TV REVIEW : ‘The Parent ‘Hood’ a Mixed-Up Sitcom

The happy, healthy, African American nuclear family--of a comfy middle class not too often emphasized in sitcoms since the exit of “Cosby”--gets its comedic chance again with “The Parent ‘Hood,” a Robert Townsend vehicle premiering tonight as part of the WB Network’s initial rollout.

Townsend projects a certain basic decency, and new series in which sexy happily marrieds are actually able to outwit--as well as teach life lessons to--their wily offspring are always welcome in this “kids know best” age.

But the show doesn’t seem to know whether it’s fish or fowl: The half-hour is part wholesome, family-affirming moralism and part risque, sniggering shtick. Enough of it weighs toward the latter pandering that the credited name of the production company, Highest Common Denominator Prods., nearly seems to be a joke itself.

The pilot has Townsend’s two teen-age kids (Kenny Blank and Reagan Gomez-Preston) dreaming up a scheme to make sure they’ll be allowed to get a car: First, they’ll whine and plead for nose rings and tattoos, and then surely a set of wheels will seem entirely reasonable by comparison.

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But Pop and Mom (Suzzanne Douglas) get wind of the duplicity and opt to agree to the kids’ ostensible piercing wishes, much to their chagrin.

The central story is a cute, if predictable, one that plenty of families will be able to relate to. But the ensemble goes for exaggerated readings that usually ring cutely false.

Worse, around the edges of the writing there’s a lot of superfluous muck intended to sauce up the family values a little. Most distasteful is a cliche character of a “sexy senior citizen” (unfortunate Carol Woods) who’s an insatiable lust-bucket.

Asking about her new beau, Townsend quips, “Who’s the lucky bladder control patient?” But, of course, she’s after younger men and can’t help making leering inquiries like “Where do you stand on emotion lotion?” These kind of token titters are worse than unsavory: They’re unfunny.

At the end, Townsend actually tells his still unpierced and carless kids, “I think we’ve all learned a big ol’ valuable lesson here.”Meanwhile, Townsend and his co-producers may be in for one themselves: Continuing to shoot low while under the guise of aiming high will usually get you nowhere.

* “The Parent ‘Hood” premieres at 8:30 tonight on KTLA-TV Channel 5 and KTTY-TV Channel 69.