‘VS.’ wild, sarcastic game show

Snarkiness used to exist strictly within the realm of late-night TV, especially on talk and sketch-comedy shows.

That brand of sarcastic, cutting, largely topical humor has wormed its way into prime time, as those who cut their chops in late night, such as “S.N.L.” alums David Spade of “Just Shoot Me” and the late Phil Hartman of “NewsRadio,” moved into starring roles on network series.

Now comes the first snarky game show, “Comedy Central’s VS.,” which premieres at 5 p.m. today on that cable channel. The show matches up wildly disparate teams, who face off in intellectual battle.

For example, the premiere episode pits soccer moms against dominatrices. Other debut-week matchups include cowboys vs. Indians (June 1), brokers vs. slackers (June 2), Beverly Hills 90210 vs. Compton 90220 (June 3), and Laker Girls vs. Raiderettes (June 4).

Perhaps host Greg Proops’ introduction in the premiere sums up the concept of the show best: “It’s seat belts and Cool Whip vs. choke chains and bullwhips.”

The questions themselves are hardly on the brain-taxing “Jeopardy!” level. But it’s the way they’re packaged that makes “VS.” such fun, with four rounds in each show. First, contestants are tested on their knowledge of general information and pop culture. Most of the rude, double-entendre-laden topic categories can’t be repeated in a family newspaper. A couple of safe examples would be the health category “I Just Diet in Your Arms Tonight” and the ancient history category “Where the Hun Don’t Shine.”

In the second round, questions are split into categories specially tailored to the two teams’ areas of expertise. In the Beverly Hills-Compton matchup, questions in this round included “The Man Who Pioneered Eating Out” and “Would You Like Another Ice Cube, Dr. Dre?”

Third comes the lightning round, where contestants from each team square off, picking one of three possible answers for each question. In the soccer moms vs. dominatrices match, the answers were SUV (sports utility vehicle), S&M (sadism and masochism) and STD (sexually transmitted disease).

In the final round, the winner from the previous three rounds gets to answer an ersatz “Final Jeopardy!” kind of question for $1,000, choosing from two categories. For example, the Compton team was given the option of “Assistant Secretaries of the Navy” or “Hip Hop.”

Proops, the wisecracking master of ceremonies, is known for his work on both the British and American versions of “Whose Line Is It, Anyway?” His asides and digs at the two teams keep things rocketing along nicely. After the Compton team looked on blankly during a question about singer Fiona Apple, he said, “Fiona rocks Compton, as does Shawn Colvin and that whole Lilith Fair gang.”

This bizarre mating of the Richard Dawson-era “Family Feud” and the early, innovative MTV game show “Remote Control” is enjoyable because it can turn viewers’ preconceptions on their heads. Also, these groups are unlikely to be thrown together under any other circumstances. When Proops asked one of the Compton players if he’d “ever cooled in Beverly Hills,” the man replied, “Not in this lifetime.” That’s the charm of “VS.”

Original episodes of “VS.” will also air at 10:30 p.m. June 2 and June 12. The show repeats at 12:30 p.m. weekdays, at 1 a.m. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday and at 1 and 1:30 a.m. Fridays. The show will also air at 10:30 p.m. Thursdays June 17-Aug. 19.