Pilot Previews: What About Brian

WHAT ABOUT BRIAN

Network: ABC

Airs: MON 10:00PM

Grade: B-

Indeed. What about Brian? And what about Bob? And what about that missing question mark?

Warning: do not come to this JJ Abrams- produced series looking for the hilarious exploits of an obsessive compulsive Bill Murray harassing Richard Dreyfus at his summer home. Instead, hunker down for an hour of bland, photogenic Angelinos blandly, photogenically yammering on about bland, photogenic subjects; mainly, love. It's Felicity for the thirtysomething set, or maybe thirtysomething for the Dawson's Creek set. Or maybe it's just one long Riunite commercial.

At least that's how it starts, with a group of way-too-attractive friends on a rooftop patio, drinking and laughing effortlessly, their laser-whitened teeth glimmering with perfect golden-hour lighting. Riunite and it feels so good! A guy in voiceover tells us about his 'good friends, good times' and how he's started writing in a journal like a teenager, because he is "in love with his best friend's girl..." I kept waiting for him to say the word "friend," because only characters in an S.E. Hinton novel say things like "my best friend's girl". Alas, that shoe never dropped.

If you haven't guessed, this is Brian (Barry Watson) and he's a great guy. We know this because he drives a woodpaneled station wagon that belonged to his grandfather, which in LA means you are down to earth and quirky. His best friend Adam (Matthew Davis) is a real jerk! We know this because he drives a new BMW and doesn't appreciate his gorgeous doctor girlfriend, Marjorie (Polly Shannon). What About Brian is supposed to be a dramedy, but the suffix part of that equation only really kicks in when we meet Marjorie and are required to buy her as a physician. The levels of suspension of disbelief required to do this could collapse universes.

Aside from the good doctor, there is some nice casting here. The always great Rosanna Arquette plays Brian's older, successful sister, Nic, who marries a younger Italian boytoy named Angelo, played to pompous perfection by Raoul Bova. In one of the show's more amusing and authentic touches, Angelo spends his days studying for a psychology degree and pursuing a modeling career, which apparently gives him the credentials to psychoanalyze everyone around him with a smarmy Gucci grin.

Watson and Davis also make the most of their material, as does Rick Gomez, given the thankless role of Barry's videogame producing business partner. One wonders what nerd-writer's idea of cool was to have him lipsynching and air-keyboarding at the office to The Who's Baba O'Reilly--whoa dude, even at work, you're radical!!