The creator of "Murphy Brown" brings another sitcom to CBS tonight.
Sadly, you won't see any similarities between Diane English's first sitcom and her third, "Double Rush."This latest half hour, which debuts at 8 p.m. on Ch. 5, seems to have all the elements for a hit. A talented writer/producer, an attractive cast, a decent concept.
But it all falls strangely flat and unfunny.
Robert Pastorelli (Eldin on "Murphy Brown") stars as Jounny Verona, a loud but soft-hearted guy who gave up a promising career as a rock guitarist on principle. For the past couple of decades, he's been running a bicycle messenger service by the name of Double Rush.
He's also sort of a father-figure to a group of outlandish young characters - the messengers themselves, including:
- Hunter (David Arquette), the dim-witted thrill-seeker who's greatest joy is the danger of speeding around New York City on his bike.
- Leo (Adam Goldberg), the morose Generation Xer who can find a cloud around any silver lining.
- Marlon (D.L. Hughley), who tries to balance his unconventional job with his family - a wife and young son.
- Zoe (Corinne Bohrer), the Harvard grad who can't find a real job - and who comes across as the requisite dizzy blonde.
- The Kid (Phil Leeds), the 75-year-old master of the short cut whose jokes about his sex life and his lack of direction are intended as commentary and come off as dopey.
There's also a wild-haired dispatcher with remarkably thick glasses, Barkley (Sam Lloyd), who seems oddly overqualified for his job.
There are oh-so-many attempts to reach out to Generation X with these characters, but the effort is self-consciously stilted.
A really good sitcom makes you forget - at least for a while - that this is all just a show. You believe that these character could be real, no matter how outrageous or unlikely they may be.
"Double Rush," on the other hand, looks like a bunch of actors saying their lines, waiting for the audience to laugh (or the laugh-track to kick in). It's impossible to suspend disbelief.
Not that "Double Rush" is awful or even bad. It's just flat and lifeless - and not particularly funny.
Which, come to think of it, is sort of bad for a show that's supposed to be a comedy.
English co-created this sitcom with Stephen Nathan, and in this case two heads were not better than one. "Double Rush" is full of television cliches. The most obvious comparison here is to "Taxi," and this series is but a pale, distorted mimeograph of that one.
CBS sent television critics the first four episodes of the series, obviously hoping that the show would grow on us. But this critic just grew bored - and disappointed that "Double Rush" isn't any better than it is.
SINCERE FLATTERY: The case can be made that English's most successful sitcom, "Murphy Brown," is an updating of the old "Mary Tyler Moore" show.
A case can also be made that English's second sitcom, "Love & War," has become a reworking of "Cheers."
And the similarities between "Double Rush" and "Taxi" are obvious and numerous.
Which sort of makes you wonder what old sitcom English will update next.
SCHEDULE SWITCHES: Wednesday nights on TV are beginning to look a lot like Mondays.
And kind of like Thurdays.
And a bit like Saturdays.
In addition to the two new sitcoms premiering tonight - "Women of the House" and "Double Rush" - five series from other nights of the week have moved, are moving or will move to Wednesdays.
Last week, Fox slid "Party of Five" (8 p.m., Ch. 13) over from Monday nights.
This week, CBS is taking two longtime Monday fixtures, "Love & War" (8:30 p.m., Ch. 5) and "Northern Exposure" (9 p.m., Ch. 5) and moving them to Wednesdays.
Also tonight, ABC shifts "PrimeTime Live" (9 p.m., Ch. 4) from Thursdays to Wednesdays.
And next week, CBS will bring "Hearts Afire" from Saturday nights to Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. (also on Ch. 5).
Of course, all these shifts mean there have to be corresponding changes on the other nights - so keep a close eye on the listings, or you may miss some of your favorite shows.
Those network programmers sometimes seem intent on confusing their viewers as much as possible.