'IMAGINE' THERE'S NO HUMOR.Byline: David Kronke TV Critic ``Imagine That'' is not the perfect title for a sitcom so bereft of imagination. Hank Azaria stars as Josh Miller, a comedy writer for a TV sketch show who mines his wackily miserable life - marriage counseling Marriage Counseling Definition Marriage counseling is a type of psychotherapy for a married couple or established partners that tries to resolve problems in the relationship. , a womanizing wom·an·ize v. woman·ized, woman·iz·ing, woman·iz·es v.intr. To pursue women lecherously. v.tr. To give female characteristics to; feminize. colleague who hires a thong-strutting babe for an assistant - for material for the show. As if it matters: His star, Barb (Katey Sagal), grabs credit for the funny stuff anyway. By evoking James Thurber's ``The Secret Life of Walter Mitty'' in the show's description, ``Imagine That'' flatters itself with the patina of class. Fat chance. Actually, since this cribs so heavily from Neil Simon's ``Laughter on the 23rd Floor'' (itself an homage to ``Your Show of Shows''), it probably would've been more entertaining to put the versatile Azaria (he of the many voices for ``The Simpsons'') in the role of the irritable, anxiety-ridden TV star than the beleaguered be·lea·guer tr.v. be·lea·guered, be·lea·guer·ing, be·lea·guers 1. To harass; beset: We are beleaguered by problems. 2. To surround with troops; besiege. , relatively mousy mous·y also mous·ey adj. mous·i·er, mous·i·est 1. Resembling a mouse, especially: a. Having a drab, pale brown color: mousy hair. b. writer, particularly since Sagal doesn't do much with the part. But then, it would also help to have some sharp scripting, but tonight's pilot is content to go with leering leer intr.v. leered, leer·ing, leers To look with a sidelong glance, indicative especially of sexual desire or sly and malicious intent. n. A desirous, sly, or knowing look. , lowest-common-denominator gags. Joshua Malina, who was the smart guy in ``Sports Night,'' plays the idiot here, Josh's partner, Kenny; only Jayne Brook, as Josh's wife, Wendy, shows any spark with this material. ``IMAGINE THAT'' What: Sitcom about a sketch writer on a comedy series. The stars: Hank Azaria, Katey Sagal, Joshua Malina, Jayne Brook. Where: NBC NBC in full National Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. commercial broadcasting company. It was formed in 1926 by RCA Corp., General Electric Co. (GE), and Westinghouse and was the first U.S. company to operate a broadcast network. (Channel 4). When: 8 tonight. Our rating: One and one half stars CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Hank Azaria, who voices Apu, among others, on Fox's ``The Simpsons,'' debuts his sitcom ``Imagine That'' tonight on NBC. |
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