“Freddie”
Tonight at 8:30 on ABC/Ch. 7
* * (two stars)
FREDDIE Prinze Jr. had me right up until the moment he entered a scene wearing boxer shorts and scratching his rear end.
Unfortunately, that happens in the first half-minute of to night’s premiere of his new lat in-flavored ABC sitcom.
In the show – titled “Fred die” – Freddie plays Freddie, a 28-year-old head chef at a Chicago restaurant.
He lives in a swinging bachelor pad high over Chi cago’s downtown, but lately, his ability to score with chicks is being seriously hampered by his family. Poor Freddie!
Now crammed into his apartment are his sister Sofia (Jacqueline Obradors); her daughter Zoey (Chloe Suazo); their grandmother (Jenny Gago); and their sister- in-law Allison (Madchen Amick).
Sofia was recently divorced and Allison was widowed. Grandma came with Sofia. And across the hall, Freddie has his Kramer, an unemployed rich guy named Chris (Brian Austin Green).
Tonight’s premiere involves Freddie’s efforts to date a pretty blond restaurant hostess. Next week’s episode involves Freddie’s efforts to date, well, just about anyone.
“Freddie” could just as easily have been titled “Dating Freddie,” but that would have restricted “Freddie” to storylines about his dates – which is exactly what happened.
Memo to the producers: Here’s what you should do to fix “Freddie”: First, find something else for these characters to do other than playing off Freddie’s dating difficulties.
Second, get your brains out of the gutter. Tonight’s series of jokes about Grandma’s sagging, elderly breasts are vulgar, and we can do without the butt-scratching too.
And third, lose the sister-in-law. This character is superfluous. Plus, she’s a drunk, which isn’t funny, despite your efforts to make her so.
Anyone who saw Freddie Prinze Jr. on “Letterman” Oct. 3 had to be impressed. This guy has a great personality. Building a likable sitcom around him ought to be a no-brainer. So why haven’t they done it?