‘Hiller And Diller’ Should Stay At Work
On paper, “Hiller and Diller” (ABC at 9:30) looks very funny.
Kevin Nealon is one of the more talented of the second-generation of “Saturday Night Live” stars. Richard Lewis proved his neurotic brand of comedy could work in ABC’s memorable “Anything But Love.”
And then there’s the show’s creative team, executive producer Ron Howard and the crew responsible for such hits as “Splash” and “Parenthood.”
Nealon and Lewis click as a pair of TV comedy writers (and Eugene Levy is a howl as their boss), but every time the scene shifts to Hiller’s and Diller’s home lives, my eyes glaze over.
Hiller (Nealon) goes home to a domestic situation right out of Family Circle - a loving wife and overachieving children. Divorced Diller (Lewis) lives with this troublemaking kids. As a dad, he’s a well-intended dud.
Tonight’s show is a perfect example.
Hiller goes into a panic when he finds out that he’s encouraged Diller’s lowlife son Zane (Kyle Sabihy) to go after a woman, only to discover that the woman is his own Lizzie (Faryn Einhorn).
It’s a real dead end, doubly disappointing because Nealon and Lewis could bring so much more to an intelligent, adult comedy. Instead, they’re saddled with the same sorry sitcom shtick we’ve seen before.
And apparently, with the series’ move from Tuesday to ABC’s Friday “T.G.I.F.” lineup, there’s more to come.
Highlights
“Players,” NBC at 8: Ice, Alfonse and Charlie (Ice-T, Costas Mandylor, Frank John Hughes) go after brother-sister fashion designers (Luigi Amodeo, Natasha Pavlovich), who use illegal immigrants as slave labor. Kowalski (Mia Korf) goes undercover to lay the trap.
“Boy Meets World,” ABC at 8:30: The series takes its stab at teen drinking with a morality tale based on what happens when Cory (Ben Savage) turns to booze as he tries to get over Topanga (Danielle Fishel).
“Millennium,” FOX at 9: A two-part story finds Black (Lance Henriksen) in the middle of a fight with the Millennium Group that erupts when a dissident faction steals an artifact with mystical powers.
“Dateline NBC,” NBC at 9: Do you keep secrets? A 10-year study shows that revealing your secrets may improve your health.
“Nash Bridges,” CBS at 10: Bridges (Don Johnson) takes on Irish terrorists who attack his ex-wife (Serena Scott Thomas). When her British husband (Markus Flanagan) disappears, the San Francisco cop has another reason to save the day.
“Homicide: Life on the Street,” NBC at 10: As the series returns to the NBC lineup, Pembleton and Bayliss (Andre Braugher, Kyle Secor) investigate a murder in which the victim was buried alive. Meanwhile, Munch and Kellerman (Richard Belzer, Reed Diamond) take on the case of a roadrage death involving the driver of a state vehicle.
Cable Calls
“Inventing the Abbotts” (1997), MAX at 8: This uneven film by Pat O’Connor (“Circle of Friends”) depicts life in a small Illinois town where two working-class brothers (Jaoquin Phoenix, Billy Crudup) romance a trio of rich sisters (Jennifer Connelly, Liv Taylor, Joanna Going).
The setting is the 1950s. The trouble is that the movie stakes its success on its period charm and never quite gets there.
Will Patton and Kathy Baker (“Picket Fences”) also star.
Talk Time
“Tonight,” NBC at 11:35: Actresses Kim Basinger and Alyssa Milano (“Melrose Place”).
“Late Show With David Letterman,” CBS at 11:35: Child entrepreneur Richie Stachowski and comedian Paul Rodriguez.
“Politically Incorrect With Bill Maher,” ABC at 12:05 a.m.: Bob Odenkirk and Laura Ingraham.
“The Late Late Show With Tom Snyder,” CBS at 12:35 a.m.: Actor James Garner.
“Late Night With Conan O’Brien,” NBC at 12:35 a.m.: Musical guest Finley Quaye.