Pettigrew, Kutcher spice up the small screen

Freshness and variety are the spice on TV, so we’re happy to note that some relatively new talents are making waves and catching viewers’ attention this season:

First off, on the innovative game and quiz show, “Cash Cab,” quizmaster and taxi driver, Oli Pettigrew, is exciting televiewers and contestants alike. He’s young, personable, an entertaining ad-libber, knows how to bring the best out of different kinds of “passengers,” and keeps his program lively and eventful from start to finish. What more can a viewer ask for?

It turns out that “Cash Cab” is Oli’s second TV program. For a couple of seasons now, he’s been hosting the “Sony Lifestyle” show, which has just been retitled and spruced up.

In that other show, which has a magazine format, Oli does features on new Sony products and other interesting and trendy “lifestyle” topics. Given its “sponsored” orientation, the program is less of a fun viewing trip, but Oli’s performance in it is similarly lively and winning.

Replacement

On “Two and a Half Men,” Charlie Sheen’s replacement, Ashton Kutcher, is turning out to be a ratings-booster, so the good news is that he’s more than squeaked through his baptism of fire on TV.

On the other hand, the actor has been the subject of a “kiss and tell” magazine interview with one of his flings, which has further heated up already scorching speculations about his dicey marital union with Demi Moore, who’s more than a decade older than him.

Kutcher definitely doesn’t need the attendant controversy when he’s trying to firm up his credentials as the TV season’s hottest comer, so can he please cool it and focus on work?

As for those allegedly no-strings-attached one-night stands, randy celebrities should avoid them like the plague, because some of them don’t want to say good night and goodbye quite so quickly!