Tom Maurstad

Second on the list of offbeat, innovative shows coming back for a second swipe at first-time viewers is Life. It's hard to think of a TV genre more overworked than the cop show. But somehow Life comes up with a viewing experience that feels new and unfamiliar.

Damian Lewis is Charlie Crews, a detective who served 12 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit, framed by unknown persons as part of a scheme he is now devoted to unraveling. That mystery serves as the background story arcing over the show's week-to-week events. Life may represent the most successful experiment in serialized storytelling that the broadcast networks have come up with in an attempt to answer the challenge posed by cable TV.

The mystery of who was behind Charlie's framing and what's going on makes for fascinating fun, but this is no Lost-like maze. You don't need to pay attention to every detail to feel you're in on the action. As tonight's premiere demonstrates, you can drop in and out of the back story and still enjoy that week's case.

Charlie Crews has nice chemistry with his partner, the improbably beautiful Dani Reese (Sarah Shahi). She can't help but roll her eyes when Charlie launches into one of his Zen-priest reveries about how everything is connected. And Adam Arkin displays a nice touch as Charlie's ex-con buddy.

At its best, Life, with its subtly shaded back story that deepens the show's characters and relationships, comes off as kind of a new-age Rockford Files. And in TV land, that's high praise indeed.

9 tonight. NBC (Channel 5). 1 hr.

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