TV Reviews : ‘Dave Thomas’ on CBS Is Short on Laughs

If any member of the “SCTV” cast was best equipped to host a weekly comedy/variety series, underseen Dave Thomas might be the man; in addition to his talents as an impressionist and skit player, Thomas seems perhaps the most average, all-American Joe from among that legendary crew, John Candy’s friendly girth notwithstanding.

It’s disappointing to report then that “The Dave Thomas Comedy Show” (tonight at 9:30 on Channels 2 and 8), the first of five half-hour episodes to be irregularly slotted into the CBS schedule, is at best mildly diverting. At worst, it’s so, well, square that its sets, transitions, overbearing laugh track and even some of the gags seem right out of an “SCTV” parody.

It’s difficult to judge a series’ potential from only half a dozen skits. But when even Thomas’ best standby from his “SCTV” days doesn’t result in laughs, there’s trouble brewing. His impersonation of Bob Hope having a chat with Ronald Reagan (played by John Rourke of “Fridays”) is the least funny thing on the show; it’s expert mimicry but it’s hardly satire. And the Reagan-directed punch line is the same joke every comedian has used since the inauguration: Seems he thought the presidency was just another movie shoot, ha ha!

Guest-starring are Chevy Chase and Martin Short, who join their host in nervously boarding a plane as “the Frightened Brothers.” It’s the most amusing sketch of the lot, but the chuckles come less from the dialogue or their comedic skills, alas, than from the special wigs that allow their considerable cowlicks to stand up on end each time they’re given a start.

A rap parody in which Thomas as a harried father rhythmically lays down the law for his startled kids shows some spunk. But the comedy gets exceedingly dumb with a bit in which Dave imagines himself on a life raft with six beautiful gals, and with a vision of Superman as a middle-aged moving man, which ends the show with a low-reaching punch line about X-ray vision and underwear that’s virtually lifted from the “Superman” movie itself.