Retool Time

THE DREW CAREY SHOW One of the few sophomore sitcoms to blossom into a substantial hit, Carey faces the challenge of continuing to build momentum for a funny but still creatively wobbly show built around an extremely likable character. And I mean Drew, not Mimi (Kathy Kinney), the breakout audience favorite who got a lot of screen time last season.

Solution: Mimi should be the show's leave-out character; she can be a scream, but she's also a one-note creation whose role requires less prominence in order to remain effective. And puh-leeze get rid of Drew's British boss (Craig Ferguson), who has never been remotely amusing. Carey's recent HBO Comedy Hour let us see him as hang-loose hepcat Mr. Vegas, a raunchy dude who knows that pudgy working-class guys can be swingers too. That's the kind of unique-to-TV attitude that would give this sitcom a good jolt.

In fact, that's what all these shows need: a renewed awareness of the strengths of their stars, which in each case is the reason we tuned in to them in the first place.