NO BUNNY SPECIAL GREG THE BUNNY IS JUST A NETWORK PUPPET IN FOX'S NEW SITCOM.

Byline: DAVID KRONKE TV Critic

WE SOPHISTICATED ADULTS are cool enough to see how stupid kids' shows are, even though that didn't prevent us from watching them when we, in fact, were children. Mocking the genre is like heckling Air Supply songs, which hasn't prevented a glut on the market - Fox's new comedy ``Greg the Bunny'' premieres the exact same week the Warner Bros. movie ``Death to Smoochy'' opens.

``Greg the Bunny'' operates in a universe similar to that in ``Who Framed Roger Rabbit?'' - kids-show puppets are a palpable and unique minority in Los Angeles, treated as second-class citizens. Tonight, Greg replaces an alcoholic, over-the-hill rabbit on the problematically named educational series ``Sweet Knuckle Junction.'' His slacker pal and roommate, Jimmy (Seth Green), just happens to be the son of ``Sweet Knuckle's'' lackadaisically blase producer, Gil (Eugene Levy).

Much show-biz chicanery ensues backstage. What ``Greg the Bunny'' most resembles is ``Lord of the Rings'' director Peter Jackson's early movie, the infinitely more twisted and inspired gross-out fest ``Meet the Feebles,'' which boasted behavior so hilariously reprehensible even the Fox network couldn't replicate it. (One puppet character had Vietnam flashbacks; when a character here refers to same, it's either an homage or sinister plagiarism.)

It's so easy to mock this genre that Steven Levitan (``Just Shoot Me'') and his team, who produce the show, clearly knocked off work after coming up with the idea. After the initial joke, there aren't many inspired gags. Even though this show allegedly isn't aimed at kids, an upcoming episode concerns a paintball contest - oh, so that's how you draw in the sophisticated adults.

Of three shows available for review, a future episode that pointedly takes on political correctness is clearly the best of the lot - Greg is persuaded to preach the cause of his fellow ``puppish'' people, assuming a new name and learning his original, gibberish-inflected language - but even it doesn't have many spot-on punch lines.

Perhaps the best measure of ``Greg the Bunny's'' squandering its potential is how it wastes Sarah Silverman, a smart, provocative comedian who here is relegated to semi-sexpot status (writers can't even decide if she's a likable character or not). That's genuinely more shocking than the ostensibly naughty gags tossed into the proceedings - there are two puppet flatulence gags in the first two episodes - that purportedly elevate this to the level of adult comedy.

GREG THE BUNNY - Two stars

What: Sitcom about a children's show host who's a puppet, starring Seth Green, Eugene Levy and Sarah Silverman.

Where: Fox (Channel 11).

When: 9:30 p.m. Wednesdays.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1) no caption (Greg the Bunny)

(2) Clockwise from top: Count Blah, Bob Gunton, Sarah Silverman, Seth Green (holding Greg), Dina Waters and Eugene Levy star in ``Greg the Bunny.''