‘Baby Bob’ Blessed With Gift of Gab

Tonight at 8:30, CBS is hoping that a 6-month-old chatterbox can do for its Monday-night lineup what he couldn’t quite pull off for a fledgling Internet firm.

The character “Baby Bob” earned major smiles awhile back as the “talking” pitchbaby for Freeinternet.com, trading quips with Laker star Shaquille O’Neal in a couple of particularly memorable spots. So charming was the lad’s digitally bestowed gift of gab that plans were hatched to build a sitcom around the concept, even as the dot-com was steadily sinking into bankruptcy.

“Bob’s” arrival in prime time turns out to be a happy event indeed. Crisp writing in the amusing premiere by executive producer Michael Saltzman and sure direction from Rob Schiller ease fears that the series might rest on a gimmick alone. But as gimmicks go, this one is a beauty, with cutting-edge effects that give Bob an expressiveness some actors can only dream of.

It also helps that “Baby Bob” is surrounded by a family of pros, with Adam Arkin as Walter Miller, the boy’s father; Joely Fisher as mom Lizzy; Elliott Gould as Walter’s dad, Sam; and Holland Taylor as Lizzy’s mother, Madeline.

In tonight’s episode, “First Words,” Lizzy and Walter are understandably floored upon discovering their pride and joy’s way with words. (Bob’s 40-something voice is given just the right touch of bent whimsy by Ken Campbell, who handled the same role in the commercials.)

And in time-honored sitcom tradition, the jittery Millers immediately begin plotting how to prevent word from getting out about their precocious child.

The final scene shows just how difficult this will be. But what may be an ongoing aggravation for the Millers should provide good fun for viewers still mourning the end of the “Look Who’s Talking” franchise.