The Evidence
A procedural crime drama airing on ABC and styled loosely on CSI, The Evidence centers on San Francisco police inspectors Sean Cole (Rob Estes) and Cayman Bishop (Orlando Jones). Unlike CSI (in which crack crime-solvers use forensics to thwart criminals) or Numb3rs (in which crack crime-solvers use math to thwart criminals), in The Evidence, crack crime-solvers use evidence to thwart criminals. At the beginning of each episode, the evidence for a particular case is revealed, then gradually explicated. (Ergo, the title, which is not to be confused with that of CBS’s military drama The Unit.) Martin Landau co-stars as Dr. Sol, a wizened specialist; Landau is notable for his performances in Ed Wood and Crimes and Misdemeanors.
The Loop
A single-camera sitcom airing on Fox and styled loosely on Arrested Development, The Loop centers on Sam (Bret Harrison), a twentysomething guy living in Chicago. (Ergo, the title, named after the city’s downtown.) Sam comically attempts to balance a party-hearty lifestyle with his corporate responsibilities, working at an airline. In one recent episode, he winds up in Mexico after a tequila binge, then appears at a board meeting in which he improbably charms stuffy executives while exposing a Magic Marker bra drawn on his chest. Philip Baker Hall co-stars as Russ, Sam’s crusty boss; Hall is notable for his performance as Lt. Bookman, the gruff detective in the Seinfeld episode “The Library.”
The Clap
A slang term for gonorrhea, “the clap” is one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases. The Centers for Disease Control estimates that 700,000 Americans contract it every year, with half of these cases going unreported, even though the disease is easily cured with antibiotics. “The clap” is often thought to be a reference either to Mother Clap, an eighteenth-century London madam, or to the (now discontinued) practice of clearing symptomatic blockages by “clapping” a male patient’s sexual organ. But the likely origin lies in the French word clapier, which means “brothel.” The Clap is also the name of an Irish rock band, notable for having claimed the band name the Clap.
The The
Originally formed in 1979, The The was fronted by Matt Johnson, a singer-songwriter often described as “mercurial.” The band (not to be confused with the Band) was founded during an era when retro-sounding, definitive-article names were popular, as they are today. (Then: the Smiths, the Cure, the Clash; now: the Thrills, the Killers, the Kills.) In 1995, The The released Hanky Panky, an album consisting entirely of cover versions of songs by country singer Hank Williams. The The was essentially a solo project for Johnson, featuring a revolving cast of musicians; notably, soul singer Neneh Cherry, former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr, and shaven-headed vocalist Sinéad O’Connor.