Tonight's premiere of "My Guys" (7:30 p.m., CBS/Ch. 2) is sort of an odd amalgam of some oddly different genres.
On the one hand, it's a family comedy about a recent widower, Sonny (Michael Rispoli), who's raising two sons on his own - 15-year-old Michael (Mike Damus) and 11-year-old Francis (Francis Capra).There's quite a bit of talk about how they're a family and how they've got to stick together, and even one of those moments right out of "Full House" when the studio audience goes "Awwwww!"
On the other hand, this new sitcom has moments when it lurches into tasteless vulgarity that's strangely at odds with the rest of the show.
Take, for example, the moment when Sonny tells his kids that he's about to go out on his first date since his wife's death.
"Well, who is she, a hooker?" young Francis asks.
Huh?
And then there's the date itself. First, Sonny finds himself playing with some odd piece of bric-a-brac at the woman's aparment.
"Hey, what's this? Some kind of ancient golf club?" he asks.
"It's a walrus penis," she replies.
Huh?
Then, as Sonny is dancing with the woman, he suddenly blurts out, "And your breasts feel so good against my chest."
Huh?
(And that line was toned down from something more offensive.)
Now, in the current state of network television, these are far from being the most tasteless jokes you'll hear. As a matter of fact, these are tame compared to the content of shows like "Seinfeld" and "Friends" and "Cybill."
But what makes them so jarring is that they come in the midst of a show that seems to be aiming for a family audience. Or does it?
"Well, we hope to appeal to a very broad audience of young and old," said executive producer Tony Thomas. "So we don't consider it a family show. We just consider it a funny, honest look at a situation that is taking place with these three characters."
And he defended the use of some language that might be questioned.
"This particular language you might find in a dictionary. And I don't think America should be shocked anymore at the word penis," Thomas said.
Well, maybe not shocked. But maybe a bit disappointed.
Perhaps more troubling than these incidents is how the date progresses. Sonny and his date are into heavy making out on the couch, and it's obvious that they're headed for the bedroom. But when the woman mentions that she might be interested in some sort of committed relationship, Sonny quickly backs off.
And to add insult to the family viewers out there, he makes a noble speech about how, with his wife dead just 14 months, he's just not ready for a relationship.
So . . . he has no compunctions about meaningless sex, but meaningful sex is something he's not ready for?
Another of the show's executive producers expanded on Thomas' earlier comments. "We're proud of this as a family show, because what it's about is a father trying to do the best he can with his two sons to keep a family going, to keep the love and affection and the bonds and honest emotion there," said Gary Levine.
"And we think that the performances and the writing speak very well to a family audience, while, hopefully, also including more than just a family audience."
Well, the writing is nothing to get particularly excited about. But the performances aren't bad.
The best part of "My Guys" has to be the performance of Damus, who's a year older than his character. He's funny and endearing as the teen who falls in love with the girl who just moved into the apartment next door. Mike is charmingly nervous and tongue-tied around the girl, and dies the thousand deaths of teenage embarrassment when she happens to see him in his underwear.
The relationship between Mike and Francis is great, and there are moments of real chemistry among Sonny and his two sons. Which begs the question - why mess up a good thing by tryng to make the show more adult? And, in the process, make it more infantile?
"My Guys" doesn't seem to have the makings of a great TV sitcom. But, with a few adjustments it could certainly be a pleasant show.
As for the rest of the six-episode order CBS made for the show, Thomas assured critics that "there isn't anything, I believe, that would even come close to being a concern for any member of any family on the next five episodes."
But then, why have questionable humor in the first episode? First impressions are difficult to erase.
WILL IT LAST TWO WEEKS? Michael Rispoli is just about guaranteed that "My Guys" will be more successful than his last TV series.
Last year, he starred in Fox's "The Great Defender" - which was axed after the first episode.
"Well, they said that the show was too good and they didn't want Mike Wallace to feel bad, so they took us off," joked Rispoli of his show, which aired opposite "60 Minutes."