It used to be that once every so often a show would surface that was so ill-conceived that you would lose the ability to speak as to it’s sheer horribility. Sadly these instances are becoming far too common. We’ve all had our Live From Planet Earth‘s… but now we’re buying in mistakes too! This show is taking D-grade celebrity more than a step too far, and not even celebrating anything other than man’s inhumanity to television watchers.

Some may say we are a product of that we watch, and we deserve what we’re spoonfed. A hearty “NAY!”, say I. This attempt at a mockery of a replica of a television show is surely a breach of the Geneva convention such that if you do attempt to watch the show, by the second break you’ll be pleading for the waterboarding to start and the TV to be turned off.

And I don’t think even that lambasting does this show any justice. DO. NOT. WATCH. THIS. SHOW. Get the point? From the press relase:

Same Name, an engaging new series about trading places where celebrities swap lives with ordinary people who have the same name, premieres Wednesday, August 31, at 7.30pm on Channel Nine.

Each week a different celebrity will fly to the home of their namesake, who shows the celebrity around before handing over the house keys. The celebrity will move into their namesake’s place, take care of their kids, work their job, meet their friends, take on all the family responsibilities – and even sleep next to the wife or husband.

From working on a high-voltage transformer to changing nappies at 3.00am, each celebrity will get a first-hand look at what life is like as a regular Joe or Josephine who just happens to have the same name.

In the premiere episode Baywatch’s David Hasselhoff exchanges his glamorous Los Angeles lifestyle with 27-year-old David Haselhoff from Texas. Other celebrities include comedienne Kathy Griffin, American footballer Reggie Bush, and Mike Tyson, the former world heavyweight boxing champion.

Meanwhile the namesake trades places with the celebrity and heads off to Hollywood to indulge in the lifestyle of the rich and famous – from mansions and parties to VIP seats and pampering wherever they go. But sometimes life in the fast lane has its own problems. Dealing with agents and pushy reporters and enduring gruelling workouts to keep fit shows the glamour life isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be.

After living the heady Hollywood life our everyday namesakes come home to reunite with the family, trade stories and find out how their celebrity counterparts are handling being a plain working guy or gal. But before the celebrities return to their high-profile lives they will reveal a surprise that might just help their namesakes achieve a goal or a dream of their own.

For the celebrities, it’s a chance to escape their fishbowl existence and walk a mile in someone else’s shoes. Stripped of the credit cards and fancy cars, do they find the grass any greener in ordinary everyday land? And for their unsung counterparts, it’s a rare opportunity to cash in on the benefits of sharing a famous name that can become an annoying burden throughout life.

How will the stars and the stand-ins handle the swap? Find out each week when a new celebrity comes face to face with a person who has the Same Name.

Same Name: Wednesday, August 31 at 7.30pm on Nine