‘My Guys’ Stands Out Like A Sore Thumb
“My Guys,” CBS at 8:30, is a comedy about a widowed father of two trying to put his life back together while managing a small Manhattan limousine company.
It’s also proof that CBS has just about hit the bottom of the programming barrel. Ironically, the network has canceled two or three comedies this season that held greater promise than this blue-collar snoozer.
Michael Rispoli stars as Sonny Demarco, a sincere, hard-working guy balancing his limousine business and the care and feeding of independent-minded sons Francis (Francis Capra), 12, and Michael (Mike Damus), 15.
Francis is described as “a hypochondriac who is allergic to everything.” Imagine the potential for laughs. Michael is obsessed with girls, especially a gorgeous new neighbor, Angela (Marisol Nichols).
In the premiere, Sonny is asked out on a date by Dori (Sherie Renee Scott), a waitress and aspiring actress. A little out of practice, he’s uneasy when it turns out she’s more interested than she’s let on. At the same time, Michael is trying to impress Angela.
Both father and son learn something about being themselves. The script is well-intended, but the other cast members, especially the boys, keep it from working. Some of the limo jokes are embarrassingly lame.
“My Guys” looks out of place, like an escapee from the early days of FOX or one of those quickly canceled WB comedies. Following intelligently funny “Dave’s World” on the CBS Wednesday schedule, “My Guys” lands with a dull thud.
Highlights
“Ellen,” ABC at 8: Janeane Garofalo (“The Larry Sanders Show”) guest-stars as a patient that Ellen (Ellen DeGeneres) befriends as she waits for a mammogram in a doctor’s office.
“Scientific American Frontiers,” KSPS at 7: The season ends with host Alan Alda exploring “21st Century Medicine.” Computers, robotic doctors and noninvasive surgery play their role in high-tech medical care. Also included is a report on new gene therapy that could make bypass surgery obsolete.
“The Faculty,” ABC at 8:30: Flynn (Meredith Baxter) clashes with a competitive colleague (Janet Hubert) over funding for the school’s music program.
“Summer of Fear,” CBS at 9: Corin Nemec plays a dark and mysterious stranger who manipulates a family staying at a recently inherited beach home. Gregory Harrison plays the father, and Glynnis O’Connor is the mother. The “evil-within” scenario sounds all too familiar.
“Great Performances,” KSPS at 8: Mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli stars in the Houston Grand Opera’s “La Cenerentola,” loosely adapted from the Cinderella tale.
“Kindred: The Embraced,” FOX at 9: The vampire clans continue their infighting as the series moves to its regular time period. Kelly Rutherford (“Home Front”) makes her first appearance as a reporter who falls for vampire godfather Julian Luna (Mark Frankel).
“Grace Under Fire,” ABC at 9: Robert Klein reprises his role as the school janitor infected with the AIDS virus. Grace (Brett Butler) connects with the not-so-pleasant victim when she takes his call while volunteering on the crisis hotline.
“PrimeTime Live,” ABC at 10: Reporter Jay Schadler looks back on a series of deadly and devastating tornados that struck the Texas panhandle last summer.
Cable Calls
“Baseball,” ESPN at 4:30: The first of a season of Wednesday night major league doubleheaders begins with San Francisco at Atlanta and Milwaukee at California.
“Bloodhounds” (1996), USA at 9: Here’s a warmed-over, by-the-book murder-mystery. A crime novelist (Corbin Bernsen) teams with a cop to solve a murder.
The slight twist is that the cop (Christine Hamos) is female and a martial arts master. Unavailable for review.
Talk Time
“Tonight,” NBC at 11:35: Joey Lawrence (“Brotherly Love”) and singer-actress Dolly Parton.
“Late Show With David Letterman,” CBS at 11:35: Model Elle MacPherson and actor Mykelti Williamson.
“Late Night With Conan O’Brien,” NBC at 12:35 a.m.: Kim Coles (“Living Single”) and political strategist James Carville.