Along with "Life on Mars," another American remake of a popular foreign show hits the airwaves tonight with the launch of the laffer "Kath & Kim" on NBC.

The original Australian series about a dysfunctional mother and daughter was a huge hit Down Under, winning both peer (Australian Film Institute Award for best drama series, 2002) and popular (Logie Award for outstanding comedy program, 2003, 2004) prizes.

However, though the critics remain hopeful about the long-term prospects of the U.S. version of Brit hit "Life on Mars," they castigate this remake of "Kath & Kim."

As per Robert Bianco of USA Today: "Witlessly Americanized by Michelle Nader ('King of Queens'), 'Kath' manages to waste the talents of Molly Shannon while exposing the limits of Selma Blair's comedy range. In this smug celebration of what the writers perceive to be suburban stupidity, Shannon and Blair play a mother and daughter whose main goals in life are to marry well and live like the celebrities they read about in the tabloids."

Mary McNamara of the Los Angeles Times says the show "desperately tries to caricature both family dynamics and consumer culture but winds up just abusing its terrific cast."

Barry Garron of Reuters says the remake "lacks the charm of the original. Worse, the characters in the NBC show are so exaggerated that the whole thing feels like a skit. A long, long skit." Ouch!

A noteworthy positive review came from the usually cranky Tom Shales of the Washington Post, who says, "Molly Shannon and Selma Blair are two hoots worth a happy holler in 'Kath & Kim,' a cleverly funny sitcom."