time for a "reunion"

Melodramatic? Yeah. Over the top acting? Sure. Somewhat chessy dialogue? Affirmative. Added to my TiVo season pass? Definitely. What the heck am I talking about? The new Fox show, Reunion, that's what.

A quick synopsis for those of you who haven't heard of this show -- take a group of 6 friends, one of whom has been tragically murdered, and rewind their lives 20 years to figure out what happened. The catch? Each episode of the show is one year in the lives of these friends, so the show starts in 1986 and takes you all the way to the present day by season's end. That's a pretty clever premise, don't you think? Sure, but here's the six real reasons why you should watch Reunion:

1) It out O.C.'s The O.C.! - The O.C. started out as way too smart and witty teen dramedy in season one, and devolved into a lame, cliche night-time soap by season two. Reunion is a solid night-time soap, plain and simple. It's not jokey or witty, but that's not the point. Night-time soaps are supposed to be equal parts drama and cheese. That's the fun of 'em, and damn it, Reunion delivers.

2) Love triangles galore! - Nothing makes for a successful night-time soap like a love triangle. Hold on to your seats, my friends, because Reunion has two, count 'em TWO love triangles. Nerdy Aaron has always loved free spirit Jenna from afar, but lovely Jenna never gave him the time of day. But right when equally nerdy Carla is ready to confess her undying love to Aaron, she finds Jenna giving into Aaron's advances. Gadzooks! As if that wasn't enough, enter spoiled rich kid Craig, who adores his long-time girlfriend Samantha. Problem is, his life-long best friend Will, the son of his gardener, is also in love with her. Even worse, while Craig and Sam were on a break, Will and Sam hooked up, leading to Sam getting pregnant with Will's baby. Zoinks! Does this have something to do with the mysterious murder? Hmmmm...

3) The token Fox Network "hot chick" is on the show! - Amanda Righetti, who played Hailey the hot wayward sister of uber mom Kristin on Fox's The O.C. AND Tessa, some sort of hot character no one remembers on the little seen Fox show North Shore returns to Fox yet again for series number three. Here's hoping the third time really is the charm.

4) Craig is played by a really, really bad actor... and that's good! - Sean Farris is either playing Criag as a wooden robot devoid of any personality and emotion OR he is a terrible actor devoid of the ability to inject a character with any personality or emotion. You know what? I'm really hoping it's the latter, because every worthy night-time soap has it's Ian Ziering or Andrew Shue, and we may have struck gold with Sean Farris.

5) 80's references galore in the first episode! - Look, anytime you can shove florescent colored polos, "Time After Time," "Take On Me," Risky Business quotes, big ass gold watches, and Andrew Ridgeley diatribes into a single pilot episode, it's going to be a winner. Simple as that.

6) There's a hottie who for some reason everyone thinks is mousey and plain! - Nerdy Carla is obviously hot to any viewer with eyes, yet she is cast as the mousey loser. Why? So we can see the ugly duckling turn into a swan. Viewers like that for some reason. Don't believe me? Remember Joey from Dawson's Creek? Or how about the all-time #1 mousey hottie, Halle Berry in Boomerang? I mean seriously, it's Halle Frickin' Berry, and she's supposed to be an ugly loser? Completely stupid and unbelievable, and yet you were rooting for her in the end, weren't you? I rest my case.

So there you go. Probably the worst sell job EVER, but it really is a fun show. Reunion gets 3.5 Salingers on the Salinger scale, where a Party of Five is the highest rating. Check it out -- episode two gets pre-empted by President Bush (yawn) this week, so you can catch it on Sept. 22nd, and every Thursday night at 9pm afterwards.