For the first time since "South Park," cable's Comedy Central debuts a new animated series tonight. But "Bob and Margaret" is decidedly different from those foul-mouthed brats on that other show.
First, "Bob and Margaret" isn't profane and lowest-common-denominator comedy. It's actually clever and rather witty.Second, "Bob and Margaret" is funny.
The show, which is based on the 1995 Academy Award-winning short film "Bob's Birthday," follows the lives of Bob - a middle-aged, middle-income dentist - and his podiatrist wife, Margaret. Their problems aren't huge, but they are amusing.
And they're also very British, and everything sounds funnier with a British accent, doesn't it?
In tonight's premiere (which airs at 11:30 p.m.), things are going about as well as they ever do for Bob. As he tells his wife, "I'm not that good a dentist. I'm the only one in the area."
(Of course, this being a show set in England, there are the requisite jokes about bad dental hygiene in that country. Says a patient, "You know, Dr. Fish, it's very interesting this dentistry game. Because, of course, you rely on bad teeth to keep your business going. So, really, Britain could be the best place to be in the world, bad teeth-wise.")
Anyway, being the only dentist in the area does have its advantages. Bob is swamped at work - too busy even to deal with Margaret's chipped tooth until next week.
"What's happening? I mean, have they decided to take fluoride out of the water supply," Bob asks his receptionist, Dorothy.
"People eat too much chocolate," she replies.
"Well, as far as I'm concerned, people eat just the right amount of chocolate," Bob says. "I used to dream of being so busy."
"You see, Dr. Fish, dreams can come true," Dorothy replies.
But things take a turn for the worse when a handsome, young, charming dentist moves in across the street - giving vent to all of Bob's many insecurities.
There's some broad humor here, but "Bob and Margaret" can also go for the witty as well. There are recurring radio news reports playing in the background of a number of scenes, and they're a hoot. (As when, in the premiere, the radio host is interviewing a member of parliament about both his book and his involvement in a sex scandal.)
And then there are Bob and Margaret's dogs (and surrogate children), William and Elizabeth - two of the dumbest animals you're ever likely to see and, thus, actually quite realistic.
When Bob loses patience with the mutts, Margaret scolds him. "Don't shout at them like that. You might upset them and they're sensitive," she says.
"Oh, for heaven's sake, Margaret. They're not sensitive," Bob replies. "They're just greedy, smelly lumps who eat and poo everywhere when they're not sleeping."
Yeah, well . . .
A future episode finds Bob and Margaret trying to get in shape. Which leads to a particularly amusing badminton game, which leads to a particularly thorny etiquette question: What do you do when the person you're playing badminton with is taken by ambulance to the hospital? Do you accompany them?
If you've got access to Comedy Central through your cable or satellite system, set those VCRs and give "Bob and Margaret" a look.
"DR KATZ" RETURNS: Comedy Central's longest-running animated series, "Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist," kicks off its fifth season tonight at 11 - and fans of the show won't be disappointed.
It's more of the same, but in the case of "Dr. Katz" the same is pretty funny. Albeit at least slightly annoying.
Dr. Katz (Jonathan Katz) is still obsessed with the mundane. Tonight, it's a fanny pack into which he is stuffing all of his electronic gadgets - cell phones and the sort of thing. But he's worried about how he looks with it on.
"I think it's not so much how you look in the fanny pack, it's how you feel about wearing a fanny pack, which is becoming comfortable being the kind of guy that wears a fanny pack," Dr. Katz says. "I am not that guy yet but I hope to become that guy because it's so convenient."
"I think they're hideous," says Julie the bartender (Julianne Shapiro).
"I do, too," says Stanley (Will Lebow), the doctor's best friend.
As for Dr. Katz's twenty-something slacker son Ben (H. Jon Benjamin), he thinks it is just stupid. "You know Dad, I don't like the new you at all. I wasn't thrilled with the old you, but . . . " Ben says.
"Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist" remains a clever way to wrap a show around various standup comedians' material. Tonight's installment features some great stuff from Denis Leary, who's act includes talking about how his kids don't understand the phone and why parents should never buy their children toys that make noise.
And then there's the hugely neurotic James Leemer kvetching about all sorts of things.
(The show tapes those comedy sessions on the couch first, then wraps the animation around them.)
The biggest drawback to watching "Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist" is that the annoying Squigglevision computer animation - in which the outlines of all the characters shake worse than a hand-held camera on "NYPD Blue" - can give you a headache.
But it's almost worth it just to hear the jokes.