My Boys

Thomas earns high marks for coming up with appealing characters who are as comfortable as old cardigans.

My Boys has easygoing charm and does feel like the amiably shaggy, hit-and-miss basic-cable cousin of a glossy network one-liner factory, its lack of laugh-out-loud moments not so much indicating system failure, but suggesting a game plan that aims for calmly assembling a group of occasionally witty characters and hoping you find them likable.

My Boys can overdo the voiceover sports metaphors, but at least it's agreeable.

"My Boys" is no improv comedy, but it also relies on unnecessary narration.

Spiro is not really charismatic enough to carry a show, but the real problem is that P.J. isn’t going to make anyone forget Carrie Bradshaw any time soon.

Yes, My Boys echoes Sex and the City. But this new series is a pleasant variation on that TV classic. PJ is more down-to-earth and tomboyish than Carrie Bradshaw.

A lackluster "Sex and the City" companion.

The patter is more what you'd hear from reasonably clever people in real life, not a bunch of lines thought up in the comedy's writers' room.

Breezy, smart and occasionally funny.

"My Boys" is the kind of show that you're unlikely to seek out -- it's not TiVo-worthy by any means -- but if you happen upon it while channel-surfing, you could do a lot worse than pause and give it a shot.

A fine way to pass a half hour.

"My Boys" suffers from an unrealistic setup, and too many scenes amount to five people sitting around talking.

The show is actually good, quietly so, in that way sitcoms rarely are quiet anymore.

Watching seven characters sit around week after week in endless discussions of the ramifications of the fact that two of them have kissed may have been fun in the seventh grade. But, like the spinning teacups at Disney World or throwing up after drinking a jug of Ripple, it's an experience that doesn't wear well with time.

It fields one of the most enjoyable sitcom ensemble casts in some time.

Even when "My Boys" isn't wildly funny (which would be most of the time, frankly), it has a lot of charm.

The wit can get a little heavyhanded sometimes - yes, it's another series with voiceover narration (can anybody say "Sex and the City"?) - but its heart, and head, are in the right place.

While there's nothing groundbreaking happening in "My Boys," there is something a bit fresher than we saw in any of the many "Sex and the City" wannabes that popped up a few seasons ago.

We've seen this before. TBS even goes to great lengths to demonstrate how much it resembles Sex and the City. Except not nearly enough.

"My Boys"... has development potential if you can get past the notion that it's been done to death.

“My Boys” is certainly a charming knockoff.