In contrast to his movie career, James Caan’s TV series track record has been checkered at best (four mediocre seasons on “Las Vegas”) — but he’s a big reason to sample ABC’s new fall sitcom, “Back in the Game.”
Caan, now 73 and sporting a short grey beard, has aged himself into the role of a crusty ex-jock, which suits the actor’s tough-guy image and gravelly voice (if you close your eyes, he sounds a bit like Tony Soprano).
He also demonstrates a surprisingly light comedic touch as Terry “The Cannon” Gannon, a beer-swilling, slovenly ex-major leaguer who drives a ’70s sports car and is given to recounting how he “once faced Vida Blue with my junk out.”
The sitcom’s setup has Terry trying to find a common ground with his daughter, Terry Jr. (Maggie Lawson) — who played softball in college — and her tween-aged son, Danny (Griffin Gluck).
They’re now living with The Cannon in his messy, dimly lit house after Terry’s divorce — and trying to cope with the old man’s quirks (Terry Jr. to a Senior: “The last time I closed my eyes, you farted on me”).
You get the picture.
In Wednesday night’s series premiere, the unathletic Danny tries to impress his middle-school crush by trying out for the Little League team, failing miserably. That the team has no coach, yet is still auditioning potential players, doesn’t make too much sense — even for a sitcom — but it does frame what happens next.
Terry Jr., angry at overhearing some local dads making fun of Danny, decides that she will coach the newly assembled team, a group of misfits and awkward kids, including Danny, fat, red-headed identical twins and a kid who perpetually sways to dance rhythms only he can hear.
It’s all very reminiscent of the 1976 movie “The Bad News Bears,” which revolved around a ragtag baseball team — and Caan’s crotchety Terry Sr. as Morris Buttermaker, the role immortalized by Walter Matthau. Whether it continues to head down that path is anyone’s guess.
Caan and Lawson have comfortable on-screen chemistry — which makes their back-and-forth banter more believable — and Gluck ranges beyond the typical sitcom tween, adding a touch of pathos to young Danny (with help from some solid writing).
The show’s supporting cast is headed by Lenora Chrichlow in a funny turn as Lulu, Terry Jr.’s new best friend (and the mother of that dancing kid) who pays for the team’s equipment and uniforms. (The team is supposed to be called the “Angels” — but, thanks to a typo on their uniforms, they’re now the “Angles.”) I don’t know if “Back in the Game” will have a long shelf life, or if it will turn Caan into a prime-time star (like son Scott on “Hawaii Five-O”), but I do think it’s worth a half-hour of your time.