If you're a huge fan of "Girlfriends," you must be very lonely.
Oh, er, um, what I meant to say is that if you're really fond of "Girlfriends," you might like its spinoff, "The Game." If not, don't bother.
Tia Mowry ("Sister, Sister") stars as Melanie, the live-in girlfriend of Derwin (Pooch Hall), third-string rookie for pro football's San Diego Sabers. (That they're not married is not even an issue — an interesting comment on modern morality.)
Melanie tries to fit in as a football (non)wife, an exclusive club seemingly always under siege by groupies and hangers-on. The comedy, such as it is, centers on her new (non)friends, Tasha (Wendy Raquel Robinson), the mother/manager of star player Malik (Hosea Chanchez) and Kelly (Brittany Daniel), the somewhat neglected wife of another player, Jason (Coby Bell).
There's been some recasting since the original pilot, and the loudness and obnoxiousness has been toned down a bit. But the humor hasn't been increased — it ranges from oh-so-mildly amusing to painfully unfunny. There are more laughs if you switch to NBC's coverage of real football.
E-mail: pierce@desnews.com