So Goofy It's Sweet: CW's Infatuating 'Valentine'

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Valentine: Sunday, Oct. 5, 8 p.m.

The Los Angeles singles scene has gotten so bad that CW has called in Greek gods to play matchmaker. At least that seems to be the message from this dramedy in which the goddess Aphrodite ("Dexter's" Jaime Murray), along with her family, helps bring potential soulmates together.

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By the way, that's 500 pounds apiece, pardner.

Ambling along on a wavelength reminiscent of many an oddball amusement of recent years, "Easy Money" benefits from an ideally eclectic cast, starting with Laurie Metcalf as red-haired Bobette, the matriarch of the group and an inarguably assertive presence. Her most productive accomplice is the similarly agreeable Jeff Hephner as her son, Morgan. Or is he really? Whatever, Hephner has the potential to be a star.

There's a subcutaneous mystery lurking beneath the surface of the show, which captures with a forgiving disdain mall culture in all its banality. Another component of the mystery: Why does the company name "Conroy Self-Storage" keep popping up, whether in TV commercials or on the sides of trucks that zoom through the town?

Very little else zooms. The pace is languid and the ambiance laconic. "Easy Money" isn't the kind of show likely to clean up at Emmy time. But it has the same sort of eccentric, addled charm that marks an increasing number of current television shows -- a reaction, perhaps, to the high-tech, computerized, special-effected gadgetry available from so many other sources.

This is a show you can curl up with and embrace -- but not too tightly, since whatever it has might be contagious.

Valentine (one hour) debuts tomorrow night at 8 on Channel 50, followed by Easy Money (one hour) at 9.