Owner's Manual

Owner's Manual looks as sharp as you'd expect from cinematic-minded AMC -- whip-pans, slo-mo, montage, animations, infographics. Sounds great, too, with heart-pumping action music and industrial power sounds. Best of all, homework-doer Marcus (aka Sweet Cheeks) and scoffer Ed (or is that English Muffin?) are natural bicker-buds throughout, adding life and laughs to each half-hour that flies (or rolls) by.

An aura of staginess, of manufactured drama and strenuous comedy, surrounds the show and works into its every cranny and nook. As a result, one never feels that the pair are in even as much danger as they're actually in. Yet it is not without charm; indeed, its appeal is in its pretense.

It’s a breezy show that’s fun without being just silly.

The challenges are too outsize and the format is too confusing to take full advantage of the gimmick.