"Kill Point" and "High School Musical 2"

Over the last couple days in Hollywood, I've bumped into some intriguing (and opposite) projects. "Kill Point" and "High School Musical 2" share nothing except:

1) Both were filmed on Planet Earth, employing humanoids.

2) Both are beautifully cast and directed.

3) And neither would have happened in the bland days before cable. Let me tell about both:

"High School Musical 2"

I like cute as much as any man. I married it, I begat it. I've had two cute dogs and several cute posters. I keep threatening to get a cute car.

Still, even I was almost maxed out on the cuteness during the Disney Channel session.

There were pictures of Miley Cyrus, who is supercute. There was, in person, Selena Gomez, who may be even cuter. (You can decide for yourself; they go face-to-face at 8:05 p.m. July 21, when Selena guests on a fairly good episode of "Hannah Montana.") And there were all those "High School Musical" kids.

Yes, the stars -- Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens and Corbin Bleu especially -- look just as great in real life as they do on screen. Thy smile a lot, laugh a lot. They are nice kids; I was told so by the show's writer and by Corbin's dad. And they realize they've found the break of a lifetime.

"High School Musical" had a silly story, punctuated by vibrant music and a duo (Efron and Hudgens) that was downright contagious. I liked the film the moment I saw it; some people liked it the 50-some moments they saw it.

Now comes the sequel. It starts in the final moments of the school year, with a vibrant summer's-here number. It moves on to a country club, where things are as silly and overblown as they were in the first film. "High School Musical 2" has flaws, but it has a good beat and you can dance to it. Also, it's really, really cute.

"The Kill Point"

The stars of "Kill Point" know all about cute and music and screaming teens. Donnie Wahlberg was in New Kids On the Block, after all; John Leguizamo was a lovable little comedy guy.

Now they're on the opposite sides of "Kill Point," which starts July 22 on Spike. Leguizamo plays the mastermind of a bank robbery gone bad; Wahlberg plays the police negotiator trying to get hostages out of the bank.

Both characters are beautifully written and played, with layers that will unfold in the next few weeks.

"Kill Point" is as good as "The Nine," last year's terrific bank-hostage show on ABC. There's one key difference though: ABC wanted to have the thing go on forever, with no planned ending; audiences soon gave up. "Kill Point" is on cable, which doesn't have the old rules; it runs for eight Sundays. It's going to be a great ride.

Actually, someone named Peggy said that a while ago, in a reply to one of these blogs. She was honest about it, admitting that she works for Spike. We shrugged it off at the time.

Now comes the happy surprise: Peggy was telling the truth. Who knew?