summer shows

Sam Raimi, writer/director of The Evil Dead, A Simple Plan and Spider-Man 3 (among other stuff), is a busy guy. In addition to directing a horror flick (Drag Me to Hell) and creating an action/fantasy TV series (Wizard's First Rule), he's decided that the world also needs another reality TV show. A reality show that's kind of like Fear Factor, but shot like a horror movie. Or something.

Airing on the CW, the eight-episode summertime series titled simply 13 will "utilize horror-themed challenges to knock players off one by one, until just one is left, having survived all that bloodshed." Reality show producer Jay Bienstock will executive produce alongside Raimi.

According to Bienstock, "We want to cast it like a horror movie, and shoot it a little differently as well. Think about those old movies — we want to put people in a place like that, where they have to deal with their fears and anxieties. They'll end up surprising one another."

As casting begins for the 13 contestants, producers are also deciding in "which classic horror setting" the show will be placed: "An evil small town? A lakeside retreat with a creepy secret? An abandoned cabin in the forest?"

What do you think about this 13 show? Is it decent summertime programming, or totally dumb? Is the idea of living inside a horror movie kind of cool, or lame-o?

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I have high hopes for ABC's summer series "Traveler," which centers around two buddies who get framed for a terrorist act by a third friend. So I was excited to see that the show — which wasn't scheduled to start until May 30 — will be getting a special premiere after the May 10 episode of "Grey's Anatomy." The show will then move to its regular 10 p.m. Wednesday slot on May 30 with a second airing of the pilot episode.

The move means that "Men in Trees" is done for the season, but it's expected that the remaining five episodes will be shown in the fall, giving the show an extra-long second season.

"Traveler" is directed by David Nutter, who also directed episodes of "X-Files" and "Roswell," and it has a similarly mysterious plot. Three friends are on a road trip when they decide to prank an art museum in New York by rollerblading through it. Two take off down the stairs; the third, Will, stays behind to film them. But as soon as the other two make it out of the museum, they get a call from Will, who says "I'm sorry I had to do this." The museum immediately blows up, and within minutes, the video of the two friends running away is plastered all over television. It looks pretty heavy for a summer series, but it could be a welcome change of pace from all the reality fare the networks have planned. I got my hands on a copy of the pilot, so I'll check it out and let you know what I think; for now, you can see a preview video if you read more