MTV's 'Death Valley' no laughing matter

MTV’s latest original series, "Death Valley," presents a world where, exactly one year ago, zombies randomly showed up in California’s San Fernando Valley.

Werewolves and vampires weren’t far behind, and now the triumvirate of go-to movie monsters have been terrorizing residents there ever since.

Now it’s up to the officers of the Undead Task Force (UTF) to contain, capture and kill them, and the show follows both the UTF and the TV camera crew that’s been documenting their efforts to stop the plague.

"These are the stories of the cops that capture the monsters," the opening credits inform us, "and the camera crew that captures the cops."

Can you say meta?

So instead of watching them pursue wife beater-clad criminals, "Cops"-style, we get scenes of officers chasing down blood-thirsty and bloody monsters (the zombies are particularly grotesque), often with some sort of interference from the shocked and scared cameramen.

Problem is these officers are straight out of "Reno 911!" Think inept, easily distracted and, well, lazy.

During one chase scene, portly Officer Joe Stubeck actually asks for a time-out mid-pursuit. Another time, he just plain gives up when a werewolf fakes him out and takes off: "If they can run like that," he says, "we let ‘em go."

After watching two episodes, I completely get what the creators are trying to do here. I just wish it was executed better.

The action gets repetitive fast; the officers are usually sent to a crime scene or come upon one while out on patrol, and it isn’t long before they’re surprised by zombies, werewolves, vampires or some combination of the three.

The actors playing some of the monsters left a lot to be desired, but I couldn’t tell if their scenery-chewing was a conscious choice, or if they just weren’t very good.

The show is campy, some might even say schlocky, and it made me smile a few times. But I never laughed out loud, and that’s a problem.

"Death Valley" premieres at 10:30 p.m. Monday on MTV.