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‘Mutant X,’ ‘Skate’ Earn Style Points

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TIMES STAFF WRITER

Style trumps substance in two series that unfurl their banners outside the prime-time arena today.

First up is “Skate” (9:30 a.m., NBC), a drama about a teenage skateboarder (Christopher Jorgens) who dreams of turning pro but meanwhile must deal with normal adolescent problems with pals, peers and, presumably, parents (though only his father makes an appearance in the first episode, and only in one scene).

The writing and acting are shallow; the show’s most important message may be champion Danny Way appearing at the end to tell young skaters to wear their safety gear. But “Skate” at least has a distinctive visual style, frequently featuring the same sort of grainy, jerky camera work that characterizes many skateboarding videos.

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There also is plenty of visual style in “Mutant X,” a syndicated series premiering at 5 p.m. today on KTLA (which, like one of the show’s production entities, Tribune Entertainment, is owned by Tribune Co., owner of the Los Angeles Times).

It’s not an original visual style, mind you, but then neither is the show’s premise: Think “The Matrix” for the former and “X-Men” for the latter, and you’ll understand all you need to about the comic book scenario in which humans with strange powers are being tracked down by a mad geneticist.

Silly as that sounds, the slow-motion, acrobatic fight scenes are compelling, and a bank-robbery sequence unfolds like a dance number, beautifully choreographed, without dialogue. Given what the characters say when they do talk, these mutants are better off mute.

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