Enlarge NBC James Purefoy stars as philanthropist Teddy Rist, who this week helps a village in Nigeria. ABOUT THE SHOW ABOUT THE SHOW The Philanthropist

NBC, Wednesday night, 10 ET/PT

* * out of four WHAT'S ON TV TONIGHT? WHAT'S ON TV TONIGHT? If only we had more billionaires to solve our problems, how happy we all would be. If you're buying that, has NBC got a show for you: The Philanthropist, an odd action/adventure about a super-rich, globe-trotting philanthropy vigilante. If not, then what you have is a well-acted, well-intentioned, incredibly preposterous show that would struggle even if it were in step with the times, rather than marching to its own prosperous drummer. But that's NBC: If it didn't have a tin ear, it would have no ear at all. Still, give the network credit for eventually catching the nation's mood and downgrading this once high-profile project to a summer run, because summer is its greatest asset. For a few weeks, The Philanthropist will let a fine if ill-used cast take us on a tour of global hot spots: Nigeria this week, Myanmar the next. When it comes to scripted broadcast shows, you won't find a much better offer. Written by Tom Fontana, this short-run series stars Rome's James Purefoy as tycoon Teddy Rist. Teddy is loosely based on a real person, but no matter: The Philanthropist has no more to do with actual philanthropy than Superman does with journalism. The only thing that rings even remotely true is Purefoy himself, who once again proves to be a roguish charmer of the first order. Told in an overly fussy style, Teddy's story begins when he rescues a Nigerian child from a flood, causing him to forget about his latest deal and concentrate on getting some vaccine to the child's village. Obviously, this worries his co-workers, a sturdy group that includes Jesse L. Martin, Neve Campbell and The Wire's Michael Kenneth Williams. Though there is great appeal in the idea of a selfish man suddenly seeing beyond himself to the suffering around him, there is also more than a whiff of Rudyard Kipling's "white man's burden" in the way the story is told. The pilot tries to balance that impression through an African doctor who criticizes Teddy's motives — but she ends up sleeping with him, which shifts the story from Kipling to James Bond. Ultimately, though, it's the "tycoon" part of Teddy that makes The Philanthropist so deeply silly. There he is, stumbling barefoot through the jungle with his one bag of vaccine, surviving more by luck than skill, when he clearly would have done the village a better service by buying the vaccine in bulk and hiring someone competent to deliver it. It's called capitalism. We don't expect much from billionaires these days, be we do at least expect them to grasp that concept. Guidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Read more