Shaq = Good. Shaq Vs. Show = Bad.

This is what happens when your favorite baseball team is completely out of it in late August. You start flipping through the channels on the remote and land on shows you would otherwise never have even wandered near. Such was the case last night. The show? Shaq Vs., on the venerable Fox broadcasting network. Where to begin…

For those catching up, Vs. (as we shall henceforth abbreviate it) is a “reality show” of sorts during which Shaquille O’Neal will challenge other professional athletes to competitions in which each athlete goes up against the other in their respective sports. Case in point, last night’s episode featured Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. The two played an intense game of H-O-R-S-E and then a simulated, strange and completely unnatural football “game” in Ambridge, PA (where the town treated the staged awkward scrimmage like the Super Bowl). That, though, is neither here nor there.

So, how was it? Overall? Pretty bad. OK, very bad. Now, as someone who spends the majority of his time in marketing, I always try to remind myself to consider the audience. In this case, who is FOX really trying to reach? Who do they envision to be the weekly repeat viewers of this show? Because, if it is me (the somewhat “serious” sports fan), this one is going to be a colossal fail. All those things said, Vs. undoubtedly confirms at least one thing: Shaq is hugely entertaining.

The big guy is witty, camera-friendly and seemingly comfortable in any and every situation. His simple game of H-O-R-S-E with Big Ben was mildly amusing if only for the humorous banter between the players outside of the typical element we’re used to viewing them. Shaq running through NFL combine-style drills also worked. The rest of the show – from the announcers and set more befitting of a cheesy commercial for Just for Men to the drawn 0ut football game sequence and even Charissa Thompson — it was all just…AWKWARD.

Now, again, stuff that typically makes me feel this way – uncomfortable, stupid and wondering who on Earth could find anything remotely redeeming – occasionally tend to be wildly successful (see: The Real Housewives on NYC). So, who knows…