I'd be a hypocrite to say television is bad for you; it's a wondrous tool for spreading news, culture and, yes, entertainment. My reviews are on television, so it can't be all bad, right? Well, if you believe Theresa Rebeck's amusing but shallow satire, "Our House," the idiot box is turning everyone, from studio executives to viewers, into killers.

"Our House," slickly directed by Michael Mayer with a zesty cast, unfolds in split screen. On one side we watch tyrannical head of programming Wes, played by the deliciously apoplectic Christopher Evan Welch.

Wes is infatuated with the luscious reporter Jennifer, played by Morena Baccarin, a sexy but vapid newscaster who cares more about wardrobe than journalism. Wes is hellbent on making the news division of his network profitable, like the reality-TV shows he pumps into America's living rooms.

We also follow the domestic disharmony of a St. Louis household of twentysomethings. Their angst revolves around the worst housemate in the world, Marv, played to smarmy slacker perfection by Jeremy Strong. Marv stares at the boob tube all day, eating everyone's food and never paying rent. Not your typical couch potato, Marv is an educated loser, watching garbage that he knows is garbage.

I don't want to give too much away, but these two worlds merge when Marv goes ballistic, and Jennifer's pretty nose for news and self promotion perks up. Theresa Rebeck is one of our sharpest satirical writers with a pitch-black sense of humor, but she doesn't seem to know what to do with her ingredients. She scripts outrageous tantrums and provocative speeches, but in the end offers little that wasn't already said 33 years ago in Paddy Chayefsky's "Network."

Rebeck has produced and written for a number of television series over the last seven years, including "Law And Order," and maybe has a more nuanced view of the medium's impact on society, but it's not evident from "Our House." If all she offers is a rerun of old attitudes, is it any wonder we'll change channels?