Sitcom School

The Don't Touch That Remote! series premieres with a promising premise, but may not make it past its pilot episode. Summoned to the principal's office, Spencer Babbitt learns that the head of a TV studio has purchased his Hollywood middle school to use as the set of a new sitcom starring Spencer and his friends. But the studio can't afford to hire writers, so Spencer must come up with the plot for the inaugural show. As cameras roll in the school corridors, the show's star and his cronies bumble through a tedious week of sophomoric non-events. There's a classmate who is addicted to jelly doughnuts, a girl with a penchant for punching and a Neanderthal-like bully called ""The Tank"" who utters an endless stream of primitive threats (""I'll squash your butt!""). The narrative only intermittently takes on a script-like format, but consistently features repetitious, slapstick humor (e.g., while fishing for comic material, one boy suggests, ""Banana peels!... Now there's a classic comedy food.... They are the great comic prop""). Kids may not stay tuned in to this channel. Ages 8-12. (Sept.)