BY DAVID KRONKE >TV CRITIC

The CW, which had never lured many viewers on Sunday nights, threw up its hands this year and turned the night over to Media Rights Capital, a production company that's also responsible for Seth MacFarlane's new online shorts, HBO's new show "The Life and Times of Tim" and the upcoming Sacha Baron Cohen film "Bruno."

There was some skepticism over the deal, particularly since The CW was mum over the particulars of the deal and the hastiness with which the programs were assembled. The new shows aren't bad - in fact, they seem to tap into the zeitgeist in surprising ways - but they're hardly standouts, either, which is what the network needs to get some traction on such a competitive night of programming.

"Valentine" is the more potentially viable of the two, as well as the more frustrating. It's a romantic comedy whose conceit is that Greek gods have changed their names, relocated to Los Angeles, and are in the business of linking soul mates. (As they don't charge for their services, it's unclear how they stay afloat.)

Grace Valentine (Jaime Murray, "Dexter's" sinister conquest last season), formerly Aphrodite, runs the family business; incongruously, she's married to Aries, the god of war. Her son, Danny (Kris Polaha), the god formerly known as Eros, is usually in charge of the matchmaking, though he himself is a carnal soul who doesn't much believe in eternal love. She also, for reasons still unclear, recruits a mortal, Kate (Christine Lakin), a lonely author of hokey romance novels, to assist in effecting the happily-ever-afters.

Danny (who's much less of a jerk in episode two than in tonight's premiere - for that you can thank the gods of test-marketing) delivers a little speech tonight about how their job is irrelevant because human connections are collapsing these days due to the endless distractions we have created for ourselves. True enough, but as written by series creator Kevin Murphy (who has previously worked on "Desperate Housewives," "Ed" and The CW's "Reaper"), it sounds more like a mission statement or thesis than a premise for a larky dramedy, and it certainly doesn't explain why the family is in Los Angeles and not someplace where people might actually pine for said human connection, where they might be more successful and do more good.

More to the point, the schemes the Valentines employ to unite star-crossed loves are capricious and haphazard. Surely, after centuries on this planet, they might've fine-tuned the process a smidgen. There's a potentially promising idea bubbling somewhere in "Valentine" (perhaps it's the same one in the cult series "Cupid"?), but it hasn't manifested itself to the Oracle of Delphi yet.

"Easy Money" follows, and though The CW bills it as a "dramedy," I haven't seen anything this depressing since "Breaking Bad." Alas, it's nowhere near as inventive or compelling or exhilaratingly transgressive as "Breaking Bad."

Jeff Hephner stars as Morgan Buffkin, who works for his family's cynical high-interest loan business that exploits people down on their luck. But, of course, his heart's not in it; he has higher aspirations.

This could either resonate with or alienate viewers who see the Buffkins as a metaphor for the corrupt banking practices that have led to our current economic apocalypse. Or they could just be turned off by the grungy production values, synthetic scripting and blasé storytelling.

Judge Reinhold, a once-hot actor (he starred in the "Beverly Hills Cop" and "Police Academy" movies), has a bit part as a pathetic private investigator. His presence is also evocative of our recent collapse of capitalism. "Easy Money" is anything but easy.

David Kronke, (818) 713-3638 david.kronke@dailynews.com

www.insidesocal.com/tv/

reviews>

VALENTINE

>What: Greek gods run a matchmaking business in Los Angeles.

>Where: The CW (Channel 5).

>When: 8 p.m. Sunday.

>In a nutshell: Further tinkering could improve this so-far blah romantic comedy.

EASY MONEY

>What: A family runs a high-interest loan business.

>Where: The CW (Channel 5).

>When: 9 p.m. Sunday.

>In a nutshell: Grungy production values, synthetic scripting and blasé storytelling.