It's 'Accidentally' funny stuff

Seventeen years ago, the vice president of the United States took the time to criticize the out-of-wedlock pregnancy of a fictional TV character, making "Murphy Brown" the focal point of a national controversy.

On Monday, CBS launches a new sitcom that, in the course of half an hour, features the female lead having a one-night stand with a much-younger man; getting pregnant; deciding to keep and raise the baby; and agreeing to include the baby's daddy in her life.

Joe Biden hasn't weighed in on the issue. And there's been nary a peep of protest from anyone else.

And "Accidentally on Purpose" (7:30 p.m., Ch. 2) shows promise of being a strong addition to CBS's strong Monday-night sitcom lineup. Jenna Elfman ("Dharma & Greg") returns to network television as Billie, a film critic who, after a bad break-up with her boss (Grant Show), finds herself in this predicament.

And, while the baby's father, Zack (Jon Foster), is a great guy, he also has the immaturity that goes with youth.

"The show is really about two worlds coming together — the sort of party-girl, sophisticated world that Billie lives in and the young slacker guys who are sort of invading her space," said executive producer Claudia Lonow.

Which is where a lot of the humor comes from. Billie and Zack agree to be platonic friends, and Billie finds herself in sort of a mother role long before the baby is born.

Billie's best friend, Olivia (Ashley Jensen, "Ugly Betty"), and younger sister, Abby (Lennon Parham), are very much in the mix. And Zack hangs out with his buddies, including Davis (Nicolas Wright).

"We're our own family. The girls are their own family," Foster said. "I think the really magical thing about the show is the interaction between both worlds."

Monday's pilot is just chock-full of plot — in 22 minutes, we see the end of Billie's relationship with her boss; her encounter with Zach; her discovery that she's pregnant; and the decisions she and Zach make about their future.

According to Lonow, the original script was 13 minutes long. (And, minus commercials, an entire sitcom episode is about 22 minutes long these days.)

Events whip by so quickly the show doesn't get funny until midway through the premiere. And then it gets pretty funny indeed.