THEY’RE JUST SPECIAL

For decades, television crime solvers were general practitioners -- cops, private eyes, maybe a lawyer. But with “Law & Order” and its progeny now reaching the 20-year mark (and more than 800 cases), audience interests are wandering a bit.

These days they’re looking for specialization. Blame the “CSI” franchise; prior to that show’s success, a forensic technician was lucky if he got a line or two. But now that Gil Grissom, Horatio Caine and Mac Taylor have proved blood, hair and footprints can be sexy (and successful), there’s been no stopping the onrush of specially talented crime solvers. The dull detectives in their scuffed brogans and ill-fitting suits are being replaced by spiffed-up, neurotic geniuses.

“CSI” executive producer Carol Mendelsohn speculates that part of her show’s success has to do with audiences’ hunger for obscure knowledge. “What made ‘CSI’ such a success out of the gate was that people learn stuff on our show,” she says. “That’s what happens on ‘The Mentalist’ or ‘Lie to Me’ -- you learn stuff, that’s what the audience craves. We’re still a cop show, just a different kind of cop show.” They may never get their full Emmy due -- granddaddy “Law & Order” has won only one outstanding drama series prize, and “CSI” is perennially left in the dust -- but there’s no doubt that The Specialists are in charge of most of the crime dramas on TV today. Here and on the following page is a quick compendium of some of today’s quirkiest prime-time talents.

-- Randee Dawn

Emily Deschanel Dr. Temperance Brennan

Show: Bones (8 p.m. Thursdays, Fox)

Who does she think she is? A forensic anthropologist, working at the Jeffersonian Institute in Washington, D.C. “We get the grossest bodies,” Deschanel says. “We get called in when a body is badly decomposed or burned, just unrecognizable. She can even tell you if the person grew up in the U.S. on the West or East Coast.”

Special qualifications: Thanks to a touch of Asperger’s disorder, she’s got terrible social skills, which makes her a very fine companion for skeletons but not so much live people. She also writes crime novels and is “an expert in martial arts,” Deschanel says.

Partner in crime (solving): Special Agent Seeley Booth (David Boreanaz)

Body count: 84 episodes (by the end of Season 4)

Real-life usefulness? “She’s also a cultural anthropologist, so she can observe a situation and tell you what the dynamics are between human beings,” Deschanel says. “I don’t think being able to read bone markers will help much when you’re having a conversation, but her cultural knowledge would help.”

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Mark Harmon

Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs

Show: “NCIS” (8 p.m. Tuesdays, CBS)

Who does he think he is? Coordinator of a team of Naval Criminal Investigative Service agents that conducts criminal investigations involving the Navy and Marine Corps.

Special qualifications: “You hope he’s not coming after you,” Harmon says. “He’s a bulldog.” He’s also a former gunnery sergeant in the Marines, a war veteran and a sniper. “Those are extreme demands on anybody,” Harmon adds. “The people who do that are a different sort.” He’s also known for dishing out casual whaps in the head.

Partners in crime (solving): Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly), Special Agent Timothy McGee (Sean Murray), Mossad Liaison Officer Ziva David (Cote de Pablo).

Body count: 138 episodes (at the end of Season 6)

Real life usefulness? Unless he goes haywire, there’s not much daily call for snipers, but Harmon appreciates that he’s “a dedicated guy,” though he does have “a very difficult past that affects a lot of who he is.” As for the head-whapping, “I’ve been slapped, but never hit anyone in the back of the head, no. That’s not something I walk around doing. Though people ask all the time. It’s much worse on Weatherly, though -- because [his character] gets hit.”

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Simon Baker

Patrick Jane

Show: “The Mentalist” (9 p.m. Tuesdays, CBS)

Who does he think he is? A former charlatan, that’s what. Patrick Jane worked as a psychic medium for a while -- but wasn’t really psychic. Now he’s an independent consultant with the California Bureau of Investigation and solves crimes by paying close attention to detail rather than with true psychic ability.

Special qualifications: “He’s more parts con man than anything else,” Baker admits. Additionally, he’s nonjudgmental -- “he’s more interested in ‘Why are you like that?’ than ‘You’re bad,’ ” says Baker -- deeply charming and can hypnotize subjects. (No wonder he got away with being a psychic.)

Partners in crime (solving): Teresa Lisbon (Robin Tunney), Kimball Cho (Tim Kang), Wayne Rigsby (Owain Yeoman), Grace Van Pelt (Amanda Righetti)

Body count: 23 episodes (at the end of Season 1)

Real life usefulness? He’d use them on “quality of life” issues: “I’d get myself out of parking tickets. Get a better table at a restaurant. Get a better room at a hotel. Get upgrades all around.”

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Tim Roth

Dr. Cal Lightman

Show: “Lie to Me” (8 p.m. Wednesdays, Fox)

Who does he think he is? A body language expert with his own private firm who helps law enforcement with its investigations. His talent for understanding the meaning beneath “microexpressions” means he can ferret out the fibbers from the truth-tellers better than a polygraph. Would he lie to you?

Special qualifications: Reading body language is something everyone can do, but only a select few are “naturals” at facial recognition.

Partners in crime (solving): Dr. Gillian Foster (Kelli Williams), Ria Torres (Monica Raymund), Eli Loker (Brendan Hines).

Body count: 13 episodes (at the end of Season 1)

Real-life usefulness? “I don’t take it home,” Roth says. “Some of the actors went through special training -- but I’m not sure I want to know if someone’s able to read me in my private, day-to-day life. I don’t want to spot some kind of weird aggression while I’m doing my shopping. It’s hard to unlearn this stuff if it becomes intrusive. That’s the dilemma of the character -- how do you unlearn it, short of a swift blow to the head and some amnesia?”

The entire FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit

Show: “Criminal Minds” (9 p.m. Wednesdays, CBS)

Who do they think they are? Each member of the Behavioral Analysis Unit has a special talent, which gives “Criminal Minds” the most bang-for-your-buck options in the specialty genre.

“What we do is have the whole team go into a room and try to find the things no CSI cop would ever look for,” says executive producer Ed Bernero. “We don’t care about the fingerprint on the television, we want to know why the fingerprint is there.”

Partners in crime: Senior Supervisory Special Agent David Rossi (Joe Mantegna), Supervisory Special Agent Derek Morgan (Shemar Moore), Supervisory Special Agent Dr. Spencer Reid (Matthew Gray Gubler), Supervisory Special Agent Jennifer “J.J.” Jareau (A.J. Cook), Supervisory Special Agent Emily Prentiss (Paget Brewster), Technical Analyst Penelope Garcia (Kirsten Vangsness)

Body count: 91 episodes (at the end of Season 4)

Real life usefulness? Actually, none, says Bernero: “Their knowledge makes them awkward in real life. Dr. Reid is the most socially awkward character we have, but none of them mix well with people outside their job. I like to think the things that make them good at their job make them exceedingly irritating in real life.”

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