'My Boys' Returns

When "My Boys" (TBS, 9:30 p.m.) first came out, it was hailed as a kind of "Sex & The City" for men. It revolves around PJ (Jordana Spiro), a sports writer who has a group of platonic male friends whom she relates to better as "one of the guys."

But, if anything, I think it actually has a broader appeal than "SATC." For one thing, it seems to have an equal appeal among the men and women I know.

For example, here's the female perspective, courtesy of my colleague, Jennifer Burk:

"It is very easy to relate to PJ. In many ways, she is the average young woman - confident in most facets of her life but a little unsure and timid when it comes to being with guys romantically. Her boys are like my boys: mostly sweet, at times vulgar and sometimes jerks. I think every woman sees a little bit of herself in PJ."

(It should be noted that Jennifer is the lone female among our home game of poker players, so she shares a similar perspective as to that of PJ, as well as PJ's eternal patience with male oddball behavior.)

I think the show's strength - in addition to the interplay of the cast - is that PJ's appeal to men is the same reason she can't seem to land one. She's too much like one of the guys. The irony is, a good-looking, sharp woman who enjoys sports, poker and beer would be the dream girl for many guys.

But PJ often fails at relationships because she often tries to switch to "girl mode" - and she's terrible at it. She has no interest in the "girl things" that the "SATC" women speak of ad nauseum, like fashion or fashion mags or whatever. This is often to the chagrin of her lone girlfiend, Stephanie (Kellee Stewart), who'd easily fit in with the "SATC" ladies should they ever expand their roster.

That underlying concept of PJ's dating ineptness plays into tonight's season premiere. We left her on an airplane bound for Italy for a romantic holiday with a guy. The problem is, most of the season showed PJ with three choices, and we don't know which guy she picked, until now. (I won't spoil things, except to say there's a twist).

Of course, PJ being PJ, she still doesn't know how to approach things even after the choice is made. As she tells Steph, "I'll let Italy do the work for me."

Ultimately, the strength of "My Boys" lays within the relationship of the gang, PJ's group of male friends who show her the ultimate respect by simply being themselves around her, knowing they can't possibly offend her despite their juvenile male antics.

The 'B' storyline involves the gang getting booted from their regular bar when one of them crosses the line and has a one-night stand with a waitress.

Next week's episode is a little better, with the gang all together, and collectively failing at the dating game. Plus, PJ's brother Andy (the scene-stealing Jim Gaffigan) doesn't see the downside until it's too late when he hires the world's hottest nanny.

It's ironic, but in trying to emulate "SATC," the "My Boys" producers have done a much better job of creating a comedy that everyone of either gender can relate to, since "SATC" often digressed into male-bashing and esoteric fashion quips that, for me at least, made it unwatchable.

And "My Boys" has done the viewer the service of not going to the other extreme and doing an all-male version like ABC's horried "Big Shots," which proved equally offensive to both men and women alike.

If you haven't done so yet, check out "My Boys." It's a gang you'll enjoy hanging out with.

THURSDAY'S BEST BETS: "My Boys" follows the second season premiere of "The Bill Engvall Show" (TBS, 9 p.m.)

A new "Swingtown" (CBS, 10 p.m.) airs, following the new, updated "Password" at 8 p.m. and a "CSI" rerun at 9 p.m.

NBC gives us a 90-minute "Last Comic Standing" at 8:30 p.m., followed by a new installment of the horror anthology series "Fear Itself" at 10 p.m., with Eric Roberts as a private investigator whose past catches up with him.

If you forgot what Ang Lee did to "The Hulk" before the new movie premieres this weekend, you can check it out tonight (Sci-Fi, 9 p.m.)

Finally, Game 4 of the NBA finals (ABC, 9 p.m.) tips off tonight.