DAVID BIANCULLI

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BATTLE OF THE NETWORK STARS
June 29, 2017  | By David Bianculli

ABC, 9:00 p.m. ET

 

SERIES PREMIERE: This is not a recommendation. This is so depressing. It’s depressing enough to realize that I was a working TV critic (in my first year, but still) back when the first Battle of the Network Stars was televised by ABC in 1976. That one was hosted by Howard Cosell, and the participants – divided into teams representing one of the three (count ’em, three) networks – included Robert Conrad, Telly Savalas, Ron Howard, Farrah Fawcett, Lynda Carter, and a surprisingly competitive Gabe Kaplan. Now it’s 41 years later, and this new ABC summer series presents 20 teams, divided into such subcategories as TV doctors, sex symbols, and lifeguards. The coaches this time are DeMarcus Ware and (pictured) Ronda Rousey. And for tonight’s premiere, it’s TV Sitcoms vs. TV Kids, with Tom Arnold and Bronson Pinchot on the former squad, and Joey Lawrence and Kim Fields on the latter. In no way is any of this an upgrade. In no way, furthermore, is any of this TV Worth Watching.

 
 
 
 
 
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