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PILOT REVIEW: Same Name

SAME NAME











CBS's new reality show Same Name did not start off on a good foot for me as it showed Kathy Griffin, David Hasselhoff, and Mike Tyson - three celebrities I do not care for. It is certainly an interesting concept (celebrities switch lives with people who have the same names) but it was almost an immediate turn off as celebrity David Hasselhoff bragged about his illustrious career. Luckily, the everyday man David Hasselhoff was much more likable.

CBS has a good concept here with the fish-out-of-water played out in two different ways. Celebrity Hasselhoff was pretty annoying and clearly didn't know how to act in a regular life without bragging about something while Regular Hasselhoff fit into the celebrity lifestyle much better but was quite candid about how it didn't fit him. It continued to play out the same way - Celebrity Hasselhoff couldn't do anything ("I'm an actor. Lights go off in my house, I move") while Regular Hasselhoff remained likable even if he was a bit like Jed Clampett. Celebrity Hasselhoff was slightly redeeming at the end. It's a good but it would be better with more likable stars. Of course with Kathy Griffin on the horizon, it looks like it will only get worse on that front.

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