Showville

It could easily be mean and cynical, but manages to avoid both fatal pitfalls because the finalists are so genuinely enthusiastic and so blissfully uncomprehending of their shortcomings.

It’s a well-meaning, good-humored, hospitable hour of television, reminiscent of the nascent days of cable reality shows in the early 2000s, before everyone figured out that ratings success meant being nasty, famous and selfish.

Showville is far more upbeat and encouraging than that series ["Small Town Security"], and its shift in location from week to week keeps things fresh.

With a shorter to-do list and more ruthless editing--far too much time is spent in close-ups on the hosts--Showville could be as good in fact as it is in theory.