TV: Help Me Help You

Ted Danson's been doing TV sitcoms almost non-stop for 25 years now, so why does it come as such a shock to see him with white hair?

This time around, he's Bill Hoffman, therapist to a motley group of misfits. Their problems are quickly sketched in the first few minutes. Meet the group:

• Dave (Charlie Finn) is suicidal and angry about the dullness of his life
• Jonathan (Jim Rash) is completely in denial about being gay, which is a mini-trend in this year's sitcoms; there's a supporting character on The Class who's even more stereotypically flaming than Jonathan
• Michael (Jere Burns) has anger control issues (Burns apparently didn't get enough group therapy during his years on Dear John.)
• Inger (Suzy Nakamura) has no social skills whatsoever, and a very unusual name for a Japanese-American
• Darlene (Darlene Hunt) -- well, you name it, really; Darlene's pretty much a total basket case, but there's father-figure obsession for starters, which makes you wonder if she shouldn't find a therapist who isn't a white-haired man old enough...

We follow the characters outside the office, as they attempt to do Dr. Bill's homework for the week: Make a connection. And we look in on Bill's own life, which isn't going so well; he and his wife (Jane Kaczmarek) are in the process of divorcing, and his daughter is dating one of her psych professors, who happens to be a huge professional fan of Bill.

This one didn't leave me with strong feelings either way. There are a few laughs, but they're mild chuckles at best. It's not an awful show, it's just inconsequential and unnecessary.