'Set for Life': A No-Brainer

In a TV season that has brought us "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?," "National Bingo Night" and "Show Me the Money," the dumbing-down of the game show continues unabated with tonight's premiere of ABC's "Set for Life."

As ABC admits in its own news release: "This show does not require skill." What this torturous hour of programming does require, for the viewer anyway, is plenty of patience and perhaps a six-pack of Red Bull.

Here's the premise: Contestants randomly choose among 15 light sticks that sit on a stage, which is ominously dubbed the "Circle of Fate." Eleven light sticks are white. That's good! Four of them are red. Baaad!

Pick a white light and your prize money -- what the show refers to as your "monthly paycheck" -- increases. Pick a red light and your wages dwindle.

Pick four reds and "you're dead," says show host Jimmy Kimmel, who looks as though he'd rather be dead than gigging here for the network that carries his late-night chat show.

Each contestant also has a "guardian angel," who sits in an isolation booth and, at any time, can stop the action if a player seems in danger of blowing his dough.

For Kimmel, the real question is: Does he really need this job?

Unlike Howie Mandel, whose flagging career was revived with the NBC hit "Deal or No Deal," Kimmel is enjoying success with his often-hilarious "Jimmy Kimmel Live." He's also done some high-profile moonlighting lately, including last week's ESPY Awards on ESPN, winning critical praise for his "Did he really say that?" one-liners.

Kimmel will survive this, as "Set for Life" should be a distant memory by the end of summer. And before you know it, we can start really thinking during our game shows when a new season of "Deal or No Deal" begins.

Set for Life (one hour) debuts tonight at 8 on Channel 7.