I'll admit it. I was all ready to dislike "The Job" (8:30 p.m., ABC), the new cop comedy starring Denis Leary. For one thing, I've grown tired of Leary's patented "attitude." His chain-smoking, staccato insult assault seemed tired about five years ago. And how many cop shows set in New York City do we need? Don't other cities have crime?
Despite such misgivings and preconceptions, I found myself won over by Leary's seriously flawed character Mike McNeil. We first see Mike waking up with a woman who's none too pleased to get calls from the precinct first thing in the morning. A woman that cranky must be the wife, right? Wrong. Moments later, the single-camera action shoots a scene of his wife on the phone and we see an entirely different woman back home with the kid on Long Island.
Denis Leary brings his attitude to the role of police officer Mike McNeil in the new ABC comedy series "The Job."
Besides burning the candle in two beds, McNeil drinks, smokes and self-medicates with painkillers, much to the worry of his colleagues, including his partner Pip (Bill Nunn). Pip appears to be as grumpy as McNeil, but seems to take a kinder, gentler approach to impending middle age. When McNeil collapses while running down a perpetrator, he retreats to a bar instead of following everybody's counsel to consult a doctor.
"The Job" takes an in-your-face approach to concerns about police brutality and political correctness. It seems to dare its audience to love and hate McNeil. And, hey, if America can fall in love with Tony Soprano, certainly there's room for a serious head case in a blue uniform.
l Sophia Loren, designers Jean-Paul Gaultier and Donna Karan, and editors Anna Wintour, Kate Betts and Paul McCarthy appear on "Bravo Profiles: Giorgio Armani" (9 p.m., Bravo). Vogue's Wintour praises the Italian designer as "one of the great fashion designers of this century." Harper's Bazaar editor Betts argues that Armani was among the first to realize the social and economic revolution happening in the 1970s and 1980s when women entered the work force and climbed the corporate ranks. Betts adds that Armani made women comfortable in office wear by making them feel sexy in a suit.
Tonight's other highlights
l The doctor betrays his crew when he joins a hologram rebellion on a repeat two-hour episode of "Star Trek: Voyager" (7 p.m., UPN).
l A Washington FBI bigshot (Dylan Baker) wants Sarah to be his spy in the New York office on "Big Apple" (8 p.m., CBS).
l An old Senate bull filibusters a health bill on "The West Wing" (8 p.m., NBC).
l D.A. politics imperil an Ecstasy-related investigation on "Law & Order" (9 p.m., NBC).
l Rick and Lily announce their engagement on "Once and Again" (9 p.m., ABC).
l Scheduled on "48 Hours" (9 p.m., CBS): the safety of a popular diet pill.
Series notes
"Jack & Jill" is new ... Shooting a commercial for the lanes on "Ed" (7 p.m., NBC) ... Hunting jitters on "That '70s Show" (7 p.m., Fox) ... On the first of two episodes on "The Drew Carey Show" (ABC), Drew can't sing (7 p.m.) and motorcycle madness (8 p.m.) ... Off to a rave on "Dawson's Creek" (7 p.m., WB).
Sean assaults Lily's date with fried food on "Grounded For Life" (7:30 p.m., Fox) ... Charlie studies Spanish on "Spin City" (7:30 p.m., ABC).
On back-to-back episodes of "The Simpsons" (Fox), Lisa joins a band of tree huggers (8 p.m.), and Marge tries to reform a convict (8:30 p.m.) ... Pre-marriage counseling on "Jack & Jill" (8 p.m., WB).
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