For I Can Do That, NBC rounded up a bunch of B-list and C-list celebrities and asked them to do acts that would be at home on America’s Got Talent. Based on that description alone, you’d think the show is going to be terrible. In a pleasant surprise, it’s not because NBC took a competition show and made it not about the competition. A more accurate description of I Can Do That would be a Whose Line is it Anyway? version of America’s Got Talent.
At its core, I Can Do That fails at being a competition because the six celebrities get to choose a new partner for a different act each week, so they’re competing against each other while needing to work together. Considering, they are all out of their comfort zone having the celebrities change partners is a great way to establish that they are all friends enjoying the show. It’s a terrible way to convince everyone that this is a show that wants to be taken seriously, which isn’t an issue since I Can Do That admits it wants to be silly. This is a show that featured the Harlem Globetrotters, Pen and Teller, and a group called The Quiddlers, who are average size men pretending to be little people dancing in costume and will feature the Blue Man Group in an upcoming episode. If I Can Do That went any further down the rabbit hole, you’d think Conan O’Brien drugged his writers and created this.
Even though the celebrities are in various states of having the public not care about them, Cheryl Burke, Ciara, Joe Jonas, Nicole Scherzinger, comedian Jeff Dye, and Alan Ritchson are likeable people and clearly love the show. Cheryl just wants to have fun whether its with the Harlem Globetrotters or the Jabbawockeez. Ciara, Joe Jonas, and Nicole Scherzinger are having fun, but they seem to be a little overwhelmed by the wackiness, whereas Jeff Dye eats it up. Whenever Dye sees an act he believes he really can’t do he doesn’t attempt to be chosen for it, says, “I can’t do that” and makes jokes about his complete lack of talent in anything other than comedy. Alan Ritchson serves as Dye’s foil and is a funny guy with a nice pack of abs that causes the other contests to pressure him into doing the acts that require someone to be incredibly in shape.
I Can Do That serves as light summer entertainment. It succeeds in everyway. While the show isn’t something I want to see on NBC’s winter schedule, six one-hour episodes aired during the summer after America’s Got Talent is the perfect spot for it. If you didn’t want to watch the show because the concept sounds stupid, I suggest you reconsider because the show is ridiculous in a good way.
Rating: 9 out of 10
I Can Do That Airs every Tuesday Night on NCBC
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Allison Lips is the Founder of Wait! What’s a Dial?, a television blog that showcases the writing of millennials. Allison graduated from Rowan University in May 2013. She has a passion for TV history, especially late night and game shows. If she could go back in time, Steve Allen would still be hosting The Tonight Show. Follow her on Twitter @waitwaitsadial.
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