“Big Shots TV Show” features four power players in the New York business world, who are all put in their place by the women in their lives. They gather at the golf course or the steam room to commiserate with each other over their respective hardships and then put their game faces on for the rest of the world. For these men, issues of discussion include broken marriages, bipolar mistresses, domineering wives and an unfortunate case of mistaken gender identity with one very tall hooker. It has all the makings of a fairly benign dramedy, but it’s executed with such a tired predictability and utter lack of panache that it leaves you feeling duped instead of blindly entertained.

Who’s that?: “Big Shots Television Show” boasts a smorgasbord of TV veterans, including Dylan McDermott (“The Practice”), Michael Vartan (“Alias”), Christopher Titus (“Titus”) and Joshua Malina (“The West Wing”) playing the four leading men.

Buzzed about: He may not have had his hand in the first episode, but “Veronica Mars” creator (and all around TV god) Rob Thomas recently landed on “Big Shots” as a consulting producer. After a summer of an unsettling game of industry musical chairs, his involvement could do a lot to improve the series.

The “ooh” factor: It was just announced that “Buffy” and ”Angel” alum and “Veronica Mars” sexpot Charisma Carpenter has landed a recurring guest role. The addition of Carpenter might just be enough to reel us in. Thankfully, her first appearance won’t be until November, giving them a little while to work up to the caliber she’s used to.

The “eh” factor: Unfortunately, there’s a whole lot of “eh” going on here. But flat characters that are almost impossible to sympathize with and stale exaggerations of life in New York rank highest on our list.

The verdict: These guys are their own biggest fans. They don’t need us.

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Best-known for his role as sexy CIA agent Vaughn on the ABC hit “Alias,” Michael was born November 27, 1968, in France. His mother is American, and his father is famed French singer Louis Vartan. His parents divorced when he was five years old, and as a child he shuttled between France and the U.S. At the age of eighteen, Michael moved to the States to avoid mandatory service in the French armed forces.

He made his acting debut in the French film “Un homme et deux femmes.”

“The Pallbearer,” in which he starred with David Schwimmer and Gwyneth Paltrow, was his first big American movie.

He had a minor breakout role as the charming English teacher in the hit “Never Been Kissed.”

In 2001, Michael became a regular on the spy series “Alias.” He also briefly dated the show’s star Jennifer Garner, who has since married Ben Affleck. Hockey is a passion with Michael, so much so that the creators of “Alias” worked it into the show. His newest movie is “Monster In-Law,” starring Jennifer Lopez and Jane Fonda.

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While there appears to be hope looming on the horizon for an imminent resolution to the three-month long deadlock between the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, there doesn’t seem to be any such positive outlook for ABC’s Big Shots. The freshman series was canned in December, with three episodes still left for broadcast.

Big Shots co-star, Michael Vartan, who played James Auster on the cancelled program, recently commented on his former big-screen co-star, Jennifer Lopez’s pregnancy. Lopez clearly made a good and lasting impression on the actor, with whom she shared the spotlight in the film, Monster-in-Law.

“I think she’ll be a wonderful mom,” Vartan was quoted by the New York Post.  “I think Latin women have the key…very emotional, very nurturing.  You always hear about big Latin families and how lose-knit they are.”

In other news, Vartan’s fellow Big Shots cast member, Joshua Malina, will be among the special guests at a Gala Celebrity Poker fundraising event on Sunday, February 10.  The event, which is scheduled to take place at Hollywood Park Casino on W. Century Boulevard in Inglewood, California, is for the benefit of the families of California firefighters who were injured or killed in the line of duty while battling the wildfires that ravaged the Southern California area last year.

Hosted by the California State Firefighters Association or CSFA, the celebrity poker fundraiser gets underway at 2pm with a celebrity cocktail reception that includes both a silent as well as a live auction.  This will be followed by a brief ceremony to honor firefighters injured in the Southern California blaze.  The No-Limit Texas Hold’-em Tournament is then set to commence at 3pm.  This tournament is limited to 250 players and the buy-in is set at $450.

Some of the other television personalities expected to join Big Shots‘ Malina are Brian Krause from Charmed and Joseph Mascolo of The Bold and the Beautiful and Days of our Lives.

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TV.com: What’s your first acting job, Christopher Titus?

Christopher Titus: Killer Klowns from Outer Space. Oh my god.

TV.com: Why do I know that?

Christopher Titus: Because it was a movie, a campy kind of horror movie that was made in the ’80s.

TV.com: What television role past or present would you love to–aside from the one you’re doing now, would you love to sink your teeth into?

Christopher Titus: What television role would I love to sink my teeth into? You know, honestly I would love to play Hugh Laurie, his role in House. Like, that’s such a great role. He’s such a great actor. I love that show. Like, my girlfriend got me totally addicted to that show.

TV.com: Is Rachel your girlfriend?

Christopher Titus: Yes, Rachel. Yes, my girl.

TV.com: Have you ever turned down a role that you have regretted?

Christopher Titus: No. I’m really, like, once I read it, if it’s wrong and I know I can’t do it, I call my agent or my manager and I say, “I’m not doing this.” I have never done that. I have never–like, when I see someone do it well, even if it’s something I already read, I just go, “That was the guy that was supposed to do it. I would not have done it like that.”

TV.com: I saw–I was watching part of the press briefing from the little affiliates room, and I noticed that you’re like, “I don’t want to ever–I don’t want to talk on the record ever again.” I’m with TV.com, so I’m not a hard-hitting journalist at all. We’re strictly entertainment. But just for fans of television, give us a taste of what it’s like to basically have to face the TV critics.

Christopher Titus: It’s basically like a bunch of people that are actually judging every word you say at every moment. And not like they’re judging it like your mom or your dad, but they’re going to write it down and then put it out to millions of people. And I got–today I was like, “I’m talking crap of my new show again, and it’s going to go out to a billion people and I’m an idiot.” And it got really clear that I was an idiot. And that’s why I begged Dylan McDermott and Michael Vartan and Josh Malina to help me stop. Please, stop me. People have a tendency to let me talk until I say something stupid. And I wish they would stop me before I said something stupid. Now. Perfect. Nice job. Nice job. That’s the interview.

TV.com: Very good.