Between its extreme lighting, its larger-than-life judges and the manufactured urgency of its competition, it's a huge target just waiting to be satirized. Too bad, then, that the pitiful effort of "The WB Superstar USA," a seven-episode series that premiered Monday, fails miserably in that regard. Of course, since only the chronically desperate would try out for such a contest, "The WB Superstar USA" posed as a real talent hunt, enabling it to attract (and dupe) throngs of eager young contestants in city after city.

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