Culturebox: David Hasselhoff Meet David Hasselhoff

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television David Hasselhoff Meet David Hasselhoff Celebrities switch places with regular folks on Same Name. By Troy Patterson Posted Wednesday, July 27, 2011, at 9:10 PM ET CBS explains Same Name (Sundays at 9 p.m. ET) as "a reality series about celebrities trading places with total strangers who just happen to share the same name." Next week, for instance, Kathy Griffin, a fiberglass saleswoman from Fayetteville, Ga., will step for a few days into the pinching shoes of Kathy Griffin, the comedienne. Promos suggest that the nonfamous Kathy Griffin will learn some lessons about tolerance from the famous Kathy Griffin's fierce gay entourage. There also exists the possibility that the Kathy Griffin, a big plastic surgery fan, will learn that some of the other lady's fiberglass has wound up in her face. It should be evident that Same Name is as warm and mindless as an idyllic Sunday in idlest July, and this reviewer, hoping to avoid watching it, tried to subcontract the job out to civilians who happen to share their names with America's best TV critics. But it turned out that a majority of America's best TV critics have singular names. James Poniewozik, Alan Sepinwall, Ginia Bellafante--these are apparently the appellative equivalents of hapax legomena. And the Nancy Franklins I managed to track down were not as adept as their namesake at working on deadline. To continue reading, click here. Troy Patterson is Slate's television critic. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate Signs That Boehner Might Be Winning the Tea Party's Support for His Debt Plan Some Researchers Say Coffee Is Good for You; Others Say It's Bad. Who's Right? How Trey Parker and Matt Stone Reinvented the Musical by Making It More Like South Park	Advertisement
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