It's hard to make a case for by-the-numbers 'Evidence'

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

By MELANIE McFARLAND
P-I TELEVISION CRITIC

Not long ago, ABC was the home of "NYPD Blue," one of the finest police dramas on television. "Blue" grew in stature over time, but from the very start, it let viewers know that it was doing something fresh and innovative with the genre.

Remember that if you watch "The Evidence," which hits you with a dismembered digit within moments of its 10 p.m. premiere tonight on KOMO/4. Following that is about 43 minutes of fairly rote detective work.

Perhaps this is a crazy idea, but between everything on CBS and Dick Wolf's "Law & Order" factory, wouldn't you think latecomers would feel an obligation to give us something we haven't seen before? I sure do.

Yet here we are, with the kind of weakly written script that Gil Grissom would use to clean himself -- only, there's a twist! Before the story begins, we get to see the items used to help solve the crime. There's a locket, a cell phone and, as indicated above, "The Evidence" gives you the finger.

Fleshing out the mystery are handsome San Francisco Police inspectors Sean Cole (Rob Estes) and Cayman Bishop (Orlando Jones), who strut around exchanging witty repartee all the while.

Cole's hipspeak masks his tortured past. The one mystery he hasn't solved is his wife's murder, putting him in an emotional holding pattern. I'm not sure which is worse, that tired back story or Martin Landau besmirching his career by appearing in this as a wizened forensics guy.

Anyway, Cole should just call Adrian Monk, since they have a city and murdered spouse issues in common. Then again, Monk doesn't have time to devote to inane pursuits. Neither do you.

But that doesn't mean there's absolutely nothing to watch at 10 besides this and NBC's so-so "Heist." Far from it! Here are a few more interesting options.

"Veronica Mars," KSTW/11. Ordinarily the teen detective would occupy the 9 p.m. Wednesday slot, but this week she and the dullest "America's Next Top Model" cycle yet have been pushed back due to baseball.

"South Park," Comedy Central. To kick off its 10th season, Trey Parker and Matt Stone quickly concocted an episode called "The Return of Chef!" and it's a safe guess the plot is tied to last week's brouhaha over Isaac Hayes' abrupt resignation. According to reports, the boys are delighted to get their friend back, although they notice something about him has changed. Hmm.

"Nighty Night," Oxygen. Jill, the main character of this British black comedy, is so dark and bitter, she's the TV equivalent of gourmet chocolate. Nibble at your own peril.

"Out of Practice," KIRO/7. All right, technically it's on at 8 p.m., not 10. But now is as good a time as any to remind you that CBS's most underappreciated new comedy finally has returned. It is also one of the few series the network has yet to pick up for fall, so tell your friends to start watching, or you'll be sorry.

P-I TV critic Melanie McFarland can be reached at 206-448-8015 or tvgal@seattlepi.com.

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