Talk about your alien abductions.
That cute little Jonathan Lipnicki - the blond boy from "Jerry Maguire" - has been kidnapped by Bronson Pinchot (who plays an alien) and is being held captive in the new CBS sitcom "Meego."And if you're much older than 6-year-old Lipnicki, "Meego" (Friday, 7:30 p.m., Ch. 2) is utterly unwatchable.
Not that it isn't entirely believable that the decidedly odd Pinchot could be from another planet. His mugging and overacting are weird beyond belief.
(And then there's that other-worldly hairpiece that's slapped on his head . . . )
We're not talking reality-based comedy here. Pinchot plays Meego, an alien whose spacecraft crashes in the backyard of your average American family - and single father Dr. Edward Parker (Ed Begley Jr.) just happens to be looking for nanny for his three kids.
In other words, it's sort of "Mork & Mindy" meets "The Nanny," with a bit of "My Favorite Martian" thrown in.
Pinchot's idea of playing an alien is doing one of those unidentifiable accents of his. What's supposed to be funny is listening to Meego make jokes about how "Antarean camel jerky" is "the other white meat" and watching him eat a flower.
Ha, ha.
Meego is also endowed with various magic powers, which fill the show with various cheesy special effects.
This being a show from the producers of "Family Matters" and "Full House," it's no surprise that there are heavy-handed messages and those syrupy moments filled with hugs and "awwwwws."
Lipnicki is undeniably cute. He's not such a great actor, but cute can carry a 6-year-old a long way.
Unfortunately, he has little to do but act as a captive audience for Pinchot as he jokes about having taken a drink from the toilet bowl.
"Meego" is the sort of show that might fit CBS's Saturday-morning schedule - simplistic and silly. The network wants to attract younger viewers, but this is the sort of show that might go a bit too young - advertisers aren't all that interested in the under-8 crowd.