Here's a surprise - there's another new sitcom on network television this week.
In this case, the network is NBC, and the sitcom is "The Good Life" (7:30 p.m., Ch. 2).And here are a few more surprises. "The Good Life" features a standup comic (John Caponera) in the lead role. He plays John Bowman, a middle-class guy with a quick-witted, attractive wife (Eve Gordon) and three sitcom kids who have a tendency to spout quips no children their age could possibly come up with.
In addition to the home front, there's the work front, where John co-manages a lock distribution warehouse with his best friend, Drew (Drew Carey), a single dweeb who somehow manages to attract gorgeous women. Also on hand is the dopey loading-dock foreman (Monty Hoffman) for more comic relief.
If all of this sounds tremendously familiar, it's because it's been tried any number of times. This season alone we've had "Home Improvement" (a show "The Good Life" seems bent on imitating), "Joe's Life," "Dave's World" and "Family Album."
And, while this is a comparison that's been much overused in describing seemingly dozens of new sitcoms, Caponera really is sort of a male Roseanne.
What with this tired old formula, it's fairly amazing that "The Good Life" is any good at all. But, while it's certainly not great, it does work at least part of the time.
And that part is mostly at home, when John is making observations about life - that the "kids" on "90210" all look as old as he does, that "Ghost" was really a funny movie, that his youngest son (Justin Berfield) is his favorite because the boy will do whatever he's told.
There's also a nice relationship between John and his oldest child, 15-year-old Paul (Jake Patellis) - a relationship both are still trying to work out.
Given the short shrift are the women in this family, particularly 12-year-old daughter Melissa (Shay Astar), who has nothing to do in the first three episodes but spout one-liners that might come naturally from the mouth of a 30-year-old but certainly not from a child.
And wife Maureen (Eve Gordon) seems somehow designed simply as a foil for John.
And, while the writers and actors certainly seem amused by the goings-on at work, they are the show's weakest, least funny and most unbelievable scenes.
Nonetheless, the studio audience - or is that a laugh track? - hoots and hollers with incredibly annoying volume.
Actually, the best of the first three episodes, "Paul Dates a Buddhist," was pre-empted last night by KUTV-Ch. 2's coverage of Utah basketball. Tonight's time-slot premiere, "Maureen's Play," has several very funny moments as Maureen produces a steamy play she wrote, but it's also rather adult for the kids who will be watching "Saved By the Bell: The College Years" at 7 p.m. on NBC.
"The Good Life" is sometimes very good, but more often mediocre at best. Given a chance, it might develop into something.
But that will take considerably more consistent writing, and more focus on the Bowman family and less on the workplace.
CHECK OUT THIS `CAFE': For those of you who have missed "Cafe Americain" on Saturdays - and according to the ratings, there are lots of you - this very good sitcom moves to Tuesdays at 8:30 p.m. on Ch. 2 beginning this week.
"Cafe" has developed into a nice, funny ensemble comedy, headed by the always winning Valerie Bertinelli as Holly.
Tonight, Holly goes out with a dashing Frenchman, which causes Marcel to break up with her - despite the fact that they've never actually had a date.