Lest the coming cornucopia of reality-TV shows fool you, the networks are still creating traditional sitcoms. The first offerings of the midseason crop won't make the splash of a "Survivor 2" or "Temptation Island," but they are surprisingly decent.
    "Three Sisters" (Tuesdays, 9:30-10 p.m. ET, beginning Jan. 9th) will take over the cozy post-"Frasier" slot from "DAG," which moves to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday has been a mixed bag for NBC. 
    While "Frasier" has exceeded all expectations after moving from Thursday, the canceled "Michael Richards Show" was a bomb from day one. For the sin of so-so retention rates, "DAG" has been consigned to the lead-out position for the toothless anchor "3rd Rock From the Sun."
    NBC's Tuesday shuffle is smart because "Sisters" is a better fit for "Frasier": they're both sitcoms about upper-middle-class siblings with a penchant for urbane wit. 
    "DAG" relies more on broader humor, and promoting its African-American lead actor (David Alan Grier) alongside the pasty faces of Kelsey Grammer and David Hyde Pierce was a bit jarring. "DAG" is by no means an ethnic-targeted series, but its slapstick sensibility probably didn't appeal much to "Frasier" fans.
    Like "Frasier," "Sisters" focuses on the brie-and-fennel set, which will also suit NBC's audience, which is more upscale than competing networks. 
      Thematically, the sitcom has more in common with CBS's "Everybody Loves Raymond," another show about an overbearing family meddling in a beleaguered marriage.
    Only here the wife (Katherine LaNasa) is only too happy with the ubiquity of her two sisters (A.J. Langer of "It's like, you know" and Vicki Lewis of "NewsRadio"), much to the consternation of her put-upon husband (David Alan Basche). 
   Rounding out the Bernstein-Flynn family is papa Peter Bonerz ("Newhart") and mama Dyan Cannon ("Ally McBeal"), who is unconvincingly maternal wearing cut-off jean shorts and Rollerblades in a few scenes.
    Nicely cast, the titular "Sisters" couldn't be more different: There's the foxy yuppie (LaNasa), the flaky dim bulb (Langer) and the flinty harridan (Lewis). 
   So terrific on "know" and "My So-Called Life," Langer deserves better than a character lifted right out of Suzanne Somers' persona circa "Three's Company." But that leaves room to shine for Lewis, who practically carries the show with an acerbic flair she never showed on "NewsRadio."
     Fox's new "Grounded For Life" (Wednesdays, 8:30-9 p.m., beginning Jan. 10) also features an unusually strong performance, but in this case it's hardly a surprise. 
   Starring as a maturity-challenged young dad, Donald Logue is simply continuing a history for stellar comedic turns he began back in those unforgettable MTV promotions depicting a mentally challenged cabdriver and his award-winning role in 2000's funniest independent film, "The Tao of Steve."
    In "Grounded," Logue slips comfortably into what is becoming a successful Fox programming formula: portrait of a dysfunctional, working-class family (see "Malcolm in the Middle" and "Titus"). In this new genre, the parents are every bit as immature as their children, if not more so.
    "Grounded" takes this conceit to a new extreme: Logue's Sean Finnerty was married at 18, and now he has three children, the eldest being a precocious 14-year-old (Lynsey Bartilson) who seems barely younger than his wife (Megyn Price). Finnerty struggles mightily with his warring impulses to be a good father and to act like a delinquent. He sides with the latter itch when he accidentally catches his daughter making out with a boy, impulsively throwing at them a bucket of fried chicken he's carrying.
      After decades of unrealistic portrayals of impossibly perfect parenting, Fox has really struck a chord with a viewer demand to see adults mishandling their kids. 
   How many more times they can strike that chord remains to be seen, as the gay-dad premise didn't work out for "Normal, Ohio," the John Goodman sitcom "Grounded" replaces. 
    Drastically improving its chances, though, is its lead-out, the steamy reality series "Temptation Island," which has sleeper hit written all over it.
    Both "Sisters" and "Grounded" got 13-episode orders, which is highly unusual for midseason series. 
   Though they may be indications of confidence, it's more likely the networks are just stocking up on programming before the expected union strikes that stands to  paralyze Hollywood.

-Andrew Wallenstein is the television critic for Media Life.

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