I'm down with dopest thing on TV

By FIONA RAE

Word! Er, I think. It's lucky Mo' Show's Otis and Mark know. They're my guide into a hip-hop universe, among other things, about which I otherwise wouldn't have a clue. Who knew television could be fun and educational?

So far, the Mo' Show (TV2, 10pm) odyssey has stretched from LA to NY, from porn and plastic surgery to hip-hop, guerrilla news and graffiti art.

A good way for our heroes to meet their heroes? You bet.

But what the hey. Ever heard of Ron English and "popaganda" before Mo' Show? He does giant, illegal billboards in New York in between making subversive artworks.

Ever wondered why the graffiti bombers in New York started? "Urban refacement" according to an originator, Dr Revolt.

It might be true that anyone with a video camera can potentially make a TV show, but you still have to have ideas.

Funny things keep happening to Mark and Otis on the way to their intended destination, but they're included too - like stumbling across a Japanese drumming troupe in Battery Park on last week's show in New York that quickly became part of the Mo' Show experience.

Or even getting an icecream or a haircut. Small things that give a perspective on a city that is usually seen, these days anyway, through the September 11 filter.

The pair seem to have an unerring sense of who will be the weirdest interview, as well.

The tough guy talking at Gleason's Gym last week was a beauty. Yeah sure, buddy, you're tougher than Mike Tyson.

Occasionally, the picaresque journey wears a little thin, perhaps too much "Wow, look at the rich folks" and gleeful gurning for the camera.

And it was very nice to see a female face in there at last. There haven't been that many, except for that porn star with the deeply religious parents from the first episode.

Last week's rare female sighting was a boxer at Gleason's who performed in two bands, she said, in Spanglish. I was impressed, although not as much as Otis.

It's kind of like a history lesson for old farts. Well, okay, me.

DJ Kool Herc was way cool, having brought Jamaican dancehall to New York in the 60s and thereby invented the hip-hop style.

The series is not all hip-hop and graff art. In the future, there will be rock. There will be Kiwis. There will be Kiwis in London rocking.

There might even be a movie star or two. But there will also be a visit to Jamaica and a chat with legendary reggae artist Buju Banton and a rare audience with Shaggy.

And if Mo' Show can get down to street level in Jamaica, as they have elsewhere, it'll be dope. I think.