The Season's Best, Ripe for Picking

People who avoid high school and college reunions with a near-religious devotion will be especially baffled by "The Class," a cockamamie drama in which presumably sane individuals just can't get on with their lives until they return to third grade at Woodman Elementary School and see dear old Mrs. Klinger again -- or is she dead? It's hard to recall, so many ancient and arcane crises, neuroses and anxieties are dredged up again. Characters include two token gay men, a sexy blonde married to a brain-damaged football star, and a fellow who's spending adulthood with his shrewish mother. "It's all good," one of them says. She must be talking about some other show. (Mondays, 8 p.m.; premieres tomorrow night.)

'Smith'

"Smith" is nearly as plain and undistinguished as its anonymous-sounding title, but it does have Ray Liotta (most notably of "GoodFellas" fame) making the transition to TV with a strong performance as an antihero for our time: a thief who sets his sights on an art museum as the premiere opens. See, he's a classy kind of thief. No convenience stores or pawnshops for him. Although created by John Wells of "ER" fame, "Smith" limps when it should sprint -- and dressing it up with kinetic explosions doesn't help. (Tuesdays, 10 p.m.; premieres Tuesday.)

'Jericho'

"Jericho" doesn't bother with mere malaise, a condition that infests several new dramas, but instead goes all the way to the biggest bang in prime time: nuclear bombs sending mushroom clouds into the sky and apparently -- although the premiere isn't 100 percent clear on this -- obliterating Denver and Atlanta. Jericho is a small Midwestern town, and when residents see those clouds in the distance, they have to interrupt their hug marathon (it's the huggingest show on TV until then) and prepare themselves for the worst -- although no one is sure exactly what that will be. Serialized and serious, the drama seems to lack credibility and conviction, but maybe it will acquire some along the way. (Wednesdays, 8 p.m.; premieres Wednesday.)

'Shark'

"Shark" is the very appropriate nickname given a tough, tenacious, icy-hearted trial lawyer who's talked into crossing over to the other side to become a tough, tenacious, icy-hearted prosecutor. Good idea for a courtroom series? Yes, but it becomes a great one simply because James Woods is cast in the title role. Brash, blunt and more intimidating than a letter from the IRS, Woods blasts his way through the show with such self-assurance and bravado that it's very hard to take your eyes off him. This is like the lawyerly version of Fox's medical drama "House," and Woods makes his character as compellingly abrasive as Hugh Laurie's House is. (Thursdays, 10 p.m.; premieres Thursday.)

FOX: 'VANISHED' HAS TRACES OF PROMISE

'Vanished'

An unusually strong cast tries to make sense of this confused drama about the FBI, missing persons and a political campaign. Gale Harold, formerly of Showtime's "Queer as Folk," stars here, with such big-time guest stars as the beautiful Penelope Ann Miller and heartthrob Esai Morales. (Mondays, 10 p.m.; already premiered.)

'Standoff'

This mediocre drama about the exploits of a crisis-management team is made downright irritating by the sappy badinage between spatting lovers who bicker about their relationship even while victims of mayhem are waiting to be rescued. As for the performances of the principals, they aren't phoned in -- they're cellphoned in. Or maybe BlackBerried. The show is plagued by a facetious flippancy that undercuts whatever drama is brought to a boil. (Tuesdays, 9 p.m.; already premiered.)

'Justice'