One Awful View

"One Ocean View," ABC's latest disastrous summer reality series, debuted last night to a viewership of 38 people. Well, give or take 3 million, but that's still an embarrassing, immediate-cancellation-worthy number. I was subjected to the inane chatter of the show in the background during TV press tour while working on another story, but even 10 percent attention paid to that show is enough to give one a thorough understanding of its trashiness, and is 10 percent too much attention paid to it.

It's another one of those concept-free series wrangling some feckless young adults with no personalities whatsoever beyond their monumental narcissism under one roof and letting the thoughtful discussions of Proust and the crisis in the Middle East begin. I mean, letting the preening and joyless flirting begin. One guy, boasting some serious self-delusion, actually declared at least twice during last night's episode that he gets better-looking every day. Why do producers insist on casting these shows with such self-aggrandizing twits? Is it really that difficult to coax someone with a modicum of intelligence and wit to appear on these things? Well, actually, probably.