Undercover Boss packs a punch
Don’t let first impressions fool you. It’s easy to dismiss a new program called Undercover Boss
Canada as just another lame effort to mimic a successful U.S. franchise, and pretend it’s Canadian.
It’s easy, too, to sniff and turn up one’s nose at any new reality series, whether it’s called The Bachelor Canada, Canada’s Got Talent or Big Brother, Canadian Style. The concept behind Undercover
Boss has real weight and heft, though. This isn’t a show about 20-something reality-tv wannabes looking for an easy hookup and 15 minutes of fame. It’s about the relationship between bosses and their employees, and how entry-level, low-paying jobs are sometimes the toughest to perform.
The series opener, which features Toronto Zoo CEO John Tracogna going undercover in the monkey house, as it were, is every bit as emotional, heartfelt and eyeopening as viewers in Canada have a right to expect. Yes, there are moments that feel as if they’re too neatly tied together to be entirely spontaneous, as well as an inordinate fondness for puns in the voice-over (“rattling cages,” “cleaning house,” etc.), but the overall effect packs real emotional punch. (W Network — 10 p.m.)
The dastardly, despicable Klaus, a.k.a., Lord Niklaus (Joseph Mor
gan), hosts a dinner party on The
Vampire Diaries, a dinner party that ends very badly for at least one of the guests. (WGN, WPIX — 6 p.m.; CTV2 — 8 p.m.)
William Shatner makes an appearance on The Late, Late Show
with Craig Ferguson. Sure, it’s at an ungodly hour, but you won’t have any trouble staying awake. Fergie and the Shat: it doesn’t get much crazier than that. (CBS, Global — 1:35 a.m.)
Stephen Colbert’s special guest on The Colbert Report is veteran war correspondent, ABC News host and modern-day Martha Gellhorn, Christiane Amanpour. (Comedy Network — 12:30 a.m.; CTV — 12:35 a.m.)