"Rock Star: Supernova": Did It Crash and Burn?

I tried to watch “Rock Star: Supernova” last night, but after the first half-hour, I just couldn’t take anymore.

First of all, there was no introduction whatsoever. Last year, we saw the rockers moving into their new house, meeting INXS and selecting their songs, but last night, we jumped headfirst into the performances. I’m sure it’s a response to the bad ratings of the “reality episodes” last season; but I found it a little jolting.

Brooke Burke’s stilted cue card reading was painful enough, but watching Tommy Lee’s charm wasted by reducing him to 10 second soundbites was pretty hard to take as well (I admit it. I have “Tommy Lee Goes to College” on DVD.). Plus, it was hard for me to get into the singers’ performances when I knew nothing about the person singing.

And that’s the catch-22 of “Rock Star.” Because you don’t know their personal stories (at least for a while), you have to judge the contestants strictly on their performances, which keeps personality from playing a major factor (as it sometimes does with “Idol”). But without knowing the personal stories, it’s hard for viewers to care enough to vote.

I am intrigued by who the band might pick and I wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t go with a woman just to be different. But I’ll just catch the Internet recaps, because I can’t sit through two nights a week of this—unless the guys find a way to spice things up.

You can let me know if that happens.