Kath & Kim, Coming to America

Well, the moment approaches when "Kath & Kim" hits American TV screens. This is an adaptation of the brilliantly satirical Australian sitcom of the same name, which is a huge hit here that draws 2 million people to their TV sets - pretty good in a country of 21 million.

I was very worried when NBC announced that Molly Shannon would be playing the mother role of Kath, mostly because she has never particularly impressed me. And then there were stories, breathlessly repeated in the Australian press, about cast changes and revamps and rewrites, and even speculation that the American version was so bad it would never even air.

But Tom Shales, the TV critic at the Washington Post and somebody whose opinion I respect, has seen the first episode - and he likes it. He REALLY likes it: As superbly superior as Shannon is (a comparison to Lucille Ball, while inevitable, would not be overreaching), the whole cast shines, and not just in refracted glory. "Kath & Kim" is a frantically tacky fracas.

So maybe it's worth checking out. Anyway, it will also be shown on Australian TV quite soon. So I guess I'll watch at least the first episode and see if it works for me.