Two and a Half Couples

Rules of Engagement

Mondays at 9:30 p.m. on CBS

The tagline you'll never see: Two couples and a maybe.

The basics: This sitcom takes a look at relationships in different phases: There's a newly engaged couple (Oliver Hudson and Bianca Kajlich), a 12-year married couple (Patrick Warburton and Megyn Price) and their single, womanizing buddy (David Spade). A clue to the show's viewpoint appears on-screen in the pilot: "When you're single, you're exactly as happy as you are. When you're married, you can only be as happy as the least happy person in the relationship." (Yeah, we had to read that a couple of times before it sort of made sense.)

The lowdown: This half-hour sitcom, produced by Adam Sandler's Happy Madison Productions, is part of CBS's midseason Monday night comedy shuffle. "Rules" gets a solid lead-in from "Two and a Half Men" and replaces "The New Adventures of Old Christine," which goes on hiatus until March 12. But "Rules" faces stiff competition from Fox's "24" and NBC's "Heroes."

Reality check: Although it's an ensemble cast, the male characters initially dominate the show. Warburton banks on his dry, slow delivery, developed in other sitcoms (notably as Puddy in "Seinfeld"), and Spade is his usual sarcastic self. Hudson (son of actress Goldie Hawn and musician Bill Hudson) plays a comic foil as a guy who's not yet married but is no longer single. There are funny moments here and there, and the cast is very likable. However, the jokes tend to play off stereotypes and are predictable. Unless there's more variety in the writing, viewers may not find this comedy very engaging.

-- Judith S. Gillies