Embarrassing Foibles Caught on ‘RedHanded’

Just when you thought TV couldn’t get worse. . . .

Hoping to exploit the caught-on-tape fad that’s popular in some TV circles, UPN is putting on the air a half-hour titled “RedHanded” that it says will appeal to males watching the preceding “Dilbert.”

The problem is that “Dilbert” is smart, and “RedHanded” is not merely low-brow, but no-brow as it lamely pursues laughs by using hidden cameras on subjects--tonight’s are male--said to be unaware that their embarrassing foibles are being videotaped.

The first subject is a guy whose girlfriend says he steals everything in sight from hotel rooms he stays in. So “RedHanded” checked the couple into a ritzy hotel, says narrator Adam Carolla, stocked their room with items the guy “couldn’t resist” and had his girlfriend record his petty thievery with a hidden camera.

Of course, he comes through on cue, with Carolla supplying a fatuous running commentary. But . . . if this is on the level, didn’t the guy wonder--duh!--why he and his girlfriend were getting this hotel freebie? If you’re skeptical, you should be.

The second subject is outraged when someone messes with his car, and the third is caught on tape peeping at a curvy woman (hired by the show) trying on clothes in a store dressing room whose curtain has been pulled back just enough so that he can get a glimpse.

Not only is this Erik Nelson production witless and incredibly banal, tonight’s third segment is repulsively tasteless, with Carolla making a male anatomy reference, a “bamboo” reference about Connie Chung’s ethnicity, and a diaper reference about a gray-haired woman.

Plus, he says about the palooka watching the woman undress: “Personally, I think this guy deserves some kind of award. My pants would be down by now.” The show isn’t wearing any.

* “RedHanded” premieres at 8:30 tonight on UPN. The network has rated it TV-PG (may be unsuitable for young children).