BY DAVID KRONKE >TV CRITIC

At their best, TV shows serve as cagey, sociological treatises into who we really are, what our concerns may be and where we might be going.

And then, there are shows like "Carpoolers," which has no clue and absolutely no interest in any of this.

"Carpoolers" focuses on a quartet of clueless suburban boobs who don't understand the concepts of marriage, family, commitment or anything else associated with suburbia. Fred Goss stars as Gracen, whose wife, Leila (Faith Ford), may be more successful than he is; Laird (Jerry O'Connell), a womanizing divorcee; henpecked Aubrey (Jerry Minor) and newlywed Dougie (Tim Peper).

Their ventures over the hill from their lives in the Valley to their jobs in the city are fraught with discussions revealing, humorlessly, their angst and idiocy.

Tonight, the guys try to rectify Gracen's feelings of emasculation when his wife buys a $400 toaster. A future episode focuses on Laird's efforts to seduce a woman hot for married men (he makes off with Gracen's wedding ring) and Aubrey's pathetic attempts to find peace amid the wacky turmoil of his family life.

Few will find this show remotely relatable to real life; fewer still will find it remotely amusing. The lone funny scene in two episodes comes when the guys have to consult the OnStar diagnostic service to confirm garbled song lyrics. "Carpoolers" is the loser's version of "Big Shots," about dysfunctional but at least nominally successful guys. --David Kronke

review>

CARPOOLERS

>What: Emasculated suburban dolts share their familial woes while driving to work.

>Where: ABC (Channel 7).

>When: 8:30 pm Tuesday

>In a nutshell: They sent out screeners of this but not "Cavemen"? How bad must "Cavemen" be?