Stars draw mixed reactions > ‘Bette’ fizzles while Baranski shines in Wednesday sitcom debuts

Star vehicles on TV are a tricky thing. Without the right cast or a well-developed concept, the wheels can come off rather easily. Twonew comedies debuting tonight on CBS illustrate this point to different degrees.

First, at 8 p.m., is “Bette,” this year’s winner of the “Encore! Encore!” award for most talent wasted in a badly formed show. The concept: Diva Bette Midler (the character, not the actress playing said role) is a bundle of neuroses, and those close to her fly around trying to settle her down. It’s great that a performer of Midler’s acclaim can still poke fun at herself, but how many more butt, breast, fat, plastic surgery and age jokes does the viewing public need?

Midler is supported by a strong cast, including Kevin Dunn (“Stir of Echoes”) as her husband, Joanna Gleason (“Oh, Baby”) as her manager, and James Dreyfuss (“Notting Hill”) as her accompanist.

This very broad show is mainly for Midler’s fans, as there’s a constant stream of inside jokes referring to Midler’s career. She even jokes about how doing TV will be the end of her. No, it’s more like “Bette” will just be a footnote in her stellar career.

At 8:30, Christine Baranski returns to TV in the fish-out-of-water comedy “Welcome to New York.” She plays TV morning-show producer Marsha Bickner, who chooses Indiana weatherman Jim Gaffigan (played by stand-up comic Jim Gaffigan) for her “A.M. New York” anchor team.

This show is partly based on the dubious L.A.-N.Y. premise that anyone from a flyover state is a hick who dresses funny and sunburns the roof of his or her mouth looking at all the tall buildings. Let’s remember that only the Indians are native to Manhattan and California, and hope that those hayseed jokes are mostly out of the writers’ system.

Baranski, a theater veteran, made her name as the acerbic neighbor Mary Ann on “Cybill.” Her new character has hung her hopes for better ratings (and her job) on this new weatherman, and she sets to work tailoring him to wow her metropolitan viewership.

Gaffigan faces a different challenge: trying to fit in with his new co-workers. There’s prickly Gumbelesque anchor Adrian Spencer (Rocky Carroll, “Chicago Hope”), Marsha’s know-it-all assistant Amy (Sara Gilbert, “Roseanne”) and Jim’s assistant Vince (Anthony DeSando), who speaks in Brooklynese. Gaffigan is a TV natural, smoothly conveying his confusion at hisnew surroundings.

If “Welcome to New York” focuses more on the workplace chemistry, it stands a good chance of quickly hitting its stride.