With reality television clinging to life on a respirator and the ‘Big Brother All Stars’ holding the paddles, one show gives the summer reality season a fighting chance. Unfortunately, Tommy Lee is prominently involved so we could be in dire straits.

Yup, I’ll say it. Now is not the time to be a fledging reality television journalist. Has a genre ever risen so fast and fallen even faster. Two years ago, it seemed like reality would be a staple forever. So what happened? Has reality gotten worse or have sitcoms gotten better? Have we run out of ideas or have we run out of interesting people? This string of words would suggest both: ‘Big Brother: All Stars’. And I’m no reality columnist or anything but I’m guessing running 17 different versions of ‘The Apprentice’ in two years didn’t help.

Sure, I’m a reality freak, but I’m a realist too and any way you slice it, we could be witnessing the end of the reality era. And I tell you what, I’m sure glad I didn’t just spend two years of my life writing about the subject until two in the morning. Then I’d really feel stupid.

Despite the total depravity of good reality, one show has stood far above the rest this summer for entertainment value, ‘Rock Star: Supernova’. I decided to double up by concurrently watching ‘Rock Star’ and a “can’t miss” episode of ‘Last Comic Standing’. After hearing of my plan to watch two reality shows simultaneously, the misses is compelled and supportive: “All right, good night hun.”

For those of you who haven’t watched, ‘Rock Star’ is basically an American Idol rip off with a defunct band of forty-something’s awaiting a lead singer. Last year, it was the remaining members of INXS awaiting JD Fortune and his catchy “Pretty Vegas”. This super group features Tommy Lee and it has a super name: Supernova. It’s cliché. It’s uninspiring. And it has no character. I love it.

Let’s start with the heart beat of the show: Brooke Burke. She’s divorced this time around from her plastic surgeon husband but it looks like she got her fill of freebies before the nuptials were dissolved. Besides Brooke, the positive differences from AI are the song selection. The contestants are given a subset of specific songs. The performances are rapid fire with no filler feel good stories. The major negative is you hear a lot of “with her own version of this classic Nirvana tune”. Maybe I’m a radical fundamentalist when it comes to this stuff but I’m not into version or revisions. I want to sing along. Jenny Galt tainted “Tainted Love” with some nonsense early and I felt cheated I couldn’t treat the empty room to my pipes.

The show picks up with Jill Giola coming out to Hole’s hit “Violet”. Great tune, because let’s be honest, anything Courtney Love touches turns to gold. With her talent, how can’t it. I liked it but that’s because I think it’s one of the best hard rock songs of the nineties. The guys in Supernova felt it was a screaming impersonation of Love. Tommy’s take was less stinging as he looked a bit drunk, “I’m just wondering if you’re wearing panties.”

Alright, maybe he’s a little more than drunk. Jason Newsted looks huffy. When Tommy tells him to be quiet, Jason shoots him the, “Buddy, I was in Metallica” face. Good times. Is it possible for a band to break up before it’s even been formed?

I decide to check in on the gang at ‘Last Comic Standing’. This show I felt was a great idea in its time. The first season was legitimately funny and it did launch some careers. The second season was equally as good if not better. But of course, they ruined it by starting an all star third season while the season two contestants were still hung over from the show’s after party. This year, it’s pretty bad. Three or four of the best contestants didn’t even make the cut. They were passed over for others who added entertainment value to show.

Tonight, the task was to roast one of their own, the heavy set Gabriel. Roasts are as close as you can get to a sure thing in comedy. They’re worth your time just for the “Did they go too far?” factor alone. Tonight, I wasn’t tuning in to see piercing jabs. I checked in to see how they could blow it. And they didn’t disappoint. Kristin was so bad nobody could muster up a fake laugh to placate her. And they were trying desperately to oblige. Here was one of her gems, “I’m just trying to get my foot in the door of comedy, Gabriel can’t even fit in that door.” Just painful. Exactly one of the comedians had any clue what they were doing.

Back on ‘Rock Star’, things got good when Zayra told the guys that she “has heard of” their music and she was “wearing diapers when their stuff was out.” I’m officially enjoying myself. I think I just saw Tommy lose hair before my eyes. Josh “Guy Smiley” Logan sang Creed with his signature creepy smile. I’m just not sure about him. Storm Large did a nice rendition of Cheap Trick’s Surrender. Patrice tried to play the guitar on Heart Shaped Box, but missed the entire first line so she ditched the guitar until the chorus. It was still pretty good.

Back on ‘Last Comic’, the previews showed someone getting kicked off the show for conduct unbecoming. It was sold as a hard hitting episode with a serious crime and serious consequences. I figured drugs or a fist fight. In actuality, Gabriel Iglesias was booted for smuggling a Blackberry on board to call his girlfriend. It was riveting.

I just don’t get it. Are we that devoid of ideas that we need to hock Canadian versions of stale American ideas. Alright, here’s my reality show idea: “From Grinder to Rounder”. You feature three different poker players, the first is a small time hustler who grinds it out in low limit games and borrows money to pay the rent. The next a middle tier player who’s a beat or two away from the big time. And finally, a TV player who fluctuates from multi-millionaire to flat broke. (read: Matusow) It can’t miss. At this point, the footage of some of those final tables after 7 days of play is the best reality TV going. You've got the misguided amateurs, the egotistical pros and the flawed dealers who are consistently sparking conflict. And the mere chance that reality shows could collide is always a plus.

Anyway, it’s time for something that resembles nothing that came before it. Every idea is a rip-off of another idea but with a different host and a tweak of the rulebook. There’s got to be something out there that won’t have my wife in bed by 9. And Brooke Burke ain’t it. I’m hoping this is just the ebb and flow of television. The mere fact that Tommy Lee is anchoring two reality shows in one year is telling you something. I’m just not sure what.