For personal reasons, spy series have always intrigued me. And we've seen that humor can mix with espionage (see Burn Notice). So why is Chaos neither intriguing nor funny?

For one, it's just too cute. Like the main character, fresh-faced CIA newbie Rick Martinez (Freddy Rodriguez), the entire pilot is overeager. It's trying too hard to be funny, which has the effect of making it painfully not funny. For example, I gather that we're supposed to be amused that we're talking about Clandestine Administration and Oversight Services, because we can call it CHAOS, which is also the title o...

CBS’s new show Chaos is a comedy CIA adventure. Agent Martinez (Freddy Rodriguez) joins the Office of Disruptive Services and goes on crazy international adventures. In the very first episode, he has to eat a scorpion.

“It was a real scorpion,” Rodriguez said. “I had a slight anxiety attack, to be honest, and then I got over it. Then I asked [director] Brett Ratner to hold it. I would do it if he would hold it, and he refused, and we had an exchange. After a while I got over it, and it was fun.”

Consider it the first of many adventures in Chaos. “When I read the script, there were so ma...

After spending time getting to know FOX on Tuesday, I handled three networks a few days later. Friday at the TCAs (Television Critics Association) was devoted to CBS and its two sister networks, Showtime and The CW. All three brought their midseason shows, as well as executive sessions and a CW panel devoted to the "kick-ass" women of their various series. Here's the dish from the Eye and beyond:

CBS Executive Session

CBS President of Entertainment Nina Tassler was on the hot seat Friday morning. She was quizzed on CBS' emphasis on legal and procedural shows- what with three CSI's, two NC...