TELEVISION: ‘Party Down’ is a revival that doesn’t try too hard

Most sitcom revivals stink.

Even when they include the exact same cast, there's a whiff of embarrassing fanfic about them. They repeat old formulas when they aren't overexplaining where everyone's been, require actors to take on the faintly humiliating project of re-inhabiting their younger selves and invite fans to pretend the circumstances reuniting the gang aren't spectacularly contrived.

The whole enterprise tends to put viewers and actors alike in a mode that's a little more reverent than funny. It's supposed to be a party, with everyone gathering to re-create a fond moment, and yet the undertaking is fundamentally uncool and so freighted by the shadow of past success that a haunting question arises: Are we having fun yet?

For the third season of Starz's "Party Down," the answer — despite a 13-year gap — is yes.