'Crumbs' works in bits, but eventually falls to pieces

Fred Savage's last name has always seemed ironic. The guy's just got fairness and humanity oozing from his silky voice. He's about as savage as a puppy dog. And in ''Crumbs," his new ABC sitcom, he's as likable as ever, playing an insecure son surrounded by a family of crazies. Just like on ''The Wonder Years" and his last series, ''Working," he's a bit of a Charlie Brown.

But shoot!

''Crumbs" has prepared its quality ingredients in exactly the wrong way. This ''Crumbs" cake never bakes, as Gene Shalit might put it. All of the performers are quite able, including Jane Curtin and William Devane as Savage's warring parents and Eddie McClintock as his jealous brother. They make an appealing ensemble of loons. But the material doesn't ask them to do more than pitch facile punch lines at one another, such as, ''My brother isn't good at handling things that aren't breasts." These actors deserve better material, especially Curtin, who's reduced to the cliche of a woman consumed by bitterness when her husband finds a younger woman. When we meet her in tonight's premiere, at 9:30 on Channel 5, she's ranting her way out of a mental facility.

In this day and age, with comedies such as ''Scrubs," ''My Name Is Earl," and ''Curb Your Enthusiasm" out there, it's harder to accept a sitcom that seems to revel in its own averageness. Granted, ''Crumbs" is sharper than retro family series such as ''According to Jim." It's watchable, and occasionally a gag tickles, such as next week's bit about Mom's mistaken membership in a recovering meth-addicts group. But still, ''Crumbs" generally renders its talent banal as it refuses to aim higher than musty convention. Alas, mediocre sitcoms can bring down even the brightest stars, as Stockard Channing of ''Out of Practice" may be learning.

Actually, ''Crumbs" is strangely similar to ''Out of Practice," CBS's Monday night show costarring Henry Winkler. Both sitcoms are loud, as they track broken families whose members can't stop picking at one another. The dads have young girlfriends, the moms have no lives, and the youngest sons are much put upon. And yes, the producers of both shows clearly used the phrase ''wacky dysfunctional family" during their pitch meetings. Fortunately, ''Crumbs" -- titled after its family's last name -- isn't quite as headache-inducing and hollow as ''Out of Practice." Still, it's much too broad for its own good.

Savage's Mitch is a Hollywood screenwriter who has returned to his hometown to deal with his parents' breakup and work at his family restaurant. He's gay; when we first meet him in LA, he's having an affair with his therapist (which is funny only in sitcom land). But he's afraid to come out to his family, even when his mother questions his orientation. ''Crumbs" occasionally lurches into the maudlin, and one of its sad themes is that a third Crumb brother died. Always the caretaker, Mitch doesn't want to add to his family's stress by sharing his true self with them.

Devane is a plus as the alley-cat father, who is on the outs with Mitch's older brother, Jody (McClintock), since he got caught cheating on Mom. He has great comic delivery, with vocal rhythms just this side of Snagglepuss. Even on a drama such as ''Knots Landing," Devane can bring an irresistibly wry tone. But his snide whimsy may not be able to save the day. Nothing can save the Crumb family from the brunt of crummy writing.

Matthew Gilbert can be reached at gilbert@globe.com.