Country meets squares

Just watched the debut of CMT's Nashville Squares. This descendant of the venerable Heatter-Quigley original is a respectable re-do, though it has one feature that annoys me no end. More on that in a minute.

If you think that Nashville Squares is a venue for country music, think again. There were only a few brief snippets from the house band, though the girl singer was just fine. The Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders pranced around, because that's what they do.

The celebs were also a little off-center for a country music show. Yes, country legend Tanya Tucker turned up (to a standing O). But Caroline Rhea? I must have missed her album of Hank Williams' greatest hits.

Bob Saget hosted competently, of course, though the show left little room for his trademark quips. The celebs were obviously prepped because the format doesn't work otherwise, as Mark Goodson found out to his chagrin. The basic game was okay, with the one exception that gripes me. Just like Hip Hop Squares on sister channel VH1, the civvies didn't play for themselves. Hey, it's their winnings at stake. Let 'em play, for crying out loud.

One more note. There were lots of promos for MTV. Viacom cross-promotion, it's a wonderful thing.

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