Sitcom Cloning: An Old Phenomenon Bursting in Hollywood.

Comedy in sitcoms -- these days it's almost an oxymoron. The sitcom may still rule U.S. primetime television, but its creativity seems to be waning. A peek at the new U.S. television season confirms comedy lovers' fears that their next laugh will most likely come from a rerun. In the past, comedy smashes were not exclusively American since many popular shows were U.K. adaptations, but the gems of U.S. creativity still glistened. This, according to critics, is by and large no longer the case.

One popular premise in the upcoming U.S. season is single fathers taking care of their children, usually daughters. Fathers, who in classic-TV laughers left parenting to the mothers, are now in mommy's driver's seat, perhaps while moms take the kids to soccer games (the so-called soccer moms, who have won political recognition but not a sitcom of their own).

While the difficulties of fathers as primary parents is an interesting concept, will it continue to tickle viewers' funny bones in a dozen sitcoms that showcase the same idea? This premise is not original. It already enjoyed success on ABC in the '90s with Full House from Warner Bros. Three single bachelors caring for three little girls was intriguing for those whose ages were still in the single digits, but would it amuse an older demographic?

We can't entirely blame Full House, despite its canned laughter as a backdrop for its baby character's monosyllabic retorts. It is the show's clones that make us cringe. One on One presents a sportscaster father raising three rambunctious daughters. Daniel Stern stars as a newly separated father in Community Center from Acme and Big Ticket TV. Bernie Mac, to be internationally distributed by 20th Century Fox, concerns Bernie raising his sister's kids. Twentieth Century's Say Uncle spotlights a gay man who adopts his niece and nephew.

One sitcom that may distinguish itself is Paramount's Raising Dad conceived by Jonathan Katz, creator and animated star of Comedy Central's squiggly cartoon Dr. Katz: Professional Therapist. Here, a widowed dad raises two girls. Star Bob Saget reprises his Full House role as a single father. If history speaks for future success, this one will grab the brass ring.

When Warner Bros.' Friends, one of TV's top syndicated series, first debuted on NBC, TV execs were concerned about viewers' acceptance of the show. But as it gained popularity, clones -- such as the much-hyped and quickly cancelled Dream Works' It's Like...You Know, and Townies, which failed to revive Molly Ringwald's career -- popped up on major networks. Most of them did not work then, so why would they work now? Case: young adults come face-to-face with the real world. Verdict: it's passed its prime.

There are around six sitcoms on this very subject ready to slide into TV slots. Brad Grey TV presents an untitled Paul Simms project about four twentysomethings trying to make it in the rejection-filled streets of Hollywood. Regency presents the comedy In the Weeds about a hip-and- happening eatery with an even hipper staff. An ambitious Steven Koren project by NBC Studios has four single guys and two female pals mixing the laughs. Dream Works regurgitates this plot with North Hollywood. Paramount's Life as We Know It focuses on a bunch of guy pals in a stylish Manhattan area. Artist Television Group's Late Bloomers centers around four male chums.

Paramount's Ed splashed onto NBC with its sly humor and quixotic situations referred as dramedy, a genre that is sweeping the nation. A big city lawyer returns to his rural hometown to change his life. Will this piquant concept sire twins or triplets? Ed is being distributed throughout the world after winning ratings gold in the U.S.

There are already three TV shows about big city fish out of water in small town ponds and vice-versa. Paramount's Mitch Rouse project concerns two lifelong friends who leave a hamlet for the south of Chicago. SNL alum Cheri O'Teri stars in (possibly from 20th Century Fox) Loomis as a celebrity living the village life while coping with her loony family. Ellen Degeneres' new comedy Ellen, Again from ATG brings the urbanite back to her roots after her dotcom dotbombs.

There are only two upcoming series that sound even remotely unique. R&B singer Sisqo, of Thong Song fame, stars as a singer who wins a reality show and moves to Hollywood to be in a sitcom. British actress Brenda Blethyn was supposed to make her U.S. TV debut in Paramount's Seven Roses, about an eccentric family of actors at a New England inn, however the show has recently been booted off the Fall TV schedule.