Fall TV: 'Hellcats'

When we first started pulling random television shows from "The Hat" I knew there was a chance I would get stuck with the worst choice.

And I so did.

"Hellcats" is the new cheer leading drama on The CW. It stars Alyson Michalka as Marti, an outsider at Lancer College in Memphis. She hates cheerleaders and pretty much everything else. She finds out that her scholarship has been canceled thanks to her crazy, irresponsible mother.

But, thankfully a cheerleader gets hurt and the team needs a replacement. The key is that cheerleaders get scholarships!

Problem solved as Marti tries out for the team and surprises everyone with her awesome moves. It also helps that she rented "Bring It On" the night before (seriously.)

But, there are bigger problems looming on the horizon. You see, much like "Glee," the team needs to win at Nationals or the cheer leading program will be destroyed (they can still cheer at games, but won't be able to compete in competitions.)

So Marti becomes the only hope the team has! Thank God!

The show is based on the book "Cheer: Inside the Secret World of College Cheerleaders" by Kate Torgovnick.

I did make it through the entire episode (darn journalistic integrity) and here's what I thought:

The good - I never thought I would type this, but the show is saved by Ashley Tisdale as the cheer captain and new found friend of Marti. She is actually very good in the part and somewhat likable.

A few cast members are also good including Sharon Leal, D.B. Woodside and Gail O'Grady.

The bad - The character of Marti is 100 percent unlikable. In fact, I kind of hate her. She is a horrible person and sarcastic to everyone. Even beyond treating her mom like crap. She hates cheer leading until she needs money, so she steals a scholarship from someone who needs the money and actually likes cheer leading.

The ugly - We are told two stories during the pilot; one is that if the cheer team doesn't win they lose their scholarships. And the second story is that Marti used to be a gymnast, but her mom's drunken antics have given her an almost paralyzing fear of performing in public if she is there.

So what does an evil cheerleader do? Invites Marti's mom to the team's first meet. Um, she does realize that means she'd lose her scholarship too, right?

What? Even if it turns out that girl is rich and doesn't need a scholarship she'd still be a part of an almost non-existent team. It boggles my mind to try to figure out that one.

The Washington Post said it best about this show, calling it "mean-spirited, painfully dumb."

Needless to say I won't be watching the next episode and neither should you.