TV REVIEWS : ‘DADS,’ ‘GUNG HO’ SITCOMS JOIN ABC LINEUP TONIGHT

ABC’s “Dads,” debuting at 9 tonight on Channels 7, 3 and 42, is the flip side of CBS’ “Kate & Allie.” Where that show is about two single mothers who live together, this one is about two single fathers who live together. Where the female duo have two girls and a boy between them, the male pair have two boys and a girl.

Where the CBS show is funny and evidences a genuine feel for the dilemmas of parenting, the ABC show is flat and about as close to real life as “The Jetsons.”

Barry Bostwick, fine as the father of our country in “George Washington,” is not nearly so convincing as the father of a 13-year-old daughter (Skye Bassett). He isn’t helped by the fact that co-executive producer Jeff Harris has written the character as weak and ineffectual, seemingly at the mercy of a girl who aptly describes herself as “a totally spoiled, obnoxious, selfish little creep.”

He spends the entire first episode trying to get her to do the dishes.

Nor does Carl Weintraub have a handle on his role of the other poppa, who, even as he spouts advice about taking a firm stand with kids, can’t keep his own from interrupting the adult conversation.

Quick, somebody get this series an injection of “The Cosby Show.” These dads are duds.