'The Class' gets an A for effort

BY DIANE WERTS | Newsday Staff Writer

September 18, 2006

"The Class," a sitcom about a group of 20-somethings who went to third grade together, premieres tonight at 8 on CBS/2 (CBS Photo)

Watch the first few minutes of "The Class" in its CBS sitcom debut tonight, and you may not believe me when I say this, but here goes.

I think they might have something here.

You wouldn't necessarily know it by the series pilot, which frantically emphasizes punch lines over people as if careening about in mortal fear that you're going to change the channel. Which only makes you want to.

It takes time for this live-audience sitcom that starts snippy and shrill to chill into a warm and witty study of almost- 30-somethings finally finding ways to define who they are. The way they're doing it is in re-establishing relationships with the now-grown kids they knew way back when, in third grade, after the pilot's reunion party reconnects the former students in fresh angulations. It's no surprise to learn the show comes from "Friends" co-creator David Crane and partner (in more ways than one) Jeffrey Klarik.

Yet like many pilot episodes, especially this season, "The Class" tries to do too much immediately and pretty much sucks the oxygen out of its premiere half hour. Its eight Philadelphia reunitees and the folks in their immediate orbit are introduced in classifications - the nice-guy pediatrician (Jason Ritter), the black-clad cynic (Lizzy Caplan), the mousy doormat (Heather Goldenhersh), the suicidal dude (Jesse Tyler Ferguson), the gay guy (Sean Maguire), his heartbroken prom date (Lucy Punch), the trophy sports wife (Andrea Anders), the loser still living with Mom (Jon Bernthal). Yet the feisty actors embodying those identities manage to hint that there's more beneath the surface than we initially encounter.

Also, of course, they have to get out of the way what now seem like requisite pilot-episode jokes involving (tee-hee) naughty references - in this case, a diaphragm case and a teacher who looks like a penis. (Makes you wonder about the network execs these pilots are designed to impress.)

As hard as the early dialogue pushes for laughs, the performers underplay in counterweight, especially in the second and third weeks' episodes, under the guidance of legendary director James Burrows ("Taxi," "Cheers," "Will & Grace"). The contrived remarks and predictable sitcom rhythms start to smooth out, and a sense of meandering discovery emerges. There's still room for the occasional pratfall (TV reporter on hurricane assignment gets hers), but the show seems as interested in reactions to the joke event as the event itself.

"The Class" exudes a sense of respect for all its characters, even the ones ostensibly created as foils. The yokel footballer husband (David Keith), the hot gay partner (Cristian de la Fuente) and the "wow, he sure seems gay" spouse (Sam Harris) of the gay guy's prom dumpee come across as flesh-and-blood people harboring their own wells of unseen depth. For a show that starts out the easy way, "The Class" increasingly aspires to tackle the tough stuff.

THE CLASS. Eight adults who went to third grade together rediscover each other - and themselves. Sitcom premieres tonight at 8 on CBS/2.