’t see this coming: One of the eliminated heroes makes a comeback as a super villain.
9:30 p.m.	MTV	"Run's House" (R)	Rev and Russy start taking karate, and Angela wants to launch a magazine.
10 p.m.	FX	"It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" (C)	Charlie and Dee attend an anti-tobacco demonstration.
10 p.m.	Spike	"The Dudesons" (C)	Season finale. The guys accidentally burn down their house.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 11
Time	Network	Program	Description
7 a.m.	ABC	"Good Morning America" (N)	Former “American Idol” winner Carrie Underwood performs.
8 p.m.	CBS	"NFL Football" (S)	Tom Brady and the Patriots take on the Atlanta Falcons in preseason action.
8 p.m.	A&E	"Psychic Children: Their Sixth Sense" (N)	Among other things, a look at a pair of twins who predicted the 9/11 attacks on a radio show back in 1999.
9 p.m.	USA	"Monk" (D)	Monk goes to his 25-year college reunion, conjuring up memories of Trudy.
10 p.m.	Sci Fi Channel	"Stargate Atlantis" (D)	The crew stumbles upon an advanced civilization, with whom Weir tries to form an alliance.
10 p.m.	CMT	"Cross Country" (A)	Series premiere. Two country stars mesh their talents each week. Tonight it's Randy Travis and Josh Turner.
SATURDAY, AUGUST 12
Time	Network	Program	Description
1 p.m.	Fox	"Major League Baseball" (S)	The pennant races heat up as Fox broadcasts regional action.
2 p.m.	NBC	"NASCAR Racing" (S)	The Busch Series Zippo 200 from Watkins Glen, N.Y.
3 p.m.	CBS	"PGA Golf" (S)	Third round of The International, which uses the Modified Stableford scoring system. We can’t figure it out, either.
7 p.m.	ESPN	"Little League Baseball" (S)	The Midwest Region final, live from Indianapolis.
8 p.m.	Disney	"Hannah Montana" (K)	Lilly feels self conscious about wearing glasses, and a new billboard doesn't help matters.
10 p.m.	Court TV	"Body of Evidence" (N)	The authorities use hypnosis while investigating a strange traffic accident.
SUNDAY, AUGUST 13
Time	Network	Program	Description
1:30 p.m.	NBC	"NASCAR Racing" (S)	More from Watkins Glen, this time Nextel Cup action.
3 p.m.	CBS	"PGA Golf" (S)	Final round of The International, won by Retief Goosen a year ago.
8 p.m.	History Channel	"Countdown to Ground Zero" (N)	A look at the events that led up to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in 2001.
9 p.m.	USA	"The 4400" (D)	Tom tries to save his son from murder charges by finding the alleged victim still living.
10 p.m.	HBO	"Entourage" (C)	During a meeting with a producer, Eric comes up with a movie for Vince.
10 p.m.	VH1	"Flavor of Love" (R)	The clock-wearing host gives speed dating a try--blindfolded.
10 p.m.	Comedy Central	"Mind of Mencia" (C)	The Edge from WWE guests and helps out with a wrestling tournament featuring religious icons.
A = awards show or special, C = comedy, D = drama, DD = daytime drama, G = game show, K = kids, M = movie, N = news/documentary, R = reality, S = sports, T = talk/variety show.