Hellcats (Wed., Sept. 8 @ 9:00 PM, The CW)

* The competition: “Modern Family” and “Cougar Town” (ABC), “Criminal Minds” (CBS), “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (NBC), “Hell’s Kitchen” (Fox)

Starring: Aly Michalka, Ashley Tisdale, Gail O’Grady, Heather Hemmens, Robbie Jones, Matt Barr, Sharon Leal, Jeff Hephner, D.B. Woodside, Elena Esovolova

Producers: Tom Welling (“Smallville”), Kevin Murphy (“Desperate Housewives”), Allan Arkush (“Heroes”)

Network’s Description: a pumped-up drama about a young pre-law student whose world is turned upside-down when she loses her scholarship and has to join the college’s competitive cheerleading squad. This fun, energetic series is a behind-the-scenes look at the drama, politics and pressure surrounding the football program at a Southern university.

The Buzz: This isn’t a show for critics. It’s a show for CW viewers. Rarely do these two demographics meet. Granted, the slot behind “America’s Next Top Model” has killed many a newcomer, but they’ve got a lot of spirit, these Hellcats, so you never know what stunts they might be able to pull off.

Pilot Highlight: It’s a tie between Marti’s audition for the cheering squad and – spoiler alert! – her first practice after making the squad. Both offer awesome choreography and, yes, you lechers, lots of sexy cheerleaders dancing their asses off.

Bottom Line: At the very least, there’s more to it than the average non-female viewer will probably want to admit – yes, that’s right, sir, I’m speaking to you – but your appreciation of it will depend heavily on how you approach the material. This ain’t Shakespeare, people. It’s an hourlong TV series about cheerleaders. Set your standards appropriately, and you might just enjoy it…and if you don’t, then you almost certainly know someone who will.

THURSDAY

Nikita (Thurs., Sept. 9 @ 9:00 PM, The CW)

* The competition: “Grey’s Anatomy” (ABC), “CSI: Crime Scene Investigations” (CBS), “The Office” and “Outsourced” (NBC), “Fringe” (Fox)

Starring: Maggie Q, Lyndsy Fonseca, Shane West, Aaron Stanford, Ashton Holmes, Tiffany Hines, Melinda Clarke, Xander Berkeley

Producers: Craig Silverstein (“Bones”), Danny Cannon (“CSI,” “The Forgotten,” “Dark Blue”), McG and Peter Johnson (“Human Target”)

Network’s Description: a spy and assassin for a top secret U.S. government agency rebels against the system that created her and will stop at nothing to bring their powerful operation to an end.

The Buzz: There are a lot of folks muttering about how it hasn’t been all that long since the USA Network’s “La Femme Nikita” series, but a lot of them have walked away surprisingly impressed with the action delivered by the pilot.

Pilot Highlight: The sequence where Nikita sports a very impressive red bathing suit, slips into a hot tub with her target, and takes him down.

Bottom Line: It’s not the perfect pairing for “The Vampire Diaries,” but when you consider the fact that the women who swoon over the undead might also enjoy seeing other members of their gender doing a little well-choreographed ass-kicking, it’s not the craziest match-up in the world. Given the relatively low ratings standards of The CW, the established fans of the “Nikita” franchise might manage to make it into a success for the network.

Why the invite…? Because a couple of the stars of The CW’s new cheerleading drama, “Hellcats,” were going to be in attendance – Robbie Jones and Aly Michalka – and we’d been told that we’d have a chance to chat with them about the series. As a bit of pop culture gravy, we’d been told that we’d also be getting the opportunity to speak with an honest-to-goodness Olympian: Nastia Liukin, who’s also managed to turn up on such series as “Gossip Girl” and “Make It Or Break It.”

So off we went to SuperGirl Jam 2010…and $17 dollars in parking fees later, we did indeed get to to talk to all three of these individuals. That’s the good news. The bad news, however, is that the sum total of time spent with the trio – we talked to each of them separately – barely topped out at the 10-minute mark. Note to self: next time, get a guarantee of at least five minutes per person.

And possibly parking validation.

– Robbie Jones –

Premium Hollywood: Hi, I’m Bob Westal from Premium Hollywood/Bullz-Eye.com.

Robbie Jones: Nice to meet you.

PH: I’m not usually a TV guy and I was researching you. You’re kind of a mystery man.

RJ: Am I?

PH: There’s not a lot about you on the Internet. For example, your age.

RJ: It’s crazy.

PH: Your age is unknown. Are you like 50 years old?

RJ: 57. I have 16 kids.

PH: In five different states.

RJ: It’s crazy. The math is all off but it’s true.

PH: Okay, I know you were on “One Tree Hill” and they kind of killed you.

RJ: It was sad. Sad. Q. [Quentin Fields] was just turning the corner to be a positive guy and — life cut short. Tragic end.

PH: “Tragic end.” Okay. Let’s get a little background [before we move on to “Hellcats”]. Where are you from originally? How did you get started?

RJ: I’m from Sacramento, California and I’ve been in L.A. for about five years and I’ve been acting pretty much since I got out here.

PH: How did you get the “One Tree Hill” gig?

RJ: Well, it was the audition process. I’m sure a ton of guys auditioned for the role. I went in, just like everybody else. [Series creator] Mark Schwahn, I’m telling you, he changed my life, he gave me a shot, believed in me, [CBS Television President] Peter Roth believed in me, and the rest is kind of history. It’s really a blessing from God, honestly.

PH: Speaking of blessings from God, you’re one of just a couple of men on a show [“Hellcats”] filled with beautiful women.

RJ: Beautiful.

PH: And we’re an online men’s magazine, so…

RJ: Beaut-i-ful. They’re beautiful. I mean I’ve got Ashley Tisdale, Aly Michalka. I’ve got Heather Hemmens, Gail O’Grady. I’m surrounded by this beautifulness. I don’t know what to do with myself sometimes.

PH: Do you ever get distracted?

RJ: Daily. Every day. All the time.

PH: Hopefully, [with all that jumping around] no wardrobe malfunctions ever happen.

RJ: No, no, no. None of that. Keep it clean — but there are distractions.

PH: I was overhearing you talking to this other person. The gymnastics aspect of the show, that’s fairly new to you?

RJ: It’s very new to me. I’m more of a basketball kind of guy myself, so the dance and the choreography and the acrobatic stuff — that’s very new to me. It’s a great challenge. I’ve been up for the challenge. It’s fantastic.

PH: I’ve seen the pilot. As the show progresses, I assume we’ll be seeing more elaborate dancing and so on.

RJ: Yeah. I think as the show goes on, the squad is going to develop. We’re going to see more and more of the routines.

PH: It seems like the positioning here — and I know you’re not a network executive — seems like they’re going a little bit after the “Glee” audience here.

RJ: What’s interesting about our show is that it’s pretty much a college show with cheerleading as the backdrop. So, it’s not really a cheer show and it’s not really a dance-performancey type show. It just kind of happens. It doesn’t drive the show as much as a show like “Glee.” Were more of a drama-slash-comedy that has a cheerleading base to it.

PH: Okay. So, what’s been the most difficult scene you’ve had to do so far?

RJ: Oh, boy. There was one…we had to do a cheer routine and we had to do it over and over again. Like I said, coming from the background I came from, it’s like a foreign language to me sometimes. So that can be challenging.

PH: Are there certain things, like certain moves maybe, that you have a harder time with than others? The back-flips, or…

RJ: I tried it — in my mind one time. It didn’t work out, so I let my double do it.

PH: Aha. Doubles. Stunt people.

RJ: I love them. Love them. Oh, man.

PH: Yes, they’re an important part of the filmmaking process.

RJ: Shane, my double, is my best friend on set.

PH: Okay. Can you tell us a little bit about what’s coming up for your character on the show?

RJ: I can tell you a little bit. Lewis is an ex-football player. I think we’re going to see Lewis somewhere in the football world. We can’t say exactly where but I think he’ll make his way somewhere around the football world again. We’ll see something in that lane for him. It’s not all the way out of his system, I don’t think.

PH: Let me ask you this, I’m kind of switching gears here…

RJ: Switch the gears.

PH: I like to ask younger actors…presumably you’re a younger actor…

RJ: Switch the gears on me, switch ’em.

PH: Who are your favorite actors? Who are your heroes in the business?

RJ: You know what, I’m a humongous Denzel Washington fan. I really like Matt Damon. I really dig Don Cheadle. Those are just some of the guys I’ve watched growing up and really just honed in on their work and inspired me. Will Smith is another one. It’s really inspiring to watch him work. To watch those guys like Denzel work and embody these roles is just fantastic and very inspirational for myself.

PH: I don’t think people really quite always get just how great he really is. I don’t know how much you know old movie stars, but he always reminds me of Spencer Tracey. Very simple.

RJ: But effective. Very powerful.

– Alyson Michalka –

Premium Hollywood: You’re pretty young, but you’ve already been a star for awhile now with “Phil of the Future.” I was just researching you before, and I know what your favorite foods are, according to IMDb. Do you find it odd that I know that you like sushi and tacos?

Alyson Michalka: Totally. I know, it’s the funniest thing. Sometimes I learn about stuff that I didn’t even know existed about myself, and I’m, like, “Oh yeah, that is true. I do like that.” Or, “That is my favorite thing.”

PH: So we can confirm that IMDb is correct [about liking sushi and tacos].

AM: IMDb is very correct.

PH: Okay, now, before “Hellcats,” had you had any background in gymnastics or….

AM: I had no background in gymnastics, but I had a huge background in freestyling and hip-hop. I was on a competitive hip-hop company when I was a teenager, so the whole world of competing and being on a team was very familiar to me. The cheerleading was completely new, but I was able to pick that up quickly just because I was already powerful with movement and choreography.

PH: Right, so the dance aspect of it is…

AM: Yeah, and the fact that we have an amazing stunt double who is able to do all of the dangerous stunts and tumbling is really fantastic because she’s been able to kind of take on my body language, and the way that I stand and the way that I move. She’s able to really be able to become me when the camera’s on her and she’s doing a stunt.

PH: I was just talking to Robbie [Jones]. and he was praising his stunt double, too.

AM: Yeah, yeah. He’s. like, “Thank you!”

PH: So another interesting thing is that you and Ashley Tisdale are friends in real life, from before.

AM: Yeah. We’ve known each other for a long time. We went to the same acting class when I was about 11 and she was 15, so we’ve known each other for ages. We just happened to be in the Disney world for awhile. She was there a lot longer than I was, and I was kind of going out as her show was coming in, but we were able to see each other at events and we always got along. So it’s cool that it worked out that we’re on a show together.

PH: The scenes were fun with the initial unhappy meeting between you two.

AM: Oh, totally. It’s a great chemistry that we have on and off set.

PH: Okay, one more thing. You were in a movie called “Bandslam,” which I have not gotten to see and a lot of other people have that same problem. I’ve just been hearing really good things about it.

AM: Thanks. We got great reviews on that movie. I mean, the fact that Rotten Tomatoes gave it, like, 88% is pretty amazing for a kid film, and they’re pretty harsh critics. I was really pleased with the outcome of the film. We had a great director. He really had a great vision. Unfortunately, the studio didn’t pull through it for us. I think it was just mis-marketed, but, as an actor, you’re there to do your work and to have a great performance. As long as I was able to do that, I’m happy with my work, and it’s something that I’m proud of as my first feature film.

– Nastia Liukin –

Premium Hollywood: Now, I don’t usually do sports. I believe you’re the first Olympic athlete I’ve spoken to, and you’re a gold medal winner, so that’s kind of impressive.

Nastia Liukin: Perfect!

PH: Yeah. How does being in that very small club of people change your life?

NL: It’s incredible to know. My dreams were always to go the Olympics and you don’t ever want to put too high goals of winning a gold medal, but now to know that not only did I win one gold medal but five medals total. It’s incredible to know that you worked so hard and you’ve accomplished your dreams. It also teaches you that you have to set new goals for yourself and kind of achieve those and surpass them. It’s been a great experience and I’m looking forward to setting new goals.

PH: Speaking of new goals, I understand that you have one new television show coming up already, but I understand you are kind of setting your eyes on a career in acting, I take it — or at least on camera work.

NL: I think that it’s fun. I’m pretty comfortable, I guess, on camera. I’ve done some broadcasting, commentating for gymnastics. I love sports. I grew up in the gym and that’ll always be close to my heart. As far as acting, I’ve done a few appearances on “Make It Or Break It,” “Stick It,” the movie…

PH: “Stick It”?

NL: Yeah, it’s a gymnastics movie…

PH: “Gossip Girl.”

NL: Yeah, “Gossip Girl.” Those were a lot of fun, they were very short appearances but still a lot of fun, but if I get the opportunity and the time, yeah, I would love to do it.

PH: So, just to get clear, you’re going to be back on “Make It Or Break It”?

NL: No, I’m already done. I did the two episodes. I did them earlier this season so we’ll see.

PH: They haven’t aired yet?

NL: They have.

PH: They have aired. Okay, I’m sorry.

NL: That’s all right.

PH: When you were on the Olympics, how do you feel about watching yourself on camera at the time? How do you feel you came across when you saw the tapes?

NL: When I’m competing and when I’m commentating it’s completely different. When you’re competing you’re very focused, you’re not really smiling or laughing very much. I know a lot of people say [I] “didn’t have much of a personality” but that’s kind of the way you go when you’re so focused. Commentating is definitely different it shows more of your personality.

1) I was put in a position where I was forced to acknowledge that if this gaggle of hot girls in short skirts had allowed my sister into their ranks, then she too must be considered hot by the masses. Not cool. Nobody likes the idea that other guys are thinking of their sister like that.

2) I was also forced to acknowledge something which I’d long suspected but hadn’t wanted to admit: that my little sister was far more popular than I was. Even less cool.

3) Less important from a social standpoint but arguably most germane to this discussion, a steady stream of cheerleading videos went into rotation on the VCR in our living room. Whether the girls are hot or not, a guy can only stand to watch so many routines in a row before losing his mind, and I hit my maximum threshold pretty quickly.

The end result of these three things was that I quickly lost my interest in watching cheerleaders in action…and the effect was long-lasting: long after high school, I found little interest in films like “Bring It On” and “Sugar and Spice” because, frankly, I’d had enough cheerleading to last me a lifetime. As such, when it was announced that The CW’s fall line-up would featuring a full-fledged cheerleading drama, I reasonably presumed that I’d still be just as uninterested as I’d ever been.

This time around, though, I had a slightly different reaction to watching the cheerleaders. Sure, as a straight male, my instinct was still to unabashedly ogle the hot girls in the short skirts…but as a 40-year-old male, I realized that my daughter is closer in age to the girls than I am, and I felt – quite appropriately – like a dirty old man.

But, c’mon, man, have you seen the star of this show?

I think even the most chaste amongst our readership can concede that Aly Michalka is, quite simply, smokin’, but as history has shown us time and time again, it takes more than a hot girl…more, even, than a squad of hot girls…to make a quality television show.

Is there more to “Hellcats” than just a bunch of pretty faces?

Well, at the very least, there’s more to it than the average non-female viewer will probably want to admit – yes, that’s right, sir, I’m speaking to you – but your appreciation of it will depend heavily on how you approach the material.

“Hellcats” begins by introducing us to Marti Perkins (Michalka), a pre-law student at Lancer College, in Memphis, TN. She’s sexy, as you can plainly see, but she’s so down to earth that she still manages to have a bit of a tomboy thing going on. She also has a wicked wit, a platonic male pal named Dan Patch (Matt Barr), and based on the opening scene of the pilot, a tendency to talk in that fast and furious manner which is favored by the characters on CW series but is rarely witnessed in the real world. Unfortunately, Marti’s mother – played by Gail O’Grady – works at a campus pub and is finding it hard to pay for her daughter’s tuition, forcing Marti go on a quest to find a scholarship in order to continue her education.

Good news: there’s a cheerleading scholarship.

Bad news: the aforementioned opening scene underlines with a big, thick-tipped magic marker the fact that Marti finds cheerleaders to be a repellent form of college life.

Still, Marti knows that her options are limited, and cheerleading seems easy enough, so she decides to give it a go and try out for the team. It’s a decision partially inspired by a loud, tense encounter with Savannah Monroe (Ashley Tisdale), who’s on the squad and finds it insulting that Marti should think so little of the amount of effort, dedication, and skill that goes into being a cheerleader.

Marti thinks it’ll be a snap to turn her dance moves into routines (it isn’t), and Savannah thinks Marti doesn’t have the kind of innate talent it takes to make the team, but (Not Much Of A) Spoiler Alert: Marti does make the team…but not without a bit of work. Vanessa Lodge (Sharon Leal), the former cheerleader who now serves as the coach of the Hellcats, watches Marti awkwardly strut her stuff on the gymnasium floor, but, as is the case with these things, she senses that she’s witnessing a diamond in the rough whose outsider sensibilities might be just the sort of thing they need to expand the horizons of the Hellcats and their routines.

In the end, the tie-breaking vote belongs to Savannah, who – having begrudgingly seen a spark of something in Marti’s moves – decides to embrace the situation, treating Marti like she’s her new best friend. Lewis Flynn (Robbie Jones), one of the few guys on the squad, clearly wants to embrace the situation, too…or, more specifically, Marti. (This will no doubt lead Dan to realize his long-held romantic feelings for her, because, again, that’s how these things go.) Far less thrilled about Marti’s presence is cheerleader Alice Verdura (Heather Hemmens), who dislikes Marti on sight and is just waiting for her to screw up and get the boot from the squad.

Michalka occasionally seems to be trying too hard to find the middle ground between bad-ass and lost lamb, but Tisdale is perfect as the perky Savannah. The number of pretty people amongst the cast makes sense, given the subject matter, but if they don’t find a way to include some folks who look like real college students, they’re liable to find some viewers tuning out because they can’t relate.

It’s hard to hate “Hellcats” for feeling a little cheesy at times, especially when the interactions amongst the cheerleaders tend to be the most fun parts of the show. Indeed, when things veer into the more “adult” material, like Vanessa’s relationship with the new football coach – Red Raymond, played by Jeff Hephner – or Marti’s mom’s past substance-abuse problems, it’s, like, “Hey, wouldja bring back the cheerleaders already?” And why wouldn’t you feel that way? The cheering routines are pretty awesome…and, remember, this is coming from someone who’s been burned out on that kind of thing for a couple of decades now…and, possibly not coincidentally, they’re so perfectly choreographed to the music that you’ll be reminded of “Glee” at times.

This ain’t Shakespeare, people. It’s an hourlong TV series about cheerleaders. Set your standards appropriately, and you might just enjoy it…and if you don’t, then you almost certainly know someone who will.

Like, say, your little sister.