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Charm, Humor Of Radio's 'Car Talk' Brothers Lost On Rickety New Animated PBS Series

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By WALT BELCHER

The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 9, 2008

You would think that the playful personalities of National Public Radio stars Tom and Ray Magliozzi, aka Click and Clack, would translate to television.

They conquered radio long ago. Their weekly "Car Talk" is broadcast on more than 600 stations and averages 4.3 million listeners.

They have a successful Web site

( www.cartalk.com), a strong merchandising and publishing operation, and a syndicated newspaper column.

But the Cambridge, Mass., brothers just haven't found the right TV vehicle for their talents.

Sadly, their new PBS television series is a clunker in need of an overhaul. And we had such high hopes for "Click & Clack's As the Wrench Turns."

Unfortunately, turning the Magliozzi boys into cartoon characters just doesn't cut it.

On radio, their engineering expertise, delivered with clever banter, self-deprecating humor and those Boston accents, takes the mystery out of automobile mechanics.

Every Saturday morning, people throughout the nation call in to "Car Talk" seeking answers about what is causing the squeaks, squeals, groans, clanks or rattles coming from their cars.

Tom and Ray, owners of the Good News Garage, grads of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and purveyors of bad puns, joke their way through each diagnosis.

All this has been lost on the PBS show. The animated versions of the guys make them look silly and much younger. In real life, Ray is 59 and Tom is 71.

As cartoon characters, they have been transformed into loopy garage owners with a struggling public radio show. They keep trying to find goofy ways to keep their series funded so they won't have to actually run a garage.

In the premiere episode, which debuts Saturday morning in the Bay area, they both run for president on the platform "Because America Needs Repair." Their scheme is to funnel unspent campaign funds back into their network.

It comes off just a little better than a kids show, which may be why Tampa's WEDU, Channel 3, has opted to air it at 8 a.m. on Saturdays. Nationally, PBS is debuting it at 8 tonight as its first animated prime time comedy.

During the six-week run of the series, one episode features the brothers' attempts to develop a fuel-efficient car that runs on pasta. Another is about a robotic car-repair device that inadvertently causes massive power failures.

In other episodes, they outsource their radio program to India and open a casino after erroneously believing that they have American Indian blood.

Each episode carries a well-meaning message, such as: Don't use cell phones while driving. Or: Give up that gas guzzler to help the environment.

The brothers have joked that PBS was the only network that would take a chance on the show, which has been in development for more than seven years. "Click & Clack's As the Wrench Turns" was turned down by Fox, the Cartoon Network, HBO, Showtime, Bravo, ABC and Lifetime (50 percent of the "Car Talk" audience is female).

For information, go to pbs.org. "Car Talk" airs at 10 a.m. Saturdays on WUSF, 89.7 FM.

TUNE IN TONIGHT

Nova scienceNow, 9 p.m.,

WEDU, Channel 3

One of the stories on this science magazine show is about University of Florida paleontologist Jonathan Bloch's search for the pre-primate missing link.

Scare Tactics, 10 p.m., Sci Fi Channel

Tracy Morgan, of "30 Rock," is the new host of this reality show that tries to frighten people through elaborate hoaxes and pranks.

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