Remote patrol

If the new UPN sitcom "Girlfriends" (8:30 tonight, Channel 29) looks familiar, here's a hint: "Living Single." Unlike that Fox comedy, these four ladies don't share the same apartment in this urban sex comedy, and this time the workplace is a law firm, not a magazine, and one of the four is married. But the formula has otherwise been left untouched: You have the smart, ambitious, man-deprived lead; her gold-digging best friend; two other tart-tongued sidekicks and a perpetually available guy. The two episodes of "Girlfriends" I saw were end-to-end bawdy laughs. All five members of the ensemble are sharp and funny. Even the show's gimmick is well used: At opportune moments, one of the characters (usually Joan) tells us what she's really thinking in a pop-up balloon. With its nonstop whoopee talk, "Girlfriends" is definitely not for the kids. And yet, since this show will air immediately after "The Hughleys" (moved over from ABC), kids will be the core audience anyway. Sleep tight, Mom and Dad. @ART CAPTION:Tracee Ellis Ross is one of the 'Girlfriends' @ART:Photo (color) >>>