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QUICK, somebody slap me. I laughed myself silly over "Muscle," one of three flagship WB network shows making their debut tonight, and I'm ashamed, ashamed, ashamed.
"Muscle" (8 p.m. on Channel 11), a comic soap opera from the creators of the cult classic "Soap," is outrageously funny, and just as sure to outrage a lot of viewers. Be forewarned: If you've ever been offended by anything, you're likely to be offended by something in "Muscle."
But anyone who liked "Soap" (equally outrageous in its day) and especially anyone who loves cable's "Absolutely Fabulous" shouldn't miss "Muscle."
The scene is the Survival Gym, an upscale Manhattan health club run by macho Jim Atkinson (Adam West), who in the first episode drops dead after catching his wife, Jane (Shannon Kenny), and his son, Kent (Dan Gauthier), having sex in the steam room. (Hungover party animal Kent is initially reluctant, telling Jane, "I'm sweating out four kinds of liquor, nicotine and a mushroom that for 10 minutes had me convinced I was That Girl.")
Feeling guilty, Kent wants nothing more to do with Jane. For revenge, she plans to rob him of his inheritance by having his father's child from banked sperm. Kent finds sympathy from his cousin Bronwyn (Amy Pietz), a lesbian TV anchorwoman; Jane turns to her pill-popping psychiatrist, Marshall (Alan Ruck), who...