‘Will & Grace’ in Trivial Pursuits

The return of series that had been in reruns all summer should be a good thing right now; much pleasure can be taken in the comfort of old friends. But what if something has changed dramatically during our time apart?

Case in point: tonight’s season-opening episode of “Will & Grace” (9 p.m. on NBC). Written and filmed before the events of Sept. 11, it has nothing more on its mind than devising a means to get its principal characters to a department store sale, where they can react in various ways to the pressures of shopping.

“Have you seen Grace around marked-down cashmere?” Will inquires of her boyfriend (Woody Harrelson). “It’s like the first 20 minutes of ‘Saving Private Ryan.”’

Maybe the innocuous yuks of a superficial sitcom will provide solace to some. If so, fine; take it where you can get it. Coming so close on the heels of Sept. 11, however, the self-absorption and materialism of these characters struck this viewer as trivial to the point of being embarrassing.

Will (Eric McCormack) spends much of the show professing love for a pair of jeans. Grace (Debra Messing) proclaims herself a shopping shark: “That means all we do is shop and poop, shop and poop.”

And when there is an attempt at something more, an honest expression of affection, it’s made to vacuous Karen (Megan Mullally), who promptly turns and runs. “Can’t talk--feeling something,” she blurts out in explanation.

Hmm. That’s what my problem was watching this nonsense. Can’t enjoy--feeling too much. Way too much.