How can viewers tell it's midseason? By the attack of the reality shows, of course.

	Beaver County native Amber Brkich Mariano, right, and husband Rob Mariano take on reality TV once more in Fox Reality Channel's "Rob and Amber: Against the Odds." Click photo for larger image.

The broadcast networks went light on reality shows in the fall, but they're back with a vengeance now. The CW premiered a new season of "Beauty and the Geek" Wednesday night. NBC debuts "Grease: You're the One That I Want" at 8 p.m. Sunday.

But for local "Survivor" and "Amazing Race" fans/haters, there's one reality show to cheer/jeer more than any other: "Rob and Amber: Against the Odds" (8 p.m. Thursday). The show airs on Fox Reality, a network now carried on local Comcast systems (Channel 118 in most areas).

Improbable though it may seem, this reality show's camera crew just happened to be inside the Marianos' Florida home and captured the moment when, while they were brushing their teeth in the bathroom, Rob decided to spring the idea on Amber that he'd like to move to Las Vegas and become a professional poker player.

Amber seems genuinely and believably upset when they discuss the prospect of gambling in Vegas, 30 minutes after Rob drops the bomb.

"Come on," she says. "I know you're good, but don't give yourself that much credit."

Rob says he can't go back to a "9-to-5 job after what I've been through in the past five years," but Amber actually stands her ground. For a while anyway. She calls her father in Beaver County. She says he and her mom used to host poker nights, but Amber still seems surprised when he takes Rob's side of the argument, saying, "I think it's great!"

This makes Amber waver. Rob's condescension ("You're gonna have to make up your own mind on this") is all it takes to make her fold and start packing her bags for Vegas.

Previews for upcoming episodes show more disharmony in their forged-on-reality-TV union.

"I don't trust you," Amber says to Rob in one clip while wearing a Beaver T-shirt. And later, "You act like you're [expletive] Brad Pitt, movie star. You're a reality TV star. Get over yourself."

Look at our little Amber, getting a backbone. Way to go!

But then I noticed something in the end credits: Rob is an executive producer on the show. Amber is not. Once again, maybe the ultimate scheming "Survivor" puppet master is pulling the strings in an attempt to buff up his bride's image.

'Apprentice' makeover

NBC's "The Apprentice" gets rebooted Sunday with a 90-minute episode that begins at 9:30 p.m. (Its regular time slot will be 9 p.m. Sunday starting Jan. 14.)

Despite moving the show's setting from New York to Los Angeles, there's not a whole lot changed in the "Apprentice" format. Blustery host Donald Trump returns, although he's replaced boardroom sidekicks George and Carolyn with daughter Ivanka. And now the week's winning project manager gets to weigh in on which member of the opposing team should be fired.

The premiere begins nauseatingly enough with what looks like a staged phone call from Trump in New York to his wife in Los Angeles. The sound of a baby's cooing, supposedly Trump's son, has been added to the audio mix.

"I love L.A.!" ol' puffy eyes screams at viewers.

Trump and family rent a mansion next to a home housing the "Apprentice" contestants. He even watches out a window as they complete their first task, assembling a tent in the back yard.

"Frank, keep your voice down," Trump yells at one of the contestants in what appears to be another staged shot.

If you like "The Apprentice," I suppose you'll like this latest edition, but with so much of it feeling so manufactured these days, no one could blame former fans if they quit.

Lifetime gets into reality act

Not to be outdone, Lifetime premieres its own new reality show at 8 p.m. Monday.

The good news: Each episode is only a half-hour, a much more desirable length than so many bloated reality hours.

The bad news: It may be the cheapest reality show ever. The whole thing looks like it was filmed in an afternoon in the back yard of the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza hotel in Century City, Calif.

As for the content, it's another series, like NBC's "Identity," that seeks to debunk stereotypes after spending most of its running time reinforcing them.

"Gay, Straight or Taken?" tests a woman who must choose among three guys: One gay, one straight, one with a girlfriend. If she chooses the straight, unattached guy, they win a vacation together. If she chooses the gay or taken guy, the guy she chooses gets the vacation with his partner.

In the premiere, 27-year-old real estate agent Jenner must choose among 32-year-old bartender Luciano, 25-year-old club promoter Mike and 34-year-old personal trainer Chris.

Jenner trots out all the familiar stereotypes while talking herself through her pick -- Mike's car is neat and he has a lot of clothes in it, he must be gay! -- and in the end, they prove mostly useless in her efforts to guess correctly. The best that can be said of "Gay, Straight or Taken?" is that it's all over quickly.

E! bites hand that feeds

If you miss "Celebrity Deathmatch," you'll be thrilled with the new E! series "Starveillance" (10:30 tonight), a claymation series that spoofs stars of all stripes.

A finished episode was not available for review, but several sketches were, and they're viciously funny. In one, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen go apartment shopping in New York.

"Oh, she's fat," the dark-haired Olsen twin says of the Statue of Liberty, glimpsed out the apartment window. "You know what's a good diet? Gum."

In other sketches, Barbara Walters and Star Jones Reynolds are imagined together in couples therapy. And Jennifer Lopez is shown in a meeting about her new perfume. Lopez, who continues to proclaim herself "Jenny from the block," wants the fragrance to smell like the block.

At times ribald, often pointed and sometimes just silly, "Starveillance" should amuse die-hard pop culture junkies.

Channel surfing

As expected, Fox has canceled "The O.C." Its series finale will air Feb. 22. ... Megan Mullally's low-rated syndicated talk-variety show was yanked after less than five months. Original and repeat episodes of the show will air through January. ... WPMY will have a new afternoon lineup Monday of "Dr. Keith Ablow" at 3 p.m., "Cristina's Court" at 4 p.m. and "Divorce Court" at 5 p.m. ... Doug Besser, a local factory manager, will be a hot seat contestant on "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" Tuesday and Wednesday at 1 p.m. on WPXI.

TV Q&A and TIJ

The TV Q&A is on hiatus this week, as is the Tuned In Journal. Both return next week as Tuned In Journal offers additional coverage of the Television Critics Association winter press tour from Pasadena, Calif.