Life after high school hasn’t been kind to Jason, Harry, Sherman and Kelly. ABC is hoping their shared pain will be the audience’s pleasure in the new sitcom “In Case of Emergency”.

The series, debuting at 10.30 p.m. on Wednesday, stars David Arquette, Jonathan Silverman, Greg Germann and Kelly Hu as the former classmates, with Lori Loughlin as a physician who’s drawn into the lives of this drowning rat pack.

How bad off are they? Sherman (played by Germann, “Ally McBeal”) is a diet guru who binges on stolen baked goods after his wife leaves him. Jason (Arquette), caught in a corporate scandal, attempts suicide and instead shoots himself in the foot.

Reunited on one fateful night, the foursome may have found new hope in old friends.

For those puzzling over the title, the network offers a helpful explanation. Series creator Howard J. Morris was a newly divorced dad who, during a conversation with a friend, realised he didn’t know who to list as his emergency contact on a medical form.

The friend, a lifelong bachelor, told Morris he’d always faced that dilemma. The two were struck by the fact their different journeys had brought them to the same destination — and, eureka, a sitcom was born!

Broadcast networks have been in a lingering comedy slump, but ABC isn’t giving up. “In Case of Emergency” is paired with another new sitcom, “The Knights of Prosperity,” also debuting on Wednesday at 10 p.m.

Other shows this week to look out for:

[bul] Ed Bradley gets his due again with a rebroadcast of an hour-long tribute that aired shortly after his death November 9 from leukaemia. Friends including Wynton Marsalis and Jimmy Buffett and journalist Charlayne Hunter-Gault offer their memories of the pioneering black newsman and bon vivant. The special, airing 8 p.m. tomorrow on CBS’ “60 Minutes,” his longtime home, also includes Bradley colleagues Steve Kroft, Lesley Stahl and Morley Safer. At a memorial service held in New York for Bradley, Kroft told of getting more than journalism lessons from him: “I learned a lot about friendship, manners, clothes, wine, freshly cut flowers ... and the importance of stopping and smelling them every once in a while.”

[bul] Think you’re living an environmentally friendly life? Try comparing yourself to actor Ed Begley Jr. (“A Mighty Wind,” “St. Elsewhere”), whose longtime dedication to being green is detailed in “Living with Ed,” a new HGTV series described as a “family docu-soap.” Begley lives in a solar-powered home, drives an electric car, runs a windmill power farm to offset his energy use and rides his bicycle to the Academy Awards. His wife, actress Rachelle Carson, doesn’t always display the same level of enthusiasm — especially when her husband clocks her showers to monitor water usage. HGTV is offering a “sneak peek” of the show at 2 p.m. on New Year’s Day, following the channel’s coverage of the Rose Parade from Pasadena. The six-part series’ official debut is January 7.

[bul] Anthony Bourdain, the chef whose appetite for food and living knows no bounds, is back on the road for a third season of “Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations”. Skipping across continents and prepared to taste anything that comes his way, he digs into a beef tongue-goat meat stew in Ghana, a concoction of meat, sand and fur in Namibia and a more traditional plate of Copper River salmon — but with stewed pig’s head, as well — outside of Portland. The show’s new season gets a New Year’s Day kickoff, at 11 p.m., on Travel Channel.

[bul] Wired, the science and technology magazine, is coming to television with PBS’ “Wired Science,” airing at 9 p.m. on Wednesday. The hour-long episode delves into the universe of meteorite hunters, goes under water to visit NEEMO, NASA’s extreme astronaut training facility, and introduces viewers to stem-cell researchers and the developer of a speedy electric car. PBS, searching for a new science series, is doing a little experimenting of its own: “Wired Science” is one of three prospects being considered.

The other two pilots, set to air on following Wednesdays, are “Science Investigators” and “22nd Century”.

All three shows will be available online at http://www.pbs.org starting New Year’s Day. Audience comment will be one factor used to decide which pilot is tapped for a series expected to debut in fall 2007.Lynn Elber is a national television columnist for The Associated Press. She can be reached at lelbe>[AT]ap.org