‘Then Came You’ another lame sitcom> Humor badley executed: premise lacking

Who says there are no new ideas on network TV?

Here’s a synopsis of “Then Came You,” which premiers at 8:30 tonight on ABC: A divorced, thirtyish book editor moves into a hotel to sort out her life, then falls in love with a room-service waiter 10 years her junior. Her lawyer ex-husband is aghast, her best friend dubious; his best friend is supportive in a “go-for-the-booty” kind of way.

It’s hard to believe this lemon got shoved off of ABC’s fall schedule. It would have fit in gloriously with such lame rookie sitcoms as “Odd Man Out” and “Oh Grow Up,” also rooted in the “men want sex, women want commitment” school of thought.

Here are some sample plots from early episodes: He and she don’t know each other well enough to know what to buy the other for their upcoming birthdays; he has to work as a waiter at a wedding of her casual acquaintance; he has to pose as her cousin so as not to upset a temperamental author in love with her.

“Then Came You” is rife with mistaken-identity humor, badly executed. And you only can make so many jokes about him playing with a Game Boy or riding on a skateboard. The cast of no-names is likable enough, but they can only do so much with so little.

The sitcom is based on the actual experience of co-creator Betsy Thomas. It would make for a cute episode of “Love, American Style,” but it’s hardly enough on which to base an entire series (although an extended run likely won’t be a problem). Despite some occasionally funny moments, “Then Came You” makes “Norm,” the show it’s replacing, sound like Noel Coward.