'Saved' may be beyond redemption

TNT had a surprise hit last summer with “The Closer,” which returns for its second season Monday. The basic cable network is counting on those viewers to stay tuned for the new paramedic drama “Saved” (10 p.m. Monday).

Perhaps they will, but “Saved” doesn’t offer much reason to tune in. It’s not atrocious, just sort of bland — the kind of show we’ve watched a million times before.

Producers try to add some grit by having lead character Wyatt Cole (Tom Everett Scott) use profanity and playfully give his partner, John “Sack” Hallon (Omari Hardwick), the middle finger.

Wyatt is an EMT by day, gambler by night who’s $10,000 in debt to his flamboyant bookie. Naturally, he’s a smart aleck who taunts the guy he beats at cards, leading to a fight, which results in Tom having to check his attacker’s injuries.

“Call 911!” the guy says.

“Hey (not a nice word),” Wyatt snaps, “You need a road map? I am 911!”

Wyatt’s dad (David Clennon) is a doc who wants to see his son go back to medical school, and Wyatt does consider it, but usually he can be heard bragging to docs, “We do everything you do — we just do it at 60 mph.”

Since his debut in “That Thing You Do,” Scott has been a likable actor in search of the perfect role. He certainly gets Wyatt’s sympathetic bedside manner down pat, but when Wyatt’s acting tough or obnoxious or self-destructive (which is most of the time), the character seems too well-constructed. He seems like a TV character, not a flesh-and-blood person.

Blame the script by series creator David Manson, which also indulges in TV-cute plots, like the mentally ill patient who steals an ambulance. Wyatt and Sack laugh like hyenas and there’s never any consequence. Only on TV.

'Tuesday Night Book Club;

Call it “The Real Housewives of Scottsdale.” This rip-off of Bravo’s “The Real Housewives of Orange County” is one of the more awful projects to hit CBS in years.

Though “Tuesday Night Book Club” (10 p.m. Tuesday) looks like a reality show and claims to be the story of real women who meet once a week to discuss a book and their lives, it’s way over-produced.

It’s telling that CBS never calls it a reality show in its press notes, instead referring to it as a “real-life drama” and insisting the women are real as are the situations in their lives. But the camera placement and lighting sure seem staged.

If you’re entertained by a bunch of ill-behaved exhibitionist women and the men who make them cry, join the “Club.” Otherwise, read a book.