'JEZEBEL' STRETCHES LIMITS OF CREDIBILITY.

Byline: David Kronke

TV Critic

Here's how sloppily conceived "The Return of Jezebel James" is: By the second episode, the title character has essentially been forgotten.

Of course, that's because the title character doesn't exist except as a vague ruse to unite estranged sisters Sarah (Parker Posey), a high-strung children's-book editor, and Coco (Lauren Ambrose), a young slacker and recovering addict. They meet because Sarah has decided, after being dumped from a nine-year relationship, that she wants to have a child, but she's infertile, so she wants Coco to serve as the surrogate mother.

Given Coco's addiction, one might think Sarah might look for other options, and certainly, Coco wants nothing to do with it. Until she discovers that Sarah has initiated a book series about "Jezebel James," an imaginary friend Coco created when she was a child.

Instead of being insulted -- her sister has capitalized off a bit of her life, and she has nothing to show for it -- Coco is instead moved and agrees to rent out her uterus.

"Jezebel James" is rife with such inconsistencies. In the first of two episodes tonight, Sarah is living in a funky, unreconstructed place without a couch (her ex took it), yet in the second, she's in a posh, elegantly appointed condo (and dialogue makes it clear she hasn't moved). In tonight's first installment, she's in a casually carnal relationship with Marcus (Scott Cohen) in which rule No. 1 is to share no personal information; by episode two, he knows a lot about her -- and, in fact, works with her.

There's so much illogic here exploited to set up ostensible jokes.

In creator Amy Sherman-Palladino's previous series, the beloved "Gilmore Girls," the banter poured in torrents; if one line wasn't all that funny, a better one was coming just seconds later. Here, her eccentric rhythms are undone by the interruption of the sitcom laugh track, unpersuasive titters that underscore how wan the jokes really are.

Posey's nervous, flibbertigibbet energy is assertive without inducing many laughs. Ambrose, who previously starred in "Six Feet Under," has become the go-to girl for essaying her generation's disaffection. Alas, there's not much depth or wit here for them to plumb -- both are as elusive as "Jezebel James" is herself.

David Kronke, [phone] david.kronke(at)dailynews.com www.insidesocal.com/tv/

THE RETURN OF JEZEBEL JAMES - Two stars

>What: "Gilmore Girls" creator Amy Sherman-Palladino's new sitcom concerns two quipping women - only this time, they're sisters, not mother and daughter.

>Where: Fox (Channel 11).

>When: 8 tonight.

>In a nutshell: Inconsistent in both humor and its story lines' logic.

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Two estranged sisters -- book editor Sarah (Parker Posey, left) and recovering addict Coco (Lauren Ambrose) repair their relationship so that Coco can serve as surrogate mother for the infertile Sarah in the inconsistent and implausible "The Return of Jezebel James," premiering tonight.