On the prowl for new ways of fighting crime

In the pilot for “Numb3rs,” the manhunt for a serial killer is blown wide open ... by a lawn sprinkler.

The premise of this new crime drama from CBS has math genius Charlie Eppes (David Krumholtz) devising algorithms to help his FBI agent brother (Rob Morrow) catch villains. In the pilot, Charlie uses the sweeping motion of a sprinkler as a metaphor to explain how a mathematical formula can help pinpoint where a killer lives or works. The sprinkler -- shot in stop-motion and overlaid with special effects -- becomes a kind of visual motif for Charlie’s approach to problem solving.

Charlie is hardly a typical TV crime-fighter, but then “Numb3rs” wasn’t originally intended to be a cop show. The writers, the husband-and-wife team of Nicolas Falacci and Cheryl Heuton, spent several years doing research on physicist Richard Feynman and virtuoso mathematicians in hopes of developing a dramatic series a la “A Beautiful Mind.” But television, they learned, has a tough time separating itself from time-tested genres.

“It really wasn’t about finding a new way to do a crime show,” Heuton said. “But in the current network environment, you’ve got a better shot at getting your show on the air with that kind of angle.”

Variations on a theme

Charlie isn’t alone: Crime-fighters with far-fetched skills are popping up all over the TV dial these days -- especially now, as television enters its January-to-March midseason, when networks try to correct the programming mistakes they made back in September.

Hoping to jazz up the cop genre, networks are unleashing dramas starring detectives armed with far more than a .38 revolver and a hunch. In addition to “Numb3rs,” which starts Jan. 21, there’s ABC’s “Blind Justice” (arriving March 8), in which a blind NYPD detective (Ron Eldard) cracks cases with his heightened nonvisual senses. The show is executive-produced by Steven Bochco, whose resume includes two cop classics, “Hill Street Blues” and “NYPD Blue.” And on Monday night, NBC introduces “Medium,” with Patricia Arquette as a thirtysomething lawyer whose abilities to communicate with the dead enable authorities to reconstruct crimes.

The trend has more to do with network economics than the latest wrinkles in criminology. As Falacci put it, “I think everyone is looking for a new variation on what’s been done so far” on crime shows.

With “CSI” clones multiplying all over prime time, producers have to work hard to make their cops stand out. The procedural cop drama is far and away the most popular format on network TV, with 12 prime-time series devoted to the formula. Now in its 15th season, NBC’s “Law & Order” is one of the longest-running scripted series in history, although its ratings have tapered off lately. This season, CBS’ “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” is the No. 1 program (tied with ABC’s “Desperate Housewives”) among the young adults sought by advertisers. Both “Law & Order” and “CSI” have bred two successful spinoffs.

But the networks have paid a price for the ubiquity of cop shows -- which has arisen, incidentally, during an era in which real-life crime stats are mostly falling. As murder rates soar during TV’s evening hours, writers have found it increasingly difficult to make an impression on jaded viewers, to say nothing of network executives during pitch meetings. One possible solution is the hero with a special hook. In TV parlance, this is what’s known as a “promotable” device, the kind of point that can be hammered home in ads for the show.

“It’s always good to look for the next generation, the next incarnation,” said ABC prime-time entertainment chief Stephen McPherson. As a result, he said, the “standard crime show” -- that well-worn precinct where gruff, workaholic FBI agents and local cops track down serial killers and other malefactors within a tight four-act formula -- is probably on the way out.

That doesn’t necessarily mean viewers will cotton to crime-fighting clairvoyants and math geniuses, though. A thin line separates an intriguing hook from a mere gimmick that audiences reject. “Blind Justice” isn’t even the first series to make use of a blind detective: In the early ‘70s, James Franciscus starred as “Longstreet,” an investigator permanently blinded by crooks he was tracking. Then as now, prime time had a glut of procedural shows -- “Cannon,” “Hawaii Five-O,” “Ironside,” “Mannix” and others -- and the heat was on newcomers to stand out. In the case of “Longstreet,” the experiment failed, and the program was canceled after the 1971-72 season.

That kind of history already has some TV analysts downbeat on the latest cop-with-a-twist shows. “Typically, I don’t think these kinds of things work,” said Brad Adgate, senior vice president at Horizon Media in New York.

The new dramas also are confronting a programming landscape that’s changed remarkably since September. Pilots for the new midseason shows were shot last spring, when it seemed as if crime procedurals were the only kinds of network dramas viewers wanted to watch. Since then, ABC’s satiric soap “Desperate Housewives” and baroque tropical thriller “Lost” have become huge hits. So programmers are beginning to reassess their views of audience tastes, although whether that will translate into a spate of “Housewives” clones -- in the same way that “Knots Landing” and “Dynasty” chased “Dallas” in the early 1980s -- won’t be apparent until the networks announce their fall schedules in May.

In any case, said NBC Entertainment President Kevin Reilly, “now we’re seeing possibilities opening up” beyond the crime genre.

A ‘Blue’ blood

The new series don’t lack for impressive pedigrees. “Blind Justice” will replace Bochco’s “NYPD Blue,” which is winding down a 12-season run on ABC. The producer’s work also includes “L.A. Law.” ABC is confident Bochco’s storytelling skills will set “Blind Justice” apart from rivals, and McPherson waved off any comparison to “Numb3rs” or “Medium.”

“ ‘Blind Justice’ is a character drama; those others are more ‘high-concept,’ ” he said, using the industry term for premises that can be summed up in a single sentence.

Will procedural fans see “Blind Justice” as visionary or contrived? In the pilot, NYPD Det. Jim Dunbar (Eldard) works a routine auto-theft case. Near the climax, the sightless detective pokes his head inside a seemingly pristine recovered auto, catches a whiff of a familiar substance and announces to his astonished partner, “A gun was fired in here.” The clue breaks open a stubborn murder case and proves Dunbar’s worth to skeptical colleagues.

Then there’s “Medium,” in which Arquette sees dead people -- and they give her clues ordinary detectives can’t turn up. The series is inspired by the story of the real-life Allison DuBois, who describes herself on her website as a “research medium and criminal profiler.” In the pilot, DuBois (Arquette) helps a skeptical Texas Ranger (Arliss Howard) crack a murder case by unraveling the secret past of the perpetrator. Like “Blind Justice,” it comes with some bold-faced names attached to the credit list: The executive producers include Kelsey Grammer, late of “Frasier,” and Glenn Gordon Caron, best known for the ‘80s hit “Moonlighting.”

NBC, which could use a little supernatural help itself, has high hopes for “Medium.” The network has stumbled badly this season as its fall shows have failed to catch on. “Medium” is headed for the super-competitive slot of 10 p.m. Mondays, opposite CBS’ smash crime hit “CSI: Miami.” NBC’s ill-fated airport drama “LAX” lasted just six episodes in that slot before being rebooked to Wednesdays. So the network is trying to be realistic about the prospects for “Medium.”

“It’s a very problematic time period for us,” Reilly said. “I’m not expecting to beat ‘CSI: Miami,’ but I do believe we can generate an audience.”

“Numb3rs” will occupy the 10 p.m. Friday slot that once belonged to Rob Lowe’s canceled drama “Dr. Vegas.” That’s one of the few trouble spots on the schedule for CBS, whose numbers are holding up just fine. The network is ranked No. 1 in prime time this season among both total viewers and young adults, the category most important to advertisers.

In addition to Falacci and Heuton -- a veteran writing duo, though they’ve never had a series break through to network TV before -- the “Numb3rs” producing team includes director Ridley Scott (“Alien,” “Gladiator”) and his brother and business partner, director Tony Scott (“Top Gun,” “Crimson Tide”).

While neither Scott is directing any episodes, CBS Entertainment President Nina Tassler believes their input has helped make “Numb3rs” a “unique-looking show.”

“It’s taking us into Charlie’s mind and looking at the world through his eyes,” Tassler said.

The producers are hoping that devotees of the TV whodunit have grown weary enough of the format to welcome change but aren’t so tired of crime that they’ve moved on to something else entirely. They hope, in other words, that viewers will do the math.

“What we’ve discovered,” Falacci said, “is that mathematics has an application to almost everything.”

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Networks’ winter hopes

Notable in the lineups: more reality, more cops and a supernatural spin.

Show; Network: “Committed”; NBC

Slot; Premiere: Tuesdays, 9:30 p.m.; Tuesday

Prospects: Network hopes this quirky romantic comedy can get NBC back in comedy game on Tuesdays.

Show; Network: “Jonny Zero”; Fox

Slot; Premiere: Fridays, 9 p.m.; Jan. 14

Prospects: Dark crime drama from “ER’s” John Wells will have to tough it out on a little-watched night.

Show; Network: “Medium”; NBC

Slot; Premiere: Mondays, 10 p.m.; Monday

Prospects: Patricia Arquette sees dead people, helps solve crime; NBC gets a replacement for airport bomb “LAX.”

Show; Network: “Numb3rs”; CBS

Slot; Premiere: Fridays, 10 p.m.; Jan. 21

Prospects: Math genius helps solve crimes; replaces Rob Lowe’s “Dr. Vegas.”

Show; Network: “Point Pleasant”; Fox

Slot; Premiere: Thursdays, 9 p.m.; Jan. 20

Creepy soap with supernatural theme will need extra luck against CBS’ monster hit “CSI.”

Show; Network: “Supernanny”; ABC

Slot; Premiere: Mondays, 10 p.m.; Jan. 17

Child-care whiz rescues parents with troublesome tots; did viewers tire of concept after Fox’s “Nanny 911”?

Show; Network: “Wickedly Perfect”; CBS

Slot; Premiere: Thursdays, 8 p.m.; Thursday

Prospects: This reality series with Joan Lunden searching for Martha Stewart-type domestic divas is going in “Survivor” slot.

Show; Network: “The Will”; CBS

Slot; Premiere: Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Saturday

Prospects: Reality show about scheming heirs. Producer Mike Fleiss (“The Bachelor”) has strong record, but tough to draw a crowd on Saturdays.

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Legends of the fall

After the hype, the rubble. And the occasional hit.

Category: Most expensive dud

Show/Network: “Father of the Pride”/NBC

Remarks: Computer-generated cartoon about Siegfried and Roy’s lions set network back $2 million+ per episode

Category: Biggest surprise hit

Show/Network: “Desperate Housewives”/ABC

Remarks: Viewers want to learn the suburbs’ sexy secrets. Who knew?

Category: Worst Rob Lowe career move

Show/Network: “Dr. Vegas”/CBS

Remarks: After last season’s legal misfire “The Lyon’s Den,” Lowe is 0-for-2 as TV headliner. Is “West Wing” still hiring?

Category: Lowest PR budget

Show/Network: “Medical Investigation”/NBC

Remarks: Without much fanfare, detective show is giving NBC a Friday bright spot.

Category: Biggest reality flop

Show/Network: “The Next Great Champ”/Fox

Remarks: KOd by viewers, boxing series was sent packing to a sister cable channel

Category: Best reviews for low-rated show

Show/Network: “Jack & Bobby”/WB

Remarks: Drama with Christine Lahti as mother of president-to-be switched from Sundays to Wednesdays in search of more viewers.