Ah, out with the old, in with the new. The television season is dead, long live the next television season. And to prepare for it, I’m going to review new shows as the pilots become available.

Rodney; ABC, Tuesday Nights 9:30 pm

Sophisticated comedy this ain’t.

Rodney has a wife, two kids, and a dream. Oh, and a southern drawl that comes and goes depending on the scene.

If you’re looking for sophisticated humor, keep looking; this show makes Married with Children look like Frasier. No, really; the big joke of the pilot is walking naked through WalMart, and the merry mixups that occur (like running into the Preacher man). Oh, yeah, I forgot the gay oral sex joke, which is forced and contrived but still accompanied by a huge guffaw from the canned laugh track.

I’ll explain the show, but it won’t take long; country dude quits his job to become a stand-up comedian, wife gets ticked off but by the end of the episode is supportive, friends are even dumber than he is (which is saying something), kids are standard wise-acres who need to be swatted, yadda-yadda-yadda. Oh, almost forgot the southern-slutty sister-in-law (Amy Pietz in a horrifying backslide to her career) who shows up to make sex and loser jokes.

I admit to being somewhat curious, however, to know if Rodney Carrington is a decent stand-up comedian. If this show is drawn from his act, I can’t imagine he’s any good - and as a singer, he’s an excellent comedian. Like I said, the show is rude, crude, and unfunny - there’s no sophistication to this show anywhere to be seen.

But if you like your comedy served up on the end of a two-by-four, and don’t mind being treated as if you’re dumber than Rodney Hamilton, then this is the show for you.