Free-love parents, uptight offspring? Already seen it
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Stars of sitcoms past appear i n something new that feels very old. “How to Live With Your Parents (For the Rest of Your Life)” (8: 30 p. m., WPTY-TC Channel 24) stars Sarah Chalke (“Roseanne,” “Scrubs”) as Polly, a sensible wife and mother who abandons her goofy, irresponsible husband, Julian (Jon Dore), to move back with her middle-age but free-spirited parents, Max and Elaine (Brad Garrett, “Everybody Loves Raymond,” and Elizabeth Perkins, “Weeds”).
Polly’s parents’ eccentricities are told in a series of flashbacks narrated by their exasperated daughter. Hedonists who never left the 1970s, they speak freely about the “key party” orgies of their youth. Elaine describes her youthful promiscuity as a point of pride. The habit of sharing too much information reaches a dreadful extreme when Elaine describes the aesthetic effects of Max’s testicular cancer surgery.
Max and Elaine’s loopy escapades and their “let it be” attitude regarding parenting stand in stark contrast to Polly’s far-too-controlling behavior toward her own daughter, Natalie (Rachel Eggleston).
Will valuable life lessons be learned?
It’s hardly surprising that Garrett proves less than convincing as a he- donist. Even here, his penchant for self-expression rarely transcends mere grumpiness. Much of that is directed at the well-meaning and useless Julian, who continually tries to re-insinuate himself into their lives with sweet, but ultimately annoying, gestures. Perkins’ character is equally unconvincing.
The notion of parents from the free-love generation raising a slightly stiffer offspring is at least as old as “Family Ties,” a comedy that debuted 31 years ago. “Absolutely Fabulous,” the British comedy that perfected the art of lampooning delusional, middle-age ex-hippies, debuted more than 20 years ago. Heck, even “Dharma & Greg” is from another century.
There are reasons why doomed shows like “Parents” debut at the end of the TV season. It’s not clear if we should recoil from its abject waste of talent, its paucity of fresh ideas or the fact that it debuts after “Modern Family,” a successful series that proves there is still life in the sitcom genre. Compared to “Parents,” the derivative, formulaic ensemble comedies on TV Land seem like Shakespeare.
The new reality series “Forever Young” (9 p.m., TV Land) features groups of 20-somethings and septuagenarians learning to collaborate during a scavenger hunt.
Fans of “Doctor Who” star David Tennant can catch him in the costume-drama espionagethriller miniseries “Spies of Warsaw” (8 p.m., BBC America, concludes next Wednesday). He’s an aristocrat, wounded veteran and French diplomat who falls madly for a married Parisian lawyer (Janet Montgomery) on the eve of World War II. Their complex efforts to ferret out secrets from German informants take a back seat to romantic melodrama and fancy clothes.
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
Finalists sing from the classic rock songbook on “American Idol” (7 p.m., WHBQ-TV Channel 13).
Down for the count on “Arrow” (7 p.m., WLMTTV Channel 30).
A vision of the future on “Modern Family” (8 p.m., WPTY-TV Channel 24).
“NOVA” (8 p. m., WKNO-TV Channel 10; WMAV-TV Channel 18) examines the discovery of a 2,000-year-old astronomical calculator, considered the earliest “computer.”
Rayna learns that life on tour is not for her daughters on “Nashville” (9 p.m., WPTY-TV Channel 24).
A botched mission puts Elizabeth and Philip on edge on “The Americans” (9 p.m., FX).
Pet rats and a Raggedy Ann doll collection are featured on “My Crazy Obsession” (9 p.m., TLC).