Neighbors From Hell

Here we have TBS trying to be Comedy Central, with mild success. That is, Neighbors From Hell succeeds in being like a Comedy Central series in that it's slapped together from a strained high concept, some vulgar jokes and a bunch of dated pop-culture references. I was hoping for a little more from creator Pam Brady, a longtime South Park writer/producer, but the first episode is thoroughly forgettable, although at least not as unpleasant as something like Drawn Together.

The idea is that a family of demons from hell has come to live on Earth and must blend in with humans while trying to stop a huge corporation from constructing a drill that could inadvertently invade hell itself. The family patriarch has learned all he knows about humans from watching sitcoms, hence the lame pop-culture gags. Other jokes include satires on suburbia and the small-mindedness of middle America. Super creative.

Neighbors is likable enough in that you could flip it on for a minute or two and be mildly amused, but it's not especially clever or funny or insightful. It'll probably fit well enough with TBS's Family Guy reruns, but anyone not already watching those certainly has no reason to give this a shot.

Premieres tonight at 10 p.m. on TBS.