TV REVIEW : ‘ME AND MRS. C’ WILTS AMONG RERUNS

Just when you were settling in for a long summer of reruns, along comes a first-run comedy series from NBC. But new is not necessarily better: “Me and Mrs. C,” premiering at 9:30 tonight on Channels 4, 36 and 39, is about as welcome as a heat wave.

It’s certainly one long dry spell in terms of laughs.

And warming up to the characters is as pleasant as hugging a cactus. They’re a thoroughly disagreeable lot: a 62-year-old widow (Peg Murray) who makes fun of her grandchildren and schemes to get money from her son (Gary Bayer), a whining wimp whose wife (Ellen Regan) is a materialistic, two-faced meddler.

The story, by executive producer Scoey Mitchlll, is no better. The son keeps saying that his mother has no savings and is being hounded by a multitude of creditors. So she rents out a room in her home for $87 a month--and that’s supposed to solve her problems.

Or it would, if only this young, sweet-looking college graduate she’s taken in (newcomer Misha McK) didn’t turn out to be--are you ready?--an ex-con. Seems she served time for armed robbery. Don’t ask how that came about; no answer is provided. All that matters, apparently, is that she’s cute.

Geez. Reruns are starting to look pretty good. Maybe that’s NBC’s point in putting this show on now.