Patrick Warburton has an unmistakable voice, one that is often heard in voiceovers and commercials.

Yet, his monotone, deep voice, conveying a nonchalant attitude has served him well in TV comedies, whether it was the “Seinfeld” show or the many years of “Rules of Engagement.”

All you really need to do is to turn Warburton loose as his deadpan self, punching one-liners with brutal efficiency in his muted baritone.

NBC evidently thought the same when casting him as the family patriarch in the new comedy series “Crowded.”

In the role of Mike Moore, Warburton is like many sitcom dads. For instance, after watching the first two shows I have no idea or don’t recall what he does for a living, but his life, and that of his wife Martina (Carrie Preston), is thrust into domestic turmoil.

The basic premise of “Crowded” is that college-grad daughters Shea (Miranda Cosgrove) and Stella (Mia Serafino) suddenly move back into the family home, considering the job market is unable to sustain a frustrated astrophysicist and an aspiring actress, respectively.

To make matters worse, Mike’s father Bob (Stacy Keach) and stepmother Alice (Carlease Burke) decide to put a retirement move to Florida on hold and instead create an unwanted extended family arrangement in the Moore household.

Mike and Martina are just beginning to enjoy the empty nest when the kids come home to roost, and well, everyday living just becomes crowded. Naturally, the daughters bring some baggage with them, mostly in the form of endless complaints and an errant doltish boyfriend.

The odd conceit of “Crowded” is that Mike and Martina talk about and seek to act upon sexual desires to a much greater extent than you might expect for a long-married middle-aged couple.

So the humor supposedly comes from the parental figures trying to have sex while their young adult offspring have taken over the family home, thus precluding trysts in the kitchen or family room, or just about anywhere else.

For that matter, both Shea and Stella have sex on the mind, with former too uptight and socially awkward and the latter just a tad promiscuous, so that by the second episode her hairstyle has changed and she’s had a sleepover lesbian pal.

“Crowded” was a show I wanted to like, but really only because Patrick Warburton could read the telephone book and make it sound funny. But there’s not much he can do here to rescue a sitcom mired in predictable circumstances that won’t deliver comedy gold.

TCM Classic Film Festival update

It’s getting close to that time of year again for the TCM Classic Film Festival, scheduled for April 28th through May 1st in the heart of Hollywood, using iconic venues like the Chinese Theatre and Egyptian Theatre to unspool classic films.

This year’s theme of the seventh annual event if “Moving Pictures,” noting the magic of movies isn’t just motion, it’s emotion. “Moving Pictures” are the ones that bring us to tears, rouse us to action, inspire us, and even project us to a higher plane.

There will be a 40th anniversary screening of “All the President’s Men,” the tense political thriller about the Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein’s investigation of the Watergate break-in that eventually led to President Richard Nixon’s resignation.

A tribute to screen legend director-writer Carl Reiner will feature a screening of the Steve Martin comedy “Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid,” a spoof of the private eye genre. Reiner will be on hand for an extended conversation with the audience.

Another tribute will be for Italian actress Gina Lollobrigida, featuring screenings of her Golden Globe nominated “Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell” (1968) and “Trapeze” (1956). Nearing 90 years old, she remains an unforgettable screen legend.

The festival will have an anticipated showing of Charles Chaplin’s “The Kid” (1921), his first feature as star, director and writer of a story that drew on his childhood experiences to create the story of a tramp who adopts an abandoned child.

Other classics in the tradition of premiering restorations include Jennifer Jones turn as the peasant girl with visions of the Virgin Mary in “The Song of Bernadette” (1943) and Gregory Peck’s “The Keys of the Kingdom” (1944).

Eva Marie Saint will be on hand to introduce a screening of the political comedy “The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming” (1966), while director John Singleton presents a 25th anniversary screening of his coming-of-age classic “Boyz N The Hood” (1991).

Stacy Keach, now starring in the TV series “Crowded,” may be used to better effect when he discusses John Huston’s gritty look at the world of small-time boxing in “Fat City” (1972).

Given that the TCM Classic Film Festival is still more than a month away, there’s still time to plan that trip to the heart of Hollywood, hanging out at the fabled Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel and the classic theaters, to enjoy a festival tailor-made for those who enjoy classic films.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.