Dirt, not unlike the magazine rack

January seems to be the month for the cable networks to introduce all their new shows or begin the new season of old shows.

Dirt is the FX submission. The only pre-show hype I initially paid attention to was Carly Pope's introduction as the lesbian informant "Garbo" by episode three. (Pope was great as "Sam" in the short-lived Popular.) Though the critics were throwing around negative adjectives like confetti even before the new year. After watching the pilot Monday night, I'm intrigued and impressed. The world of tabloid editing in Los Angeles looks glamorous when helmed by Courtney Cox and parade of writers who look more like actors than the kids you sat next to in journalism class. All of the characters on both sides of the camera are desperate for vindication and will go to extremes to get what they want. Maybe I'm so far removed from "Hollywood" that it is easier for me to see the fiction in it all. The part of the show that most impressed me was the surrealism surrounding the schizophrenic photographer. The cinematography was beautiful when it was raining blood and the show put on by pill bottles destined to be cast in a Blue Man Group show.

Dirt airs Tuesday on FX and repeats several times throughout the week.