TBS's '10 Items' And 'My Boys': Save the Receipt

Jim Gaffigan, one of David Letterman's favorite comics (mysteriously enough), plays PJ's married brother, who sneaks away from his domineering wife to join the group at her apartment. "I have no free will," he confesses. "It's okay; I've made peace with it." Others in the inner circle include likable Kyle Howard and Reid Scott as, respectively, Bobby Newman, a sportswriter for the rival Chicago Tribune, and Brendan Dorff, a radio deejay who can't sever dangling ties with a girlfriend who exploits his good nature.

They're not the most unforgettable people anybody ever met, but they jell as a group in the first minutes of the premiere. Spiro isn't comically inventive, but she is definitely cute. Her more glamorous friend Stephanie (Kellee Stewart) tries to school her in "girly" matters, like how not to chase men away, and their encounters are moderately amusing.

Writer and series creator Betsy Thomas doesn't appear to have an unlimited number of wildly imaginative notions on the subjects of dating and relationships, but the topics are of such widespread interest that even her semi-original ideas suffice. "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.

It's sort of like a toy you trip over in the dark. You could toss it aside and not miss much, but you could also sit down and play with it and have a few laughs. Not many -- but every "few" helps.

10 Items or Less (30 minutes) airs tonight at 11 on TBS.

My Boys (30 minutes) airs tomorrow night at 10 (and again at 10:30), also on TBS.