‘Line’s’ parallel worlds

“Line of Fire,” which will temporarily replace “NYPD Blue” Tuesday nights on ABC, is blue, too. Which is not to say it’s dirty, although there is plenty of sexy innuendo sprinkled throughout. It is actually blue -- slate, indigo, smoke, smalt, etc. -- colors we dutifully recognize as the sober hues of the long, navy-jacketed arm of the law and its moody foil, the criminal underworld.

In this cyanotic universe, the cops are part of an FBI special task force in Richmond, Va., whose special agent in charge, the grim, angular Lisa Cohen (Leslie Hope) greets the day with a cigarette while toying with the glass of wine by her bed. The robbers are a local crime syndicate run by a ruthless nebbish named Jonah Malloy (David Paymer) who exudes all the flashy charm of a corporate tax attorney. The two circle each other while trying to abide by the rules of engagement until -- for the FBI, at least -- the time comes for total takedown. The uneasy detente between the teams is upset when a beloved member of each face off in a back-alley showdown that ends in tragedy, leading bosses on both sides to rally their troops and gird for war.

Fans of “The Sopranos” -- not to mention devotees of C-SPAN -- will recognize the reluctant bipartisanship at work in “Line of Fire.”

A little too smitten with the murky duality of it all, “Line of Fire” piles conflicting traits on each character like dessert toppings on a chain-restaurant sundae. Slinky special agent Jennifer Sampson (Julie Ann Emery) is the harried wife of a doofus who turns into an action hero at the slightest provocation. Rookie agent Paige Van Doren (Leslie Bibb) is a perky, pushy idealist with a tragic past and a problem with authority.

On the bright side, a truncated phone conversation with fellow Fed Amiel MacArthur (Michael Irby) and an unexpected encounter with Malloy’s new henchman Roy Ravelle (Anson Mount) hint at what could turn out to be Lisa’s somewhat more dynamic love life. Her rapport with Ravelle seems intriguingly complicated, in more ways than one.

Still, there’s an inherent danger in trying to replicate the DNA of an unaffectedly resonant hit, and some scenes in “Line of Fire” stretch so far in a “Sopranos” direction they seem on the verge of pulling a muscle..

Ultimately, the show seems to invite the daunting comparison to that other organized-crime drama. In the closing scene, two thugs beat the stuffing out of a bathrobe-clad man in his driveway to the strains of a golden oldie. The image smacks of deluded wishful thinking, but I must say I kind of admire the moxie.

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‘Line of Fire’

Where: On ABC

When: Tuesdays at 10 p.m.; premieres tonight.

Rating: The network has rated the series TV-14LV (may not be suitable for children under 14, with advisories for coarse language and violence).

Leslie Bibb...Paige Van Doren

Anson Mount...Roy Ravelle

David Paymer...Jonah Malloy

Leslie Hope...Lisa Cohen

Jeffrey D. Sams...Todd Stevens

Brian Goodman...Donovan Stubbins

Michael Irby...Amiel MacArthur

Julie Ann Embry...Jennifer Sampson

Creator, writer, director, Rod Lurie. Exective producers, Lurie, Mark Frydman and Jeff Melvoin.