A segue from sidekick to sitcom

LOS ANGELES -- Second banana no more, Andy Richter is officially in charge in his new Fox sitcom "Andy Richter Controls the Universe."

After chatting with Conan O'Brien's former sideman, the odd thought occurs: That might not be such a bad management plan.

Richter comes across as amiable, articulate, and modest without being saccharine. He's a proud dad eager to provide for his 15-month-old son. He eats lunch off a plastic tray in a local deli without complaint.

All this, and he's bringing a genuinely fresh and clever show to television.

"I hope that people like it," Richter said. "It is a nice thing to make people laugh. There's a kind of beauty to it."

The humor in "Andy Richter Controls the Universe" comes the honest way, from snappy writing and sharp acting. (The laughs come directly from viewers: This filmed comedy, mercifully, has no laughtrack.)

Richter's character makes a living at the dry task of writing technical manuals. He lives, however, by releasing his pent-up imagination in bursts of fantasy.

"This is a show about possibilities. The endless possibilities that life serves up to us every day," Richter, show observer-narrator, says in the opening moments of the first episode.

Built for comedy

That majestic sentiment is followed by an alarm clock sounding and a series of ghoulish, goofy and sexy potential openings to his day -- all that are not going to happen to the hapless Andy.

What he encounters is a lack of interest from the pretty office colleague he covets (Irene Molloy), the loss of half his office to a nerdy new worker (Jonathan Slavin) and no respect in general.

Richter is built for comedy, with the snub-nosed, mischievous mug and husky build of an overgrown kid. Although he's the star, the show smartly allows him to play a dour everyman, one whose passive-aggressiveness is ballast to the wackier folks around him.

Consider him a Bob Newhart for the 21st century, less likely to be satisfied with his life and more likely to serve up humor with a twist of malice.

Besides Slavin and Molloy, Andy's office troupe includes Paget Brewster as his supervisor-pal and James Patrick Stewart as a co-worker who's too handsome for Andy's good.

Hasn't been idle

The show, which debuts 7:30 p.m. today, marks Richter's full-time return to television since his departure from NBC's "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" in 2000.

He hasn't been idle, filling his time with supporting roles in movies including "Scary Movie 2" and "Dr. T & the Women." Upcoming films include "Big Trouble" with Tim Allen and "Run, Ronnie, Run," a big-screen version of the HBO sketch comedy series "Mr. Show."