Hey, if I created a reality show called “The TV Watchers Club,” and the cast spent half of the first episode talking about movies, not television, would that make any sense?
    
Then why does the first episode of AMC’s new unscripted show “Comic Book Men” spend so much time talking about horror movies or “The Six Million Dollar Man,” the 1970s television show with the non-Stone Cold version of Steve Austin?
    
Indeed, as an avid comic book fan, this is an annoyance with comic book stores in general. Too often, a comic book store advertises itself as such, but the store also houses gaming, movie and television merchandise and so many other divergent media that the proper classification would be something like niche pop culture store, not comic book store.
    
Since director Kevin Smith owns the place, it makes sense that Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash in Red Bank, N.J. would have Smith memorabilia everywhere. But the way customers casually walk in and try to sell stuff like a doll of Chuckie from the movie “Child’s Play” suggests that the store is more of an all-purpose junk store.
    
With that major complaint out of the way, “Comic Book Men” shows a glimpse of promise. Smith just owns the store. He chats with the others in a podcast session spliced throughout the episode, but most of the show focuses on the store regulars: manager Walt, employees Mike and Ming and frequent customer Bryan.
    
The first episode provides an interesting mix of activity for the group. A few scenes showcase the group gawking over some prized item someone just brought in, a la the series “Pawn Stars.” Note: I never got the allure of “Pawn Stars.” It is so boring to watch people detail the minutiae of random old junk and then pretend like they are the greatest hagglers in the world by always trying to go cheaper than the price a seller asks.
   
 These segments definitely have some bogus haggling scenes that are supposed to be dramatic but only come off as dull. However, seeing customers, so sure they have something expensive to sell, have their hopes dashed is darkly entertaining, especially when they come off testy or aggressive, like the guy who brings in “Dawn of the Dead” memorabilia. He asks for $1,000 and is told what he has is worth much less than that.
    
But whenever someone brings in anything, the store employees usually launch into boring banter about that bit of pop culture to the annoyance of the customer and the audience. When a guy brings in the Steve Austin action figure, Walt leaps into a monologue about how much he loved the show, and which specific episode he loved the most. Meanwhile, the customer’s expression yells, “I don’t care, man. Do you want to buy this or not?” This reaction is so utterly obvious that it is bizarre the producers even showed the customers’ faces to begin with.
    
Perhaps the most fun of the first episode is a challenge from Walt to his employees — and perennially present customer Bryan — to sell merchandise at a local flea market. Whoever comes back with the most sold will get two weekends off in a row. Bryan, here, quickly becomes the show’s breakout star, with his quick wit and wild selling techniques. When talking to his friends at the comic book shop, he comes off as shy, saying he hates dealing with people. But really, he hates dealing with people, and he does not care what they think either.
    
When one person passes his table, saying she’ll come back later, he says directly to her that she won’t. “They never come back,” he says, frankly. Later, a woman, obviously unaware of what kind of merchandise Bryan is selling, asks about a bread maker. Bryan says she can put bread on this collector’s plate. When she does not say anything, he smashes the plate to the ground in front of her, saying he does not care about the merchandise; he is just trying to make a sale. What this means is a little obtuse, but it is priceless when another flea market seller comes over and admonishes him.
    
“Comic Book Men” could stand to focus more on scenarios like sending the gang out to sell merchandise in a different environment. It is fun to see the personalities interact with outside elements. The show is at its most boring and eye-rollingly juvenile when it’s just a group of guys in a room, arguing over who is the hottest scantily clad heroine in comics. Just because stereotypes exist does not mean you have to make them come true.


— Robby O’Daniel is a graduate student in communications. He can be reached at rodaniel@utk.edu.