“Partners”: Well, if you’re one of the dozen or so Americans who, like me, followed and came to admire this bubbly Yuppie sitcom during its first season, this may well be its last fresh breath. Tonight’s episode (8:30 p.m., WFLD-Ch. 32) is the season finale, and there is no word yet on whether Fox will dignify its schedule by bringing it back next fall. Why would a network that has had “Married . . . with Children” on for nine years want to hang onto an at least vaguely plausible character-driven comedy that’s equally adept at clever pop-culture references and shameless slapstick? The season closer begins on the eve of the event the whole year has been pointing toward–Owen (Tate Donovan) and Alicia’s (Maria Pitillo) wedding–and now third wheel Bob (Jon Cryer) wants to pop the question to his new inamorata. There’s too much blatant contrivance to make this a great episode–including unlikely misspellings in the wedding vows and a last-minute glitch that also fails the could-happen test–but in the deft handling of one couple’s excitement at getting another to join its ranks, there is the effervescent essence of why “Partners” has been one of the year’s consistent pleasures.
