If Mr. Reagan's election really means we are going back to apple fritters and old-time values, then the television networks have been way ahead of the polls. What could be more traditional and American than girls, girls, girls?

Of course, they don't refer to young women as "girls" in the ads for comedies in the jiggle genre. After all, there still may be a militant feminist out there somewhere, smoking her solitary stogie and plotting a comeback. But "Bring on the girls" is the unspoken rallying cry of the season. As though the '60s and '70s had never happened, women in TV are once again wiggling, giggling, pouting and simpering, batting their big dumb eyes, heaving large sighs in small T-shirts, teetering winsomely on spike heels and wagging their cute little tails in cutoff jeans. Shades of Debra Paget and Jayne Mansfield.

Considering how dumb a girl can get in current comedy series, the five young women in ABC's It's A Living are a credit to their race. At least two of them can manage a three-syllable word (I counted), and it was not until the second episode that all five were seen in PJs. That's restraint. Furthermore, there is no really hard-core wiggling, though the five are employed as waitresses and show a lot of cleavage when they learn forward, which is frequently. There is a virgin in the group (if apple fritters can come back, so can virgins), and a brassy blonde who apparently sleeps with anyone mobile. The others are in-between somewhere. ABC calls this an "adult comedy", meaning that the jokes are about sex. (Barney Miller is not an adult comedy, but Three's Company is. See?)

In the premiere, the question was whether Vicki the virgin (Wendy Schaal) would or would not, go away for the weekend with her new boyfriend. If she did, would she have to do it? The brassy Cassie (Ann Jillian) observed, "If he spends more than $40 on dinner, you're required to by law." In another episode, Vicki moved in with Cassie, driving her crazy by making muffins and exuding cheer in the morning. The other girls, excuse me, women, include Lois (Susan Sullivan), who is married and a mother; Jan (Barrie Youngfellow), a college student; and Dot (Gail Edwards), who wants to be an actress. There is a fussy boss lady (Marian Mercer in good form) and a piano-bar hambone skillfully overplayed by Paul Kreppel.

The plots seem to be long, elaborate setups for naughty punch-lines usually delivered by Cassie. When they all gathered at Lois's house for a pyjama party, they heard a burglar downstairs. Cassie went to investigate, found the burglar and returned, reporting that he didn't have a gun, "Maybe there's a gun in his pocket", squealed someone. "No," smirked Cassie a la Mae West, "I checked."

I like girls as well as the next guy, but I'm afraid I'm beginning to OD on the girl-show fad. When you've seen five plunging necklines you've seen them all. And Alistair Cooke is starting to look pretty good to me. Either I need an overhaul or the television season needs one.