'Game of Thrones' drama nearly sunk by rampant sadism

Indeed, the scientists are becoming quite confused about what’s going on around them. “I’m feeling slightly insane,” says Dr. Blake (Salli Richardson-Whitfield), “but otherwise peachy.”

That insane-yet-peachy feeling — also experienced by viewers — is one of Eureka’s greatest accomplishments.

Richard Hammond’s Crash Course (9pm Mon, BBC America)

I adore the British version of gearhead reality series. The hosts are witty and urbane — words that don’t usually apply to the American TV gearhead. (See: James, Jesse.)

Take Richard Hammond, who branches out from the amusing Top Gear with the new Crash Course. Here, Hammond travels the U.S. to master our most dangerous machines. This week he signs on with an Oregon logging operation, which teaches him to operate three tree-processing contraptions with deadly moving parts. Hammond approaches the task with self-deprecating humor, offering a stream of wry analogies. “This is like putting a knife in a cutlery drawer!” he says while loading a newly cut tree onto a massive stack.

I suspect it’s the first time the word “cutlery” has ever been used in an Oregon logging camp.

The L.A. Complex (8pm Tue, CW)

In this new drama, budding comedians, dancers, musicians, and actors live and love in a low-rent apartment complex while pursuing their Hollywood dreams. They’re tempted by drugs, sex, and selling out as deafening music throbs on the soundtrack.

Unfortunately, it’s not deafening enough to completely drown out the dialogue. Here’s an example, delivered with a straight face by one of the budding actors: “You can give everything you have here and it might not be enough!”

The only way a premise this clichéd could work is if 1) the execution is irresistibly ironic, 2) the actors are irresistibly talented, or 3) the actors are irresistibly good looking.

Forget about #1 and #2. I might tune in again for #3, but only if the music gets a bit louder.