When it comes to ABC's new Wednesday sitcom, it's like, I dunno.
There are certain aspects of "It's like, you know" that are, like, quite appealing.There are others that are extremely annoying.
It's, like, very funny in spots, and it's mind-numbingly dull in others.
"It's like, you know" (7:30 p.m., Ch. 4) is the spiritual successor to "Seinfeld." Maybe more than that -- it was created and is executive produced by former "Seinfeld" writer/producer Peter Mehlman. And Mehlman has brought a lot of that show-about-nothing sensibility to his new project.
"It's like, you know" is also sort of an extended take on a single joke -- that joke being the city of Los Angeles and its inhabitants. The premise of the series has New York City writer Arthur (Chris Eigeman) traveling to L.A. -- a city he hates even though he's never been there -- to write a book about how much he hates it. He moves in with his former college roommate, Robbie (Steven Eckholdt), a self-made millionaire with plenty of free time on his hands.
(He made his millions on TV -- he pioneered Pay-Per-Jew, in which the Jewish High Holy Days were telecast on pay-per-view TV.)
Speaking of millionaires with too much time on their hands, Robbie's other best friend is Shrug (Evan Handler), who's stressed out even though he lives off inherited wealth and has never worked a day in his life.
Arthur is attracted to Lauren (A.J. Langer), a dizzy dame who juggles careers as a massage therapist and a process server.
Then there's Jennifer Grey, the former "Dirty Dancing" star who, like, plays herself -- a has-been who underwent a nose job that rendered her almost unrecognizable.
This group hangs out and pretty much does nothing. It can be funny, as in an upcoming episode when the city is obsessed with a pointless high-speed car chase that's being carried live on umpteen local TV stations. It can also be annoying because everyone but Arthur projects the image that L.A. is the center of the universe.
Of course, that's sort of like Los Angeles itself, which can be both a great place and a nightmare.
"It's like, you know" isn't without possibilities. But the batting average on the jokes isn't quite major league.
And maybe there is an audience out there for the show. After all, everyone seems to either love or love-to-hate L.A.
But, at the moment, the boring, annoying aspects of the show outweigh its good points. Would I, like, have sat through three episodes if it weren't a requirement of this TV critic gig? No.
'Nuff said.