FALL TV: TODAY'S PREMIERE

'Savages' missing energy, originality

COMPLETE SAVAGES

8:30 tonight, ABC (Channel 12)

Rowdy, raunchy and not without a laugh or two, "Complete Savages" stars Keith Carradine ("Deadwood") as Nick Savage, veteran firefighter and -- even more dauntingly -- single father to five obstreperous sons (Andrew Eiden, Shaun Sipos, Erik von Detten, Evan Ellingson and Jason Dolley).

It's a sort of "Very Young Men Behaving Badly," with the boys egging each other on to ever greater feats of slovenliness, noisemaking, property destruction and general disobedience.

Carradine, who was thrilling last season as Wild Bill Hickok in HBO's "Deadwood," seems perfectly comfortable in this much more ordinary role, but it's a big step down all the same. Executive producer Mel Gibson makes his sitcom directing debut in the well- paced pilot.

It's only when you compare "Complete Savages" to the similar but much funnier "Malcolm in the Middle" that you realize how much energy, originality and sheer skill the former is missing.

DR. VEGAS

9 tonight, CBS (Channel 58)

Embarrassingly, after all these years, I still have a thing for Rob Lowe. Those lips. Those eyes. The way, despite access to all manner of designer products, that dark hair keeps flopping over that high forehead. . . .

But I digress. Even a serious case of Rob-olatry wouldn't get me through a single episode of "dr. vegas" unless I were getting paid to watch.

Lowe plays Billy Grant, house physician at a casino run by his good pal Tommy Danko (Joe Pantoliano, "The Handler," "The Sopranos"). Smooth and glib he may be, but Billy puts the patients' welfare above all, putting him at odds with the more cynical Tommy, who doesn't see the point of coddling scam artists, card counters and other scum.

You wouldn't think Billy's job would be all that demanding, but the first two episodes alone present him with a case of drug addiction, a heart defect, a car accident, a beating, an unplanned pregnancy, two serious sports injuries and a suicide attempt.

A pattern quickly emerges: Gallant Dr. Grant, faced with a moral dilemma, is tempted to take the low road but instead chooses the high. Repeat as needed.

Tom Sizemore and Sarah Lancaster co-star as a tough-talking casino lieutenant and a stunning blackjack dealer. This is the kind of drama where "stunning" and "tough-talking" are just the sort of one-note descriptions a supporting character merits.

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COMING PREMIERES

Sunday (Cue)

"Clubhouse" (CBS)

E-mail Joanne Weintraub at jweintraub@journalsentinel.com.

Credit:ABC

Evan Ellingson (from left), Erik von Detten and Keith Carradine star in "Complete Savages," about a single father dealing with his five sons.

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