'Titus': King Of Dysfunctional Families

Shows like "The Waltons" or "7th Heaven" have never been my favorite type of TV show.

Their high-moral lessons and episode-ending group hugs always seem too smarmy to be true to life.

Granted, the WB's "7th Heaven" has tackled some complicated issues over the years. And the Camdens should certainly be applauded for bringing religious and moral questions to a modern forum. But there's something about a show centering around a family living in a white picket fenced house with a dog, a goldfish and 3.4 children that just makes me want to turn the channel -- quickly.

On the other hand, the raunchy "Married ... with Children" brand of family life was always too over the top -- and just plain stupid -- to hold my attention for long. Al doesn't find Peggy attractive. Kelly is dumb. Bud is a loser. OK, we get it. How they squeezed 11 seasons out of that narrow premise is beyond me.

If it weren't for a conservative group's protest backfiring, this T&A comedy probably would have faded away after a season or two. Instead, millions of viewers, myself included, tuned in to see what all the fuss was about and, apparently, enough nuggetheads stayed tuned.

With the advent of the animated sitcom, the TV dysfunctional family was taken to the next level, and show writers were able to push the envelope further.

If Al Bundy had taken to punching teen-age Bud in the stomach every episode, even the least discerning viewer would have cried foul. But the cartoon buffoon Homer Simpson chocking the smart-aleck Bart after an unusually cutting jab? Now that's comedy.

As "The Simpsons" neared a decade on the air, the "South Park" kids and their clueless parents, "King of the Hill" and "The Family Guy" all helped to cement the animated sitcom as the best genre for familial satire.

The evil-maniacal Stewie gives a whole new meaning to "baby talk" on "Family Guy," and the show is one of the very few sitcoms -- animated or live action -- that is consistently laugh-out-loud funny. (Note to Fox: Please move "Family Guy" from its 8:30 Tuesday time slot. What is a "Buffy" fan to do?)

As television enters a new millennium, the dysfunctional family is, once again, finding its way out of the confines of 'toon land and is heading back into live action.

First, Fox introduced the critically acclaimed "Malcolm in the Middle." This show is about a school-age boy who just wants to fit in. The only problem is, Malcolm is not thrilled about being identified with either his manic family or with his accelerated-learning class full of social misfits.

Part of the reason that some find "Malcolm" hard to swallow goes back to the whole live-action-vs.-animation debate. Viewers have to take an extra step to remember that a mother shaving her naked husband's body hair in front of their young children is only TV.

The show's funniest moments come from watching Malcolm's strict but off-kilter mother try to keep order in her chaotic home. But the show's truest moments come from Malcolm's tentative efforts to forge a friendship with his "nerdy" classmates.

Sure, all of "Malcolm in the Middle's" domestic antics are just a joke. But what will happen to Malcolm when he grows up?

Enter Christopher Titus.

"Titus" is Fox's latest addition to its dysfunctional family reunion and is based on the real misadventures and stand-up comedy routines of the show's star and namesake.

(By the way, why is it that Fox has more dysfunctional family sitcoms than any other network? The closest thing Fox has to "The Waltons" are those depressing orphans on "Party of Five.")

"Titus" costars tough-guy Stacy Keach as a no-nonsense, Teflon dad who raised his two sons to not be "wussies."

Titus and his brother Dave, played by Zack Ward, call their beer-sodden father the "anti-dad." Whenever his kids show signs of self-esteem, Anti-Dad is there to kick them back down.

The sitcom mixes onscreen narrative monologues of Titus talking about his family and girlfriend, flashbacks of the brothers learning hard lessons from their dad and the present-day story. The writing in "Titus" is fresh and funny. But after watching just two episodes, I'm already tired of the disjointed format.

Why are so many shows looking to the worst that American families have to offer for ideas? Because, as Titus says, 63 percent of U.S. families are classified as dysfunctional. They're in the majority, and people like to watch representations of themselves on television.

Thankfully, as these types of shows increase, so do the laughs and the show quality.

• "7th Heaven" airs Sundays and Mondays on The WB
• Reruns of "Married ... with Children" are now in syndication
• "The Simpsons" air Sundays on Fox, reruns in syndication
• "Family Guy" airs Tuesdays on Fox
• "Malcolm in the Middle" airs Sundays on Fox
• "Titus" premiers Monday, March 20 on Fox
• Past Remote Access columns.

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Note: Denise's column, Remote Access, appears every week in our Entertainment section. To be notified by e-mail of the newest entertainment column, click here.