Last night Fox presents Fringe with very limited commercial interruptions -- class upon class. Then, the second that fine new series is over, Fox presents a sneak preview of Hole in the Wall, based on the Japanese game show about people trying to squeeze themselves through cutout shapes in giant walls sliding towards them.
Enjoy your gourmet meal, folks? To follow it up, here's a Twinkie.
Hole in the Wall is on the Fox lineup this fall because the network had an unexpected Hole in the Schedule. Moment of Truth was supposed to return for a second season, but that mean-spirited, exploitive series was rejected swiftly and steadily even by those viewers morbidly curious enough to tune in when it premiered.
It's the carnival barker approach to TV programming. Find something outlandish enough, promote it heavily, and watch the rubes come into the tent. The difference with TV is, unless the rubes come back, you ultimately fail. They stopped coming back for Moment of Truth -- and even though the Sunday sneak special edition of Hole in the Wall drew 7.2 million viewers (after football), expect that number to dwindle quickly in weeks to come.
Hole in the Wall is less like a TV show than a screen-saver. It's totally watchable -- in fact, it's greatly improved -- with the sound off. People either fall in the pool or they don't. That's it. Who needs sound? In act, who needs a brain?
Eric Gould, the Boston architect (and designer of this site), called me last night while Hole in the Wall was on, in disbelief. "Is this the whole show?" he asked. Or maybe he asked, "Is this the 'Hole' show?"
Either, way, yes, it is. For now.