A Verdict on Strange World of ABC’s ‘Maximum Bob’

Bizarre? Yes. Beguiling? Not necessarily so.

“Maximum Bob,” an ABC summer series starring Beau Bridges as a jerky judge, is only moderately enjoyable.

Based on a book by the prolific Elmore Leonard (“Out of Sight,” “Get Shorty”), this insistently oddball entry is “Twin Peaks”-lite material by way of “The X-Files” and even “Northern Exposure” to some degree.

Bridges has the title role as Bob Gibbs, an unorthodox, headline-hunting judge in the fictional south Florida town of Deep Water, where he earned his nickname by throwing the gavel at any felon unlucky enough to suffer his wrath in court.

In tonight’s debut, the ill-tempered, grandstanding jurist presides over a seemingly simple case of parole violation in which the defendant is represented by Kathy Baker (Liz Vassey), a savvy public defender from Miami whose husband left her for a dental technician.

Early on, we realize the brassy Baker does not suffer fools gladly, least of all a corrupt cop who tries to roust her on the highway, much to his chagrin. Baker is a decent foil for Gibbs, a conniving chauvinist given to crude compliments along the lines of “You’ve got a cute butt . . . like two bulldogs in a bag.”

Ever eager to abuse his power, Gibbs nevertheless knows when he’s met his match. And we quote: “I’m a pig stuck under a gate. How loud do you want me to squeal?”

And did we mention the judge is angling for a divorce from his sweet, statuesque wife (Kiersten Warren), a former beauty queen and “mermaid” who wowed a crowd by eating bananas 16 feet underwater? She also channels the spirit of a slave named Wanda from 1855. (Don’t ask.)

Besides the occasionally crafty dialogue and its two well-drawn antagonists, however, the premiere misses the mark with its clutch of ostensibly colorful fringe folk, including a stereotypically illiterate, inbred family of rednecks with a drawling mother and her oversize twin sons, all of whom need Coke-bottle-thick black glasses for poor vision. “It all goes to us being first cousins,” the mom explains. And that all goes to sour condescension, we would say.

Moreover, the weird and off-center script by Alex Gansa doesn’t register a convincing case for Vassey’s adept, big-city attorney to stay in this backward little town, other than to harass the lecherous Gibbs and thereby extend the life of the show.

Barry Sonnenfeld (“Men in Black”) directs in an easy, breezy manner, but you’re better off waiting for his witty reinvention of “Fantasy Island” next month. Now there’s a series that entertains to the max.

* “Maximum Bob” premieres at 10 tonight on ABC (Channels 7, 3 and 42). The network has rated it TV-14 (may be unsuitable for children under 14 years of age).