‘Whoopi,’ ‘Family’ stick to the formula

NBC offers a two-pack tonight of old wine in new bottles, with Whoopi Goldberg’s “Whoopi” paving the way for “Happy Family,” starring John Larroquette and Christine Baranski.

“Happy Family” begins on the day that Larroquette and Baranski -- a superstar pairing, in sitcom terms -- realize that their grown children have not grown up. Oldest son Todd (Jeff Davis) can’t choose between his fiancee and his girlfriend. Middle child Sara (Melanie Paxson) can’t find a boyfriend; instead, she has a bird she’s named “Eric ... Eric Wasserman.” (And they’re not getting along.) Younger son Tim (Tyler Francavilla), a genial idiot, has flunked out of junior college, which I’m not sure is even possible, and is sleeping with the older woman next door (Susan Gibney). These are not the sort of problems that Robert Young had to face, and could always solve, on “Father Knows Best.” This is more a case of “Father Knows Better, Possibly, But Not Enough to Make a Difference.”

Taking as its theme the idea that while home may well be the place that when you go there they have to take you in, the people who still live there may not be so hot on the idea, “Happy Family” is one of several new series attempting to make comic hay from the so-called “boomerang generation,” young adults returning home, or otherwise still depending on their parents. (Others include, but are not limited to, “All About the Andersons,” “Run of the House” and “Arrested Development.”) On the one hand, the subject seems inevitable, given that there are surely now TV writers and executives who are themselves living this trend. On the other hand: Everyone’s making the same shows.

Certainly, “Happy Family” is no disaster, but it’s hard to believe that something a little livelier and a little less bloodlessly professional could not have been knocked together for such talented players. This is a technically flawless, well-functioning machine -- a vehicle, literally and merely, to carry its stars into your living room -- with no loose nuts or bolts, but no interesting little knocks or rattles, either.

Still, there are laughs to be had, especially when Baranski and Larroquette -- who both at first seem cast against their strengths as conventional, upper-middle-class suburban gentility -- are allowed to prickle or fret. Given some time to aerate, more subtle flavors may emerge, but for now the rewards come only in fits and starts.

Steadier on its yearling feet is the evening’s lead-off “Whoopi,” which finds its eponymous star the salty, sassy, smoking, drinking proprietor of a small New York hotel. She is accompanied in this motley corner of the universe by her unemployed, strait-laced brother (Wren T. Brown), a lawyer whose last job had been with Enron; his ghetto-mouthed white girlfriend (Elizabeth Regen), the joke being that they each embody stereotypes of the other’s race; and an Iranian handyman (Omid Djalili) who is perennially upset at being mistaken for an Arab. (“I’m not an Arab. I’m Persian! It’s so obvious.”) These gags are sure to be driven into the ground, but they work for now.

Though the writing is often topical -- “Whoopi” has fun with terrorism and race and smoking as social provocation -- it is a gentle topicality: The president is mocked not for his policies but his pronunciation. (Goldberg was the Center Square, after all, and has worked with the Muppets.)

The show is in fact an old-fashioned sort, a throwback to the days when sitcom characters were never saddled with an inner life. There is a happy sense that we will not be required to care deeply about any of them -- they have no secrets to reveal, or real problems to solve, or anyway none that will require extended treatment. They’ll get into scrapes, and they’ll get out. Don’t expect to see a “very special episode” of “Whoopi,” or learn any lessons, or find the star stuck with a love interest, at least not until the ratings start to fail. Let us, in any case, hope not.

A little Goldberg can go a long way, especially when she’s in a sentimental or self-congratulatory mood, and over the years there has been a lot of her about. But she is funny, and in an especially congenial setting here. It helps perhaps that she’s playing straight two-thirds of the time, and especially that she’s paired with Djalili, a well-known comedian back home in Britain, who is roughly her size and shape, with a similar mad energy. They’re a well-matched set, with some genuine Lucy/Ethel potential in the harebrained-scheme department, but also moments so natural and relaxed as to seem unscripted. “You cleaned up well,” Goldberg says to Djalili, who has put on a suit to act temporarily as concierge. “You look good.” “Indeed, I am a beautiful man,” he replies, with a matter-of-factness that by not seeking a laugh, gets one.

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‘Whoopi’

Where: NBC

When: 8 p.m. Tuesdays; premieres tonight

Rating: The network has rated the show TV-PG (may be unsuitable for young children).

Whoopi Goldberg...Mavis Rae

Omid Djalili...Nasim

Wren T. Brown...Courtney Rae

Elizabeth Regen...Rita

Creators, Terry Turner and Bonnie Turner. Executive producers, Terry Turner, Larry Wilmore, Kriss Turner, Whoopi Goldberg, Terry Hughes, Marsey Carsey, Tom Werner, Caryn Mandabach. Director, Terry Hughes.

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‘Happy Family’

Where: NBC

When: 8:30 p.m. Tuesday; premieres tonight

Rating: The network has rated the show TV-PG (may be unsuitable for young children).

John Larroquette ...Peter Brennan

Christine Baranski...Annie Brennan

Melanie Paxson...Sara Brennan

Jeff Davis...Todd Brennan

Tyler Francavilla...Tim Brennan

Susan Gibney...Maggie Harris

Creators, executive producers, Moses Port, David Guarascio. Director, Pamely Fryman.