(S01E01) "My mom and dad sold my soul to the Devil and now I'm his indentured servant. How crazy is that?"

Reaper is a show that would be easy for the casual fan to dismiss. To start, it's on The CW. While the network has been responsible for a lot of good television, just being on the network is a strike against a show for many viewers. Adding to that is the premise. When you try and tell somebody, "It's about a guy who finds out on his 21st birthday that his parents sold his soul to the devil." you can see their interest start to wane right before your eyes. "Wait, wait, there's more..." All in all, it's a tough sell. And that's a unfortunate, because it just might be the best new show of the season.

TV networks come up with a lot of different ways to promote a new show. Print ads, web sites, billboards, promotional clothing and mousepads. And now The CW has another idea: a drink based on the new comedy/supernatural show Reaper.

Of course, it's not just the drink, it's the mega-promotion going along with it. Starting on September 3, the network will have two bars in the top 10 markets for the show not only serving the drink but also showing various clips from the show on their television sets. There will also be someone from the network there to hand out other goodies to the fans/drunks. The promotion will run throughout the month. Full recipe after the jump!

Fox has released premiere dates for their summer programming, and as one would expect, it will be a mostly reality TV season. On The Lot, from Steven Spielberg and Mark Burnett, will kick off on May 16th. Joining them later will be So You Think You Can Dance on May 24th and Hells Kitchen on June 25th.

The lone scripted series in the announcement is the return of The Loop. The show will return for its second season on June 10th, apparently minus the Piper and Lizzy characters. And that is the only one that really surprises me out of this group. With Spielberg and Burnett, it's obvious why On The Lot is getting a shot. While no match for their big brother Idol, SYTYCD has been a solid summer show and it's up to the lighter competition the season provides. Ditto for Hells Kitchen.

The Loop, on the other hand, was not warmly received, and I think most of its debatable ratings success had more to do with the time slot than anything they put on the screen. Don't get me wrong, I actually really like the show, but I'm still not clear on how a second season ever came to be. The fact that it has now been shuffled from a possible mid-season slot to the summer probably signals that there won't be a third installment.

[ via the futon critic ]

Um...did I just waste thirty minutes of my life watching a sitcom completely revolving around the fact that the lead hurt his groin? And he couldn't ride a horse because it hurt or shake hands with several execs because his hands hurt and he was trying to hide this fact from his bosses?

I'm sorry, but this show is just stupid.