Casual Cogitations

Sitcoms come and go, but it's rare to find a TV show that is consistently fall-off-the-chair funny. Worst Week is that sitcom.

Only a man (or a couple of them) could get paid big bucks in Hollywood to come up with such a lame-o rip-off and perpetuate the fantasy that gorgeous women can't help but to love out-of-shape guys who do everything wrong. And hell, its thanks to them we still catch great shows like Worst Week.

In Worst Week, there's Sam, a guy who knocked up his girlfriend and must win over her wealthy, disapproving parents. Unfortunately, disaster follows Sam, who suffers such horrors as mistaking a cooking pot for a urinal and jokingly telling his girlfriend, ''I'm going to punch you in the face,'' just as her ominous father enters the room. It's a Meet the Parents situation, only much funnier. Bornheimer is the find of the fall season — a stammering, aw-shucksy guy who can get a laugh from just a weird spin on the words ''No? Okay.'' Unlike Ben Stiller's wired energy, which made Parents more tense than funny, Bornheimer absorbs every setback with such a beaten-puppy air that each fresh misery feels ludicrous, rather than merely annoying. Does it work, (worst) week after (worst) week? With Bornheimer, it strangely does. His is a feathery touch on a wrecking-ball comedy.

In the vein of Seinfeld, Friends and Two and a Half Men, the cast for Worst Week was brilliantly assembled. Kyle Bornheimer lays Sam Briggs, a magazine editor trying hard to please his in-laws. Bornheimer’s portrayal of Sam is blessed with spot-on physical comedic timing and a vulnerability that compels viewers to root for him.

Nancy Lenehan and Kurtwood Smith (popularly remembered as the irascible dad on That 70’s Show) are priceless as the in-laws who repeatedly foil Sam’s overtures. Rounding out the primary cast is Erinn Hayes. She plays the love of Sam’s life and is the ideal “straight man” for this always-on-a-collision-course clan.

Seinfeld is known as a sitcom juggernaut, yet it wasn’t until its fourth season that it generated a sizable audience or cracked the top thirty in the Nielsen ratings.

Today, networks are reluctant to nurture shows in this manner, and without network backing, promising programs may not have enough time to find an audience before the plug is pulled. This is the fate Worst Week is in danger of suffering if CBS does not choose to cultivate this humorous piece of work.

A summertime consecutive airing of the first season, followed by a second season premier may be the answer to broadening the viewer base. Millions have yet to discover Worst Week, but those who have are filling message boards with their admiration.

FAMOUS LAST WORDS

Worst Week brightens the day for anyone having a worst week of his or her own, and fans hope that CBS will do the right thing and create a season 2 for this fresh and entertaining show.