Lincoln. Neb. — When Tommy Lee descended on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus to film a TV show, there were concerns about how the finished product would make the school and the state look.
Fear not, say those who were part of "Tommy Lee Goes to College" and others who have seen it.
"We look better than we maybe really are," said Matt Ellis, a Nebraskan and Lee's roommate for the show.
The six-part NBC series premieres at 8 p.m. Tuesday.
UNL Chancellor Harvey Perlman has seen a couple of episodes featuring the Mtley Crüe drummer in fish-out-of-water situations, and they made him laugh.
"I thought the university came through very well," Perlman said. "I think the comedy is a joke on Tommy and not a joke on the university."
Rocker Tommy Lee, followed by an NBC crew, performs Oct. 16, 2004, with the University of Nebraska marching band at the halftime of Nebraska's game with Baylor, in Lincoln, Neb.
Promotional clips include shots of Lee playing drums with the Huskers marching band during halftime of last year's Baylor game at Memorial Stadium. There also are scenes of him struggling in class and being assisted by tutor Natalie Riedmann, who's beginning medical school at the University of Nebraska come fall. (Lee was not enrolled and did not receive actual credit for any classes.)
Lee was on campus for about a month last fall to film the program, which was endorsed by UNL officials as a way to possibly increase enrollment.
"Our admissions people tell us there is certainly a buzz about the university when you talk to high school kids across the country," Perlman said.
The 42-year-old Lee agreed to behave himself and follow the student code of conduct. But his appearance on campus led to criticism from the university's Women's Caucus, since Lee had served about four months in jail after pleading no contest to kicking then-wife Pamela Anderson in February 1998. The group circulated a petition decrying the program, while local domestic violence and family groups also voiced concerns.
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