School Pride

A well-timed small-screen counterpart to Waiting for "Superman," Pride is essentially Extreme Makeover: School Edition. But whereas "Superman" digs into the systemic failures of public education, this feel-good hour focuses primarily on the cosmetic.

Maybe School Pride doesn't have the drama of a single sob story, but by the end of the pilot you'll feel both ashamed and inspired. This is what it looks like to volunteer, and there's no reason why you can't do something. Go team!

I think Hines' heart is in the right place, but I'm tired of seeing people in need used as entertainment to get help they're actually entitled to as Americans.

If you don't have a taste for tears and cheers and group hugs, a lot of time in School Pride is actually spent watching paint dry.

Every scene in School Pride feels like the seventh or 10th take and too contrived, even by the low standards of reality TV....I will say that School Pride seems less manipulative and showy than its forebears.

Soboroff seems positively amazed in the premiere when he lands an interview with California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, asking who and what was responsible for the school's dilapidated condition. The not-exactly-press-shy governor rattled off a laundry list of factors: "Labor, special interests, a lack of parent participation, a lack of funding. Clearly, I would say government." Hey, his term's almost up. Let's give him a show. Maybe that will at least have more substance to it.

The aggressive fakery of School Pride makes it unfortunately difficult to believe when the show throws some unexpected punches.