Surviving Suburbia

 (Series -- ABC, Mon. April 6, 9:30 p.m.)

By BRIAN LOWRY

Bob Saget and Cynthia Stevenson are a married couple in ABC's retro sitcom 'Surviving Suburbia,' premiering Monday.

Filmed in Los Angeles by Acme Prods. in association with Media Rights Capital. Executive producers, Kevin Abbott, Michael Hanel, Mindy Schultheis; co-executive producer, Franco E. Bario; producer, Matt Conner; director, Emile Levisetti; writer, Donald Beck.
 
Steve Patterson - Bob Saget
Anne Patterson - Cynthia Stevenson
Dr. Jim - Jere Burns
Henry Patterson - Jared Kusnitz
Courtney Patterson - G Hannelius
Onno - Dan Cortese
 

From humble roots -- as part of Media Rights Capital's brokered (and subsequently broken) night on the CW -- to a plum spot after "Dancing With the Stars," "Surviving Suburbia" has already proven a survivor of sorts. ABC probably got the rights for a song, and figured the "Dancing" audience wouldn't mind a throwback -- a show so fastidiously old-fashioned as to feel assembled from pieces of '70s family sitcoms. Having labored to distance himself from "Full House," Bob Saget is back in "Father Doesn't Know Best" mode. And TV is certainly poorer for it.

Under the aegis of exec producer Kevin Abbott ("Reba"), "Suburbia" goes retro with the Patterson clan, which consists of Saget's cranky dad Steve -- a self-professed screw-up -- his loving (if perpetually sniping) wife Anne (Cynthia Stevenson), and their two kids (Jared Kusnitz and G Hannelius). The girl has a fixation on "High School Musical's" Zac Efron, which is the only clue we're not back in 1984, sort of like "Lost" with a lobotomy.

In the premiere, a neighbor (guest Dan Cortese) asks Steve to watch his house, and Steve and his pal Dr. Jim (Jere Burns) almost burn it down. Steve's recovery in saving the place is viewed as an act of heroism, leaving him to deal with the question of whether he should come clean about what transpired. Presumably, Fat Albert and the other Cosby Kids will help him make the right decision -- or maybe it just feels that way.

Saget is a master of snappy deadpan delivery, but for those who have enjoyed his truly filthy standup material, this plunge back into four-camera "TGIF"-style domestic banality is a trifle jarring. That said, the series isn't entirely G-rated, with several rather risque sex and stripper jokes thrown in, mostly because, well, what else were they going to do?

ABC is nevertheless providing the program a prime launchpad after "Dancing," perhaps seeing it as comfort food for the female audience that will be set adrift at 9:30 Monday. It's a calculated risk, to be sure, but rest assured, nothing could be more calculated than "Suburbia's" dated survival plan.

Camera, Bryan Hays; production designer, Jay Pelissier; editor, Ron Volk; music, Adam Gorgoni; casting, Greg Orson, Lesli Gelles. RUNNING TIME: 30 MIN.