Is there something about Bob Saget that makes TV producers think — yeah, this guy's wife is dead and he's got a couple of daughters.
You might almost think so, given that Saget, who spent eight seasons playing the widowed father of young daughters on "Full House" returns to TV as the widowed father of young daughters in the new WB sitcom "Raising Dad."
Saget himself admitted that he was reluctant to take on a role that seemed so much like his "Full House" character, Danny Tanner.
"I went, 'Oh, man. I don't know,' " Saget said. "But then I read it, and I really liked it a lot. . . . And even though it was stuff that I invested in before, I wanted to do it.
"I'm not going to be doing Danny Tanner," he insisted. "He's not needy. He doesn't hug people a lot. He listens to brand-new music. He's edgy."
Well, his new character, Matt Stewart, is edgier than Danny was. But "Raising Dad" isn't exactly an edgy show.
Matt is a recent widower who's trying to raise his two daughters — 15-year-old Sarah (Kat Dennings) and pre-teen Emily (Brie Larson). He's got help on the homefront from his father, Sam (Jerry Adler).
Matt is also a teacher who most of the kids consider cool. But not Sarah, who attends the school where her father teaches. And Sarah is particularly unhappy when her father talks a little too much about her personal life in front of her peers, as occurs in Friday's premiere (8:30 p.m., Ch. 30).
"Raising Dad" is actually sort of a less-kind, less-gentle "Full House" — and that's not a bad thing. It's certainly not the sort of risque, edgy comedy that parents don't want their kids watching, but it's also not the syrupy-sweet, cotton-candy TV that drives parents from the TV.
Unfortunately, "Raising Dad" also isn't particularly funny. And, frankly, it may still be too soft to survive in the current network TV climate.
"I'd be fortunate to have another show last as long as 'Full House' did," Saget said.
Well, that's not going to happen.