TV REVIEW : The <i> Other</i> Arnold Steps Out in ‘Thomas’

There was a time when it seemed that Hollywood’s most famous couple was consumed with lipping it up on television talk shows. And now, once again, Roseanne Arnold and Tom Arnold are joined at the quip.

The venue is “The Jackie Thomas Show,” a comedy series premiering at 9:30 tonight on Channels 7, 3, 10 and 42 following ratings blockbuster “Roseanne,” giving ABC back-to-back Arnolds. It may be one too many.

Besides being executive producers of “Roseanne,” the Arnolds are also the bosses of “The Jackie Thomas Show,” in which Tom Arnold stars as a loud, obnoxious, tyrannical stand-up comic who stars in a hit sitcom. In addition, the Arnolds joined Brad Isaacs in writing the premiere, which opens with the arrival of Thomas’ newest head writer, Jerry Harper (Dennis Boutsikaris). Harper discovers that his writing staff (Michael Boatman, Paul Feig and Maryedith Burrell) and network man Doug Talbot (Martin Mull) have been terrorized and demoralized by Thomas and that only office assistant Laura Miller (Alison LaPlaca) has much spunk.

Harper’s first act is to display a photograph of Dick Van Dyke on his desk, an homage to that great old sitcom “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” whose hero (Van Dyke) was head writer for a despotic TV star named Alan Brady (Carl Reiner).

Unlike “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” however, the premiere of “The Jackie Thomas Show” is rarely funny. And whereas Brady was mostly an unseen presence whose infrequent appearances provided an energizing jolt of meanness, Arnold’s antihero (whom ABC insists is “oddly lovable”) is the soul of this new series.

In fact, the only time that “The Jackie Thomas Show” truly works is when other characters are describing and creating mental images of Jackie’s bullying, authoritarian tactics. When Jackie actually shows up in the person of the one-dimensional Arnold, the image disintegrates.

Moreover, the episode’s comic payoff--which comes in response to Jackie’s demand that one of his supporting characters die because the young actor playing the role is too popular--is weak and unsatisfying.

Like Jackie, Tom Arnold and Roseanne Arnold are also former stand-up comics who have been accused of being ruthlessly autocratic, so perhaps this new series is their own inside joke. If so, the punch line is not yet apparent.