Clark: Head in sand or escapism? You be the judge

Oh, come on. Really?

Really, television gurus? This is what you think the masses want? Recession TV?

Seriously?

Methinks not so much.

That's me, anyway. Maybe other people want it. Maybe I'm the only recession-weary viewer in the land who would rather escape the gloom, doom and Wall Street ka-boom and spend my free time watching things that take my mind specifically off the real-world financial disorder.

The folks busy ordering up TV shows for the upcoming season seem to be on a whole different page.

According to story from The Boston Globe, a handful of new TV comedy pilots feature the kind of economically stressed characters we all can find in real form flipping through coupons at the local discount grocery store.

Or, in far too many cases, in the mirror.

ABC is considering "Canned," in which a group of friends is fired on the same day; that network also has a sitcom starring Kelsey Grammer as a fallen Wall Streeter; Fox has "Two Dollar Beer," about a blue-collar couple struggling in Detroit; and CBS is looking at a show about a pair of poor slackers in "Waiting to Die."

Gee, that all sounds like a big, bouncy bundle of fun, doesn't it?

The Globe story points out that there's no guarantee that any of these shows will make the fall schedule and, frankly, I'm hoping none of them do.

From where I sit right now -- and granted, my seat has a bird's-eye view of all things economically challenged -- I see zero comedy in people losing jobs, losing investments or struggling to put food on the table.

Sure, there's always that good old gallows humor quotient that tends to ease the tension and lets folks give off a stress-freeing laugh every now and then.

But an entire show, every week? I'd rather watch reality TV.

It's so much less real.

Sure, old shows like "All in the Family" and "Roseanne" tapped into the national zeitgeist of their hard times and provided both laughs and some thought-provoking social commentary.

But the knot in the pit of my stomach every time a fresh round of bad economic news crosses the wires tells me we just might not be ready for this kind of material.

But, again, maybe it's just me. What about you? Are you interested in watching recession TV? Truly, I'm open to arguments against sticking my head in the sand.

Assuming I get the courage to raise it long enough to listen.

It looks like another network is dipping its spoon in the gravy that is food TV. "Top Chef" is on hiatus until the next season, so I'm giving a look-see to "Chopping Block," which premièred Wednesday on NBC.

The show features chef and restaurateur Marco Pierre White -- apparently the "Hell's Kitchen" hellion in the U.K. version of that show -- who offers "neophyte hopeful chefs/restaurateurs a chance to compete in America's greatest restaurant challenge," according to the NBC Web site.

Sounds like "Top Restaurateur." I'm in.

On the less-than-pleasing TV news side, it was announced last week that "Life on Mars," a show I've come to very much look forward to each week, has been cancelled.

ABC is allowing the show to complete the current season, but won't pick it up come next fall.

As unfortunate as this is -- it's a really good show and I'm assessing personal blame on every Nielsen family out there who doesn't watch it -- it does afford writers to wrap up the mystery at the heart of the plot. That's a breath of fresh air, because so many shows are cancelled with no resolution offered to viewers.

"Life on Mars" is a remake of a British series and follows the exploits of a current-day cop who wakes up after an accident to find himself living in 1973. How he got there is the question and how he gets back to present time the dilemma.

Of course, by cancelling it, ABC can't use the show to further compare the current recession to the financial constraints of the early '70s.

We'll call that bittersweet.

Now, if you'll excuse me, this ostrich has some sand to eat.

Reach Scene editor Pat Clark at pclark@modbee.com.