TVSquad

NBC is going classic, with a twist. The network has ordered 13 episodes of a new drama series based on the Daniel Defoe classic Robinson Crusoe. This is far from the first time Defoe's 1719 novel has been filmed. The most recent incarnation was a 1997 Pierce Brosnan feature. In 1964, it was the basis for a French TV series.

This version is going to be a new take on the old story of a man who sets sail from England, his ship is wrecked in a storm and he's thrown overboard winding up alone on a deserted island where he has to fen for himself. In time, he is joined by an escaped slave whom he names Friday. Ben Silverman, NBC's head honcho, described the proposed series in this way: "It's part MacGyver, part contemporary morality tale about race and personal discovery, part comedy and part Castaway meets Survivor." As envisioned, this Robinson Crusoe will need to be clever indeed. It's going to keep the time period 1650's, but when Crusoe finds Friday, he'll presumably be treating him as if it were today with regard to race relations.

CBS has assembled quite the rag-tag group of reality television junkies to participate in the twelfth installation of Survivor. This time around, it's in Panama. Last fall's competition was so darn boring that the producers really spiced things up this time around. First of all, the cast of characters is pretty interesting. Castaways include a former astronaut, a karate expert, a female lumberjack, an attorney who calls himself "a modern day caveman", and a woman who wants people to think of her as the "hot nurse". The producers are mixing up the rules, too. Instead of two tribes, there will be four, and they'll be divided by age and gender. Think: old men vs. old women vs. young men vs. young women. That gives them old fogies a fightin' chance! Plus, a lot more castaways will be sent to solitary confinement on their very own island. Survivor: Panama--Exile Island premieres on February 2.

"This episode contains some animated nudity. Viewer discretion is advised."

Is it wrong that those words make me happy? I mean, I'm not talking that Hentai crap that Greg watches (sorry, inside joke, but the four people that read my column that would get that are probably cracking up) but something about knowing that Fox now has to warn people that you're about to view a cartoon butt so they won't be offended, is so redonkulous that it just makes me giggle. Yes, I did just make up a word. What'cha gonna do. So this is the infamous "hurricane episode" that Fox pulled from being the season premiere to allow the nation some "time to heal". Do you really think one week made a difference? On with the show.