Gwen Leonard (Sharon Lawrence) of the new NBC sitcom "Fired Up" is the sort of woman for whom getting nicked during a pedicure is a major tragedy. The sort of woman who sees other people's lives only in terms of her own.
The sort of woman who, upon meeting her longtime assistant's sibling, says, "You didn't tell me you had a brother.""Yes, I did," says her assistant.
"Well, you didn't tell me it was important," Gwen replies.
And when that assistant, Terry (Leah Remini), tells Gwen she's been fired by upper management, Gwen's reaction is as completely self-absorbed as she is.
"I swear! After everything I've given to this company, this is how they treat me!" Gwen exclaims.
"Yeah. That's got to hurt," Terry replies dryly.
But, moments later, Gwen herself is downsized. And she quickly learns that without Terry's help, she can manage neither her professional nor personal lives.
Three months after they've both been fired, Terry has been reduced to sewing dresses for female impersonators and selling meat over the phone. Gwen has fallen even farther - she's lost everything, and comes to Terry with a plan for them to go into business together.
Their relationship is the spark that ignites "Fired Up" - and, by the looks of Thursday's pilot episode (8:30 p.m., Ch. 5), that fire could burn brightly.
Lawrence, best known for her continuing role on "NYPD Blue," and the writers take Gwen almost completely over the top. She's no dummy - she's a savvy promotions executive. But she's completely out of touch with the realities of everyday life.
Gwen is a pampered fish out of water - a rich girl reduced to learning what the world is really like.
She can retain her air of glamour and sophistication even while she's applying for unemployment. Of course, Gwen also tells the woman that "anything in the $1,500 a week range will do."
Remini has the harder task. She plays the grounded one. The one who reacts to Gwen's outrageousness. The writers have spread the laughs around fairly well, but the entire show orbits around Gwen.
The supporting cast also shows strong promise. Mark Feuerstein is a delight as Terry's sardonic brother, Danny, and he and Remini have some good scenes of their own.
Danny is an aspiring writer - with the emphasis on the word aspiring - who makes ends meet as a bartender in the bar downstairs from the loft he shares with Terry. And the bar's owner, Guy (Jonathan Banks), strikes up an immediate love-hate relationship with Gwen.
He loves her, she hates him.
The show's sets are great, if unrealistic. The two struggling siblings live in a huge loft in Manhattan - complete with clock tower. And the club downstairs is also well done.
But what makes "Fired Up" work is the witty writing and the performances. This is by far the best show NBC has stuck between "Seinfeld" and "ER" since "Frasier" occupied the time slot three years ago.
KELSEY GRAMMER, PRODUCER: Speaking of "Frasier," the star of that show is one of the executive producers of "Fired Up."
"This is the first series production commitment that we have for my company, Gramnet Productions Incorporated - which basically stands for The Grammer Network," Grammer said. "Of course, it's not that yet, but who knows?
"I originally thought of that name when I was 6 years old, so things do have a way of coming around."
Grammer is pretty much a silent partner in "Fired Up" - he has no direct involvement in the day-to-day running of the show. But he is pretty darn excited about the program's time slot, nestled between the No. 1 show on television, "ER," and the No. 2 show, "Seinfeld."
"You could do worse than that, I guess," he said
Then he added, somewhat wistfully, "Oh, yes. I remember that time slot. Ah, that lovely place we once called home."
You may recall that "Frasier" spent its first season on Thursday at 8:30 p.m., and that Grammer was publicly and loudly unhappy when NBC switched his show to Tuesdays.
SHE'S STILL "BLUE": Although Sharon Lawrence is now starring in her own sitcom on NBC, that doesn't mean she's going to disappear from ABC's "NYPD Blue."
Sylvia Costas-Sipowicz isn't going to meet an untimely death or divorce Andy (Dennis Franz) or anything like that.
"I'll be continuing. I'll be used as they need a mother on a show about homicide," she quipped. "So that means that when Andy and Sylvia need to discuss a domestic issue, you will see here there."
Lawrence describes Sylvia as "somewhat dowdy" - a decided contrast from the glamorous Gwen on "Fired Up" - but insists she still loves the character. And, apparently, Sylvia's somewhat reduced role on "NYPD Blue" will be explained.
"I think there'll be a bit of an arc that moves her more legitimately out of her work environment," Lawrence said. "She'll just be in the kitchen."
VIDBITS: There's no big surprise here, but CBS has pulled the plug on "EZ Streets." Network programming chief Les Moonves still professes to love the show - and we have no reason to doubt him - but CBS could no longer withstand the paltry ratings the show has garnered.
Remember, network TV is a business, not an art.
"EZ Streets" creator/executive producer Paul Haggis is making brave noises about finding another home for the show - possibly on cable - but don't hold your breath.
In the meantime, CBS is sticking a rerun of "Walker, Texas Ranger" into the time slot tonight at 9.
- In much happier programming news, Martin Lawrence is quitting his sitcom at the end of the season. Fox is planning an hourlong series finale for Thursday, May 1.
This is no loss at all. Tacky, tasteless and downright stupid, the show was not only an embarrassment but an outright insult to the African-American community, what with it's offensive stereotypes.
And then there was Lawrence's bizarre - sometimes criminal - behavior and the sexual harassment charges from his co-star, Tisha Campbell.
Good riddance to "Martin." (And here's betting that the folks at Fox are having just about the same reaction for a show that's turned into such a problem.)
- NBC has extended Conan O'Brien's contract for five more years - by far the longest deal he's ever had at the network.
You've got to give O'Brien some credit for surviving his horrible start and still being on the air at all.
On the other hand, the show is still mediocre at best. If you haven't got anything better to do in the middle of the night you might tune in, but the current "Late Night" is not worth staying up for.
- As predicted here last week, "Suddenly Susan" will survive into its second season. The show, which is doing somewhat better in the ratings, got a full 22-episode order from NBC.