Kay McFadden / Times staff columnist
Will this 'Joe Millionaire' be Fox's next big power hitter?

	FOX Rodeo cowboy David Smith romances 14 European women who think he is worth millions, on Fox's "The Next Joe Millionaire: An International Affair," premiering at 8 tonight on KCPQ-TV.
	E-mail this article Print this article Search archive

For disappointed Red Sox loyalists the world over, David Smith won't be anyone's idea of "cowboy up."

The 24-year-old Texas rodeo rider is the new lure du jour in Fox's "The Next Joe Millionaire: An International Affair," debuting tonight at 8 (KCPQ-TV).

Fox is banking on Smith and 14 European beauties to carry its ratings banner, flying high after two weeks during which the American and National League Championship Series blew away network competition.

Rivals such as NBC even replaced new Wednesday and Thursday lineups with repeats. No point in wasting good powder.

However, with the exit of two telegenic underdogs, Boston and the Chicago Cubs, the World Series audience won't be as big. Yankee-haters may derive consolation from knowing the New York-Florida Marlins match will be a runner-up in at least the ratings.

Fox did its best to lay the groundwork for future success, subjecting baseball viewers to roughly three billion promos for fall shows. At least we were spared the past sight of hapless TV stars attending games.

The result of the bombardment is that audiences can mimic one line of dialogue from every Fox series. In some cases, it's all you'll ever need to know.

Along with the latest "Joe Millionaire" ("He's reeech"), this evening marks the appearance of "Skin" ("I just want to run away"). The primary target is females 18 to 34; so much for running all those spots during baseball.

The first "Joe Millionaire" was an unexpected hit, soaring to an audience of 40 million for its finale and turning into a genuine pop-culture phenomenon.

Fans and the media couldn't get enough of the twisted reality series in which a poor guy posing as rich — you may remember humble construction worker Evan Marriott — spent weeks selecting Ms. Right from a bevy of unsuspecting/calculating females.

Despite its horse-betting aspect, the show's premise was wrapped around a core of American romanticism: would love beat avarice? When Evan picked modest Zora over her gold-digging rival, a certain satisfaction ensued (though they're no longer an item).

But "The New Joe Millionaire: An International Affair" threatens to be an altogether different animal. With the move to Europe, the emphasis has shifted to hints of gleeful payback for the death of Daisy Miller and all those decades of Sartre-inspired cynicism.

"How do you say sucker in French?" goes the most pointed promo, indicating in none-too-subtle fashion that here is a target viewers can agree on.

You must hand it to Fox and parent News Corp.: The same outfit that put weasel heads on photos of France's U.N. delegation in the tabloid New York Post has found a way to turn hatred for European nations that opposed the Iraq war into TV entertainment.

The fact that rugged horse-riding bachelor Smith makes his home in Midland, Tex., suggests another coy juxtaposition between American ingenuity and European baseness.

Isn't there some other cowboy-ish guy we know from that neck of the woods?

OK. Political implications aside, "Joe Millionaire" is unlikely to fan flames of outrage at the European Union (though an alerted French government might ban this edition).

To consider a more collegial aspect, the outcome of Smith's sojourn in Venice, Italy, is that he will have to select a foreigner.

We wait with baited breath to see if she comes from the list of allies that supported forcibly dismantling Saddam Hussein's government.

While an American goes Continental in the city of gondolas, a story that originated in Verona has been moved to L.A.

Where art thou Shakespeare?

In the new drama "Skin," airing at 9 p.m., viewers get the full-on Romeo and Juliet saga updated with modern antagonisms.

The story: Larry Goldman is the wealthy head of an adult entertainment empire. He runs afoul of ambitious district attorney Thomas Roam, and a cat-and-mouse game develops involving criminal entrapment, firebombing and political aspiration.

At exactly the same time, their teenage children, Jewel and Adam, have met at a party and fallen in love. Kids. They're so inconsiderate.

Yet viewers that mistakenly think "Skin" will focus on the nubile lovers had best brush off their Shakespeare. In a battle with executive producer Jerry Bruckheimer, the Bard's preferences are a distant second.

No doubt Bruckheimer, whose TV successes include the police procedurals "C.S.I.," "Without a Trace" and "Cold Case," genuinely wanted to try something different — say, legendary producer Aaron Spelling's territory of youthful prime-time soap.

But it's clear that if "Skin" has a hero, it's Ron Silver, who gets to tear up the screen with his portrayal of Goldman, a ruthless mogul and principled family man who happens to work with a lot of gorgeous, scantily clad babes.

Not far behind in scene-bullying is Kevin Anderson, whose one-dimensional D.A. has been written with menace in mind. Good when they get face time are Rachel Ticotin as Laura Roam and Pamela Gidley as Barbara Goldman, the wives.

Meanwhile, not only are intended teencake stars Olivia Wilde and D.J. Cotrona blown sideways by the performances of their elders, it's as if they're in another show.

Whenever the plot veers toward these two, it abandons the solid terrain of rain-slicked pavement and terse dialogue for gauzy lighting and pop music. It's like going from pulp fiction to an old Jessica Simpson video.

The plot is full of improbabilities, all created to maintain tension between the parents and the kids, which is the entire reason for this show to even exist.

In an accidentally hilarious scene near tonight's conclusion, Jewel (Wilde) stands on her balcony in a white dress and gazes at the full moon. It may be inconstant but not nearly so much as the script for "Skin." GRADE: C MINUS

Kay McFadden: kmcfadden@seattletimes.com

Copyright © 2003 The Seattle Times Company