Launching a spinoff is always a risk because it automatically invites comparisons to the original, but in the case of Bravo’s new Queer Eye for the Straight Girl, the risk is magnified by the fact that there already are plenty of makeover shows on TV for straight women.

Tuesday night’s sneak preview showed that the queer eyes on Straight Girl will have a difficult job of distinguishing themselves from their competition, and it doesn’t help that in comparison to Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, the cast of Straight Girl feels mostly like a knockoff—and not in the gleeful way you feel when you find a perfect fake Prada bag on the street corner for $20.

Featuring four “Gal Pals” (as opposed to Straight Guy’s “Fab Five”) and set in Los Angeles, Queer Eye for the Straight Girl applies the “make-better” concept to Southern California girls in need of a stylistic shove in the right direction. The queer foursome includes blonde boy Robbie, who is in charge of “The Look;” abs-of-steel Danny, who teaches girls about “The Life” (and we don’t mean the gay one); floppy-haired flirt Damon, master of “The Locale;" and the scrumptious 39-year-old Honey Labrador (her real name), a former model and the show's token lesbian, a.k.a. “The Lady.”

In Tuesday night’s sneak preview, 26-year-old Rebekah D. gets “made better” during a high-energy visit from the Gal Pals, who rifle through her kitchen, look aghast at her dirty toilet, and quickly start throwing old clothes out the window. Robbie takes her shopping at Banana Republic, making me miss Carson Kressley’s more innovative eye for fashion; Damon watches a bunch of “hunky helpers” redecorate her house (I liked it better when there was the illusion of Thom Filicia doing everything himself); Danny makes her work out on the beach; and Honey takes her out to buy jewelry.

At the end of her “make-better,” Rebekah goes on a “hurry date” (three-minute speed dating), which is actually more interesting than most of the episode—and that’s not a good sign.

One of the best aspects of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy is the sexual teasing that goes on between the Fab Five and the slightly uncomfortable straight man, who not only has to get used to being checked out by guys at every turn, but also has to endure Carson’s suggestive assistance in the dressing room.

With Straight Girl we have a fag hag dynamic, not a flirtatious one. Not that there’s anything wrong with fag hags (props to Margaret Cho), but the super-friendly, super-giggly relationship between the straight girl and the three boys on the make-better team just isn’t very interesting to watch. There are already a zillion makeover shows on TV with straight women being made over by gay men, and this concept is about as over as last year’s Ugg boots.

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