On Monday, a new television show will be introduced to the Calvin community. ``Scholar Follies,'' a comic variety show, will premier on CVN as well as GRTV. The show features a live band and some energetic hosts, and is taped in front of a live audience each week. It is entirely different from anything Calvin has seen before.

The show's creator and producer is senior Adam Mellema. Other participants include co-hosts Damon Shearer and Morgan Foster, as well as style guru Beth Gunnink and director Steve Zaagman. The band, ``Davy Tyson and the Orchids,'' is led by (surprise!) Davy Tyson. With a staff including more than 25 Calvin students, ``Scholar Follies'' is a much more concerted effort than the typical CVN fare.

The idea for the show came almost four years ago, when Mellema was a freshman. He noticed that Calvin was producing little television of its own, and started wondering what it would take to produce a really stellar show that Calvin students would want to watch. Together with some friends of his, he developed some ideas for the show and even went so far as to draw up some story boards and tentative scripts. But at the end of the year he moved to Chicago and the idea for the show was dropped for the time being.

Two years later, when he returned to Calvin, Mellema decided to dust off the story boards and revive the idea. He began to recruit writers, staff members and talent to host the show, as well as some sponsors to help support it. Student Senate provided part of the financial means for the production, but other sponsors are involved, and some of the staff have even made personal investments in the project to help get it off the ground. ``Scholar Follies'' is the result.

The show is only a half-hour long, but this length was chosen for specific reasons. Since it will air on CVN Sunday nights right after LOFT, when no one really feels like writing a paper or studying for a midterm, the idea is that every student should be able to spare the time to watch it. This goes along with the show's slogan, ``We're not studying!''

``It's kind of like, `work your way back into studying with us,''' Shearer said. ``The half-hour time length works really well for that.''

In addition, according to Mellema and the cast, the main emphasis in putting the show together is on creating a quality production more than goofing off for long periods of time.

``The quality is outstanding,'' Gunnink says. And Shearer agrees, ``This is the most professionally put-together show this campus has seen.''

The cast includes writers, lighting technicians, sound people, and a ``talent coordinator,'' among others. Having different people specialize in each area means that each person gets to focus on their particular job. Unlike the typical amateur effort wherein the same three people are trying to write, act, direct, and worry about technical issues, the cast and crew of ``Scholar Follies'' functions like a professional show.

``Most of us have these types of careers in mind,'' says Mellema, ``so we've worked really hard to create that atmosphere on the set.''

So far, two episodes have been taped. At the second taping, the audience was brought down to the ``studio'' fifteen minutes before the show was scheduled to begin. Mellema riled up the crowd by tossing out a pair of candy bars. His passion for the show, as well as his confidence in the overall product, was apparent in his interaction with the crowd. He introduced the show as ``the only show that tries to suck on purpose.''

This sums up the show's attitude; they do not take themselves too seriously. The backdrop behind the host's desk, which is supposed to be the city of Grand Rapids, is nothing more than a large sheet of blue paper with magic marker lettering. In this way, ``Scholar Follies'' seems to subtlety poke fun at the standard late-night talk show.

The band appeared just minutes before Foster made his way to the stage. The punk rock band, led by Tyson on guitar, excited the crowd with music both before the show and leading into the breaks. Foster made his appearance after the band's introduction and the first segment quickly followed.

Throughout the thirty minutes that the program lasted, the cast of the show introduced segment after segment. Most of these will become weekly staples on the show, from the engaged couple of the week (who remain on stage for the entire show after briefly telling their story), to the celebrity look-alike of the week. At this particular taping, ``Russell Crowe'' graced us with his presence. This was possibly the weakest segment in the show; it was simply unable to hold its weight for the time it was assigned.

Overall, however, there was more laughter than awkwardness. The interaction between Foster and Shearer has a lot of potential. On this particular show, Shearer entertained the audience as well as Foster with the story of his mother's gambling addiction. Later in the show, Foster introduced ``Gramma,'' who will take the audience on adventures every week in a video segment.

The show will also have segment every week devoted to interviewing a guest; at the most recent taping it was history professor Dan Miller. He was sporting Amish attire, which reveals that even the ``esteemed guest'' can let loose if they so choose. After all, the show's theme is ``We're not studying!''

There were definite sparks of comic chemistry between Foster and Shearer. However, as of yet ``Scholar Follies'' lacked some of the spontaneous humor that a show with this format needs. Much of the show is prewritten. According to Mellema, this could change as the cast settles in and finds a groove. If given a little time to develop, the show could be quite successful.

That's exactly what Mellema is hoping for. With potential contracts in the works with bigger-name networks PAX and UPN, there is significant incentive to work towards improvement and keep the show as professional as possible.

``That's definitely a goal of ours,'' said Mellema, ``and big motivation to keep the quality level high.''

If the networks like what they see after this season, they may purchase 14 episodes as a season to be aired next fall. While Mellema, Shearer, Foster and others involved with the show will be graduating this spring, they hope to see it taken up by other enthusiastic Calvin students and continued.

In the meantime, this season promises to be a lot of fun. With themed shows such as ``Renounce Satan'' and ``Wonka,'' there are a lot of surprises and laughs in store.

Tapings of the show will take place each Saturday in the Commons Lecture Hall at 12:30 pm, and everyone is invited to attend. In addition, there will be a premier party in the Cave at 9 pm on Monday. There will be prizes, giveaways, and guest appearances by the ``Scholar Follies'' cast. For more information on the show, the cast, or sponsorship opportunities, see www.scholarfollies.com.