‘Park’ cast loaded with potential

NBC gives two new sitcoms six-week tryouts starting tonight, with both improvements on the shows that they’re temporarily replacing.

The better of the two, debuting at 9:30, is “Battery Park,” set in a detective squad in New York’s historic Battery Park. The comedy is the creation of Emmy Award-winning producer Gary David Goldberg, who has an impressive track record with “Family Ties,” “Brooklyn Bridge” and “Spin City.”

“Battery Park” isn’t up to the level of any of those series yet, but it often takes a comedic ensemble a while to click and hit its stride. But the talented cast is loaded with potential.

Elizabeth Perkins (seen in a slew of movie supporting roles, including “Big”) comes to TV as Madeleine, the precinct captain with political ambitions. She’s also short on people skills, so she assigns most of the interpersonal dynamics to her chief of detectives, Ben (Justin Louis, “Trinity”). The rest of the detectives are one-dimensional stereotypes that have yet to be fleshed out.

Two of Goldberg’s creations (“Spin City” and “Family Ties”) have starred the gifted physical comic presense of Michael J. Fox. “Battery Park” offers a gentler brand of comedy, although it’s nowhere near as poignant as Goldberg’s masterwork, “Brooklyn Bridge.”

Although it’s no “Barney Miller,” “Battery Park” is among the better cop comedies. It’s also a marked improvement on the show it’s thankfully displacing, the remarkably laugh-free “Stark Raving Mad.”

The other, “Daddio,” debuting at 8:30, doesn’t offer anything particularly novel. It’s just the latest variation on “Mr. Mom.”

In it, Chris (Michael Chiklis) decides to quit his job as a restaurant-supply salesman and stay home with his four young kids when his wife, Linda (Anita Barone, “The Jeff Foxworthy Show”), gets a job as a lawyer.

The whole premise of the show is to watch Chris adapt to being a stay-at-home dad. He wants to rename the mommies’ group the Falcons. He bristles when his loutish next-door neighbor questions his manhood because of his lifestyle choice.

Chiklis was more nuanced when playing a suburban police chief in the light drama “The Commish.” Unfortunately, he’s far less tempered here. In fact, the episodes seem to lead to the one or two times he blows up and spouts off each week. And, with a one-note wife and colorless children, that’s just not enough to constitute a worthwhile comedy.

“Daddio” may be slightly better than “Jesse,” which it is subbing for, but that’s truly damning with faint praise.