Recall back to last year when I fawned all over The WB's breakout hit "Beauty and the Geek." (The last time I ever lavish praise on anything Ashton Kutcher does, anyway) The show is now on Wednesdays again as a replay, with new eps on Thursday, and the show is just piss-po'. It would aspire to 'piss-poor.

The premise of the show is that smoking hot young women learn how to become smart, and awkward young men learn some social skills. The can claim that until they're blue in the face, but the first episode doesn't look like that's what they were going for. The first challenge was a good old-fashioned question bee. Get a question right to go to the end of the line, get it wrong and the team is out. Either person on the team could take a question. Women got questions that came from elementary school textbooks, and men got questions taken straight from People Magazine. Knowing the name of Gwyneth Paltrow's daughter isn't going to make the men more appealing at parties (or if it does, it's at the kind of parties they won't want to be at) Would it help them score a young lady's phone number? Again, I seriously doubt it. That single brain cell could probably be used for something more interesting, like contemplating the origin of the universe or taking apart a computer. In essence, that challenge was a huge disappointment.

Now that I got that part out of the way, it's time to strap in and put the kiddies to bed. It's going to get ugly. I want to know which genius decided to can Brian McFayden in favor of whoever that nobody whose range of emotion is straight from the playbook of Jordan Murphy. On "For Love or Money" it was funny because we were in on the joke, and the suitors weren't. On "Beauty and the Geek" everyone is along for the ride. Additionally, we don't know if The New Guy can read. Brian could hold court in the Elimination Room excellently. He built up the suspense, but knew when it was time to get to the questions. It was a pleasure watching him go from "VJ who hosted a cheesy dating show on CBS" to "full fledged game show host." We don't know if Richards can do that, or even if he can, that he'll be forced to play the role of "game show host." I want the casting director found. Then I want him tarred and feathered. And then I want to fly out to wherever he is so I can laugh at him. Again and again.

It's only week one, so it's not time to send the show to the Elimination Room quite yet. The show may work out. Give it a go, but try and find old episodes of the program to remember what it was like when it was good once.

Travis Eberle wears his geekdom as a badge of honor. Beauties can inquire him at traviseberle@gmail.com