An evolutionary dead end

Meanwhile, Joel, who, like so many comedic male characters these days, works in a warehouse-sized emporium that requires its employees to wear silly shirts, has a Big Secret -- he's dating a Homo sapiens. And when the boys find out, they do not approve. "Keep the penis in the genus," is, I believe, Nick's exact response, which is as close as the show gets to anything resembling parody, social commentary or humor, albeit of a stultifying sophomoric variety.

None of which should be taken as a request that "Cavemen" return to its unsettling origins, with the mint juleps and the lynch mob references. But if you're going to force us to look at guys made up to look like cavemen, then let them be cavemen, for goodness' sake. And if you don't know what that means, then put on your thinking caps and make something up. It's too late to have them be, um, bionic or nerdy mathematical savants, but surely there are certain characteristics, beyond all the hair, that could make them resonant and endearing, in the way, for example, that love of ziti and strippers gave a texture to the characters of "The Sopranos." It isn't enough to have them love Sudoku and hate "The Flintstones" -- those kind of jokes, as well as the sight of a cave weatherman, or cave squash players, were old by the second take.

The idea of using cavemen to parody all the ridiculous prejudices that dog virtually every "group" in America is not a bad one. But such a show requires both delicacy and a fearless backswing -- why shouldn't the cavemen be considered cheap or humorless or great decorators or social-climbing or terrorists or pushy while waiting in line at Starbucks? But if they are, as the show's intro says, "just like us," then what's the point? Don't bother me with cavemen; they're just big, hairy and boring. I'd rather see a show about insurance salesmen.

mary.mcnamara@latimes.com

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'Cavemen'

Where: ABC

When: 8 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesdays

Rating: TV-PG (may be inappropriate for young children)