By Michelle Lerner

Doing my taxes. Loading the dishwasher. Watching the Military Channel. Standing in the security line at the airport. These things are ALL more interesting than ON THE LOT, Fox’s sad attempt to bring the glamour of AMERICAN IDOL to filmmaking.

The executives at Fox realize there’s a problem with the moribund show, and that’s why instead of two or three hours to broadcast  this week, there is only one. “Hallelujah,” says this intrepid reporter. Instead of having to sit through fifteen short films, I only had to sit through five, and you know what? That was more than enough.

The episode’s dose of films was varied. There was a silly one about a man versus a toilet, a clichéd sketch about the nightmare a blind date might possibly be, a vaguely anti-Semitic comedy about embarrassing parents, a shiny musical about love and bread and a documentary about a gay Indian comic. All the filmmakers seem to be reaching for comedy, and I have to ask why. Maybe it’s just as Garry Marshall says, “Funny means money.”

Perhaps the filmmakers mistakenly believe that it is easier to make a comedy then a drama. They are wrong. You’re born a singer, but you have to study to be a comic. Comedy is one of the hardest things in the world to do well -- especially with green actors. (Just ask Judd Apatow, the brilliant director of KNOCKED UP, who’s been working at it for twenty years.)  If only the contestants would just try to tell a good story instead of showing off all their mad skills, the show might have some pizzazz.

Michael Bay was a nice addition as a judge. He called it like he saw it — no coaching criticisms in polite compliments like “well made” and “I get what you are trying to do.” (Yes, Carrie Fisher, I mean you!) When he didn’t like something, he said so, and he said why. I could see that maybe a contestant or two wrote him off in their heads, but I wouldn’t — all those blockbusters aren’t to be sneezed at.

All the other flaws of ON THE LOT remain. We, the audience, still don’t really get to know the contestants, which is a key part of the fun of a good reality show. Why would I care about Renee going home early if I didn’t get to know her on AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL? Or PROJECT RUNWAY’s Laura, and her crazy brood? The little clips shown before each contestant’s film are so edited and produced, we learn nothing. As a result, we are not invested. This gives the contestants short shrift, since they seem to believe this is their big chance, though the mood this week is decidedly less frenzied. They too seem to know the days of ON THE LOT are numbered.