COMEDY SERIES "Save Me" 
 WHEN|WHERE Premieres Thursday night at 8, second episode at 8:30, on NBC/4 
 REASON TO WATCH Could you become a better person overnight? 
 WHAT IT'S ABOUT Hey, it works for <a href="/topics//Anne_Heche">Anne Heche</a> ("Men in Trees"). Or at least for her character in this plucky half-hour about "an angry, drunken -- in a good marriage gone bad." That's for the pilot's initial minute, anyway. Then, she "dies." And wakes up to the first day of the rest of her life. 
 She's suddenly a sweetie getting do-good messages from God (with a capital G). So she's finally paying attention to her resentful teen (Madison Davenport, "Shameless"), giving nurturing advice to her resentful friends and making nice to that pushed-away hubby (<a href="/topics//Michael_Landes">Michael Landes</a>, "Lois &amp; Clark's" original Jimmy Olsen). 
 "I'm suddenly wide-awake in my life for the first time in years," she enthuses, jumping up and down like a toddler. It seems contagious. "I forgot how weird you are," she tells her suddenly nutty hubby. "So did I," says shocked he. 
 MY SAY Nobody's the bad guy in this deft portrait -- not even the easy-to-demonize mistress (Alexandra Breckinridge, "American Horror Story") -- which makes "Save Me" something of its own miracle. That genial verve takes a while to triumph, though, amid such pilot crutches as sprightly narration, "magical" music and cleverspeak dialogue. 
 BOTTOM LINE The "Save Me" pilot saves itself artistically. But debuting in a summertime double dose makes series salvation improbable. 
 GRADE B

COMEDY SERIES "Save Me" WHEN|WHERE Premieres Thursday night at 8, second episode at 8:30, on NBC/4 REASON TO WATCH Could you become a better person overnight? WHAT IT'S ABOUT Hey, it works for Anne Heche ("Men in Trees"). Or at least for her character in this plucky half-hour about "an angry, drunken -- in a good marriage gone bad." That's for the pilot's initial minute, anyway. Then, she "dies." And wakes up to the first day of the rest of her life. She's suddenly a sweetie getting do-good messages from God (with a capital G). So she's finally paying attention to her resentful teen (Madison Davenport, "Shameless"), giving nurturing advice to her resentful friends and making nice to that pushed-away hubby (Michael Landes, "Lois & Clark's" original Jimmy Olsen). "I'm suddenly wide-awake in my life for the first time in years," she enthuses, jumping up and down like a toddler. It seems contagious. "I forgot how weird you are," she tells her suddenly nutty hubby. "So did I," says shocked he. MY SAY Nobody's the bad guy in this deft portrait -- not even the easy-to-demonize mistress (Alexandra Breckinridge, "American Horror Story") -- which makes "Save Me" something of its own miracle. That genial verve takes a while to triumph, though, amid such pilot crutches as sprightly narration, "magical" music and cleverspeak dialogue. BOTTOM LINE The "Save Me" pilot saves itself artistically. But debuting in a summertime double dose makes series salvation improbable. GRADE B

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