Tuesday Watch List: Will There Ever Be A Great War On Terror Show?

Welcome to Watch List, where we identify five things on TV to watch while you stay at home and really regret the thirteen hours you wasted on “The Killing.” LET’S GO!

COMBAT HOSPITAL – 10:00PM (ABC) ABC’s ambitious new summer drama follows a group of military doctors tending to wounded soldiers in Afghanistan. And yes, you certainly think of the names “M*A*S*H” and “China Beach” any time a show promises medical care, gallows humor, and armed conflict all in one tidy package. There’s still a great show to be made out of our current batch of wars. FX’s “Over There” never managed to stick. And “Generation Kill” on HBO was just a miniseries. At some point, there will be a War on Terror show that Americans don’t steadfastly avoid like the plague. Maybe this is the one. ANTICIPATION: BLOODY!

101 WAYS TO LEAVE A GAME SHOW – 9:00PM (ABC) It’s a huge night of premieres for ABC, what with the above show, and also this brand new game show in which losing contestants are dismissed via terrifying stunts like being dynamited into the air and dropped from an 18-wheeler. And the problem with shows that have these kind of extreme elements is that, frankly, a lot of these stunts don’t look all that great on the small screen. Jumping out of an airplane is pretty nutty. But watching it on TV is as interesting as watching bowling. All the speed and terror fails to translate through the camera. So in order for this show to work, they’re gonna have to REALLY make these dismissals brutal. Can’t wait! ANTICIPATION: HUMILIATION!

NAIL FILES – 10:00PM (TV Guide Network) Follow a LA nail salon owner as she, like, does nails in this new reality series. In the premiere, Debbie Gibson stops by. So yeah, you can spend your evening watching Debbie Gibson get her nails done. Nothing could be more exciting. ANTICIPATION: NUTTY!

CROC KEEPER – 9:00PM (Animal Planet) Another new show! This one is a reality show about a family in Oxford, England that keeps a bunch of pet crocodiles in their backyard. Is that legal? That strikes me as incredibly illegal. ANTICIPATION: WORST NEIGHBORS EVER!

STATEN ISLAND CAKES – 9:00PM (WE) Five for five on new shows this evening. I almost included NatGeo’s “Amish on Break,” but when you have a chance to watch the premiere of the 9,000th cake-based reality show on cable, you gotta go with your heart. Anyway, follow Staten Island bake shop owner Vinny Buzzetta as he and his KRAYZEE family bake cakes and get all spicy with one another. At this point, they’re basically handing out reality shows to any horrible tri-state area Italian stereotype. ANTICIPATION: FROSTING AND FROSTED TIPS!

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