For proof that not all TV shows about families are appropriate for families, look no further than the new ABC sitcom "According to Jim," which premieres tonight at 7:30 on Ch. 4.
This vehicle for Jim Belushi is about a happily married couple and their three children. It's also crass, vulgar and completely unfunny — the sort of show parents will want to shield their own children from.
"This is a family show," Belushi insisted — which sort of makes you wonder what his idea of a "family show" is.
Belushi as a sitcom dad takes some getting used to. Well, actually, there's no getting used to it, at least not in the three episodes provided to critics.
The level of humor here is mind-boggling low. The premiere episode mines laughs from a preschool girl running around the house shouting the word for female genitals. Another episode includes a punchline that features Jim scratching his butt.
And ABC calls this a "sophisticated" comedy. Really.
Jim is a loud, oafish lout whose only saving grace seems to be that he does love his wife, Cheryl (Courtney Thorne-Smith of "Melrose Place" and "Ally McBeal"), and their three small children. But you've got to wonder how those kids — 6- and 4-year-old girls and an infant son — are going to grow up given the Neanderthal attitudes their father expresses at every turn.
"Jim is playing a guy who is completely unapologetic about who he is," executive producer Suzanne Bukinik said. "And a lot of the sitcom dads on TV . . . they're a little bit afraid of their wives. They're a little bit afraid of being the men that they are. And this character isn't going to be."
What Jim is not afraid to be, apparently, is a throwback to the 1950s — and we're not talking "Father Knows Best" here, we're talking about a guy who thinks Playboy is reference material.
Why his wife puts up with him is unfathomable. She's apparently smart and sophisticated, so there's no apparent reason why she'd even be interested in him.
And Thorne-Smith and Belushi have absolutely no chemistry whatsoever. What's apparently supposed to be light banter between them comes off as excruciatingly painful.
As is the dialogue between Jim and his wife's siblings (Kimberly Williams and Larry Joe Campbell), who always seem to be hanging around the house. Heck, this show even manages to make that cute, darling Kimberly Williams ("Father of the Bride") shrewish and unlikable.
If all of this isn't enough to make you reach for the remote control, Belushi's character is apparently under the impression that his rather corpulent body is sexy. And Belushi and the producers seem to be under the impression that having the actor take off his shirt is a sure-fire punchline.
It's not.
Thorne-Smith has done a lot of scenes with shirtless hunks during her TV career, including Gil Bellows on "Ally McBeal" and Grant Show and Andrew Shue on "Melrose Place.
"Really, the only difference is that when I did 'Melrose Place,' Grant and Andrew used to really complain when they had to take their shirt off because they felt like they were being objectified," Thorne-Smith said. "Jim seems to love it."
At least Belushi is having a good time on "According to Jim." Viewers won't.
E-MAIL: pierce@desnews.com