Trading places: UPN is getting better but the WB is slipping

Veronica Mars (Tuesdays, 8 p.m., UPN/Ch. 24) is sort of Nancy Drew for the 21st century — smart, attractive, intuitive and tough 17-year-old who has a particular talent for solving mysteries. By day, Veronica (Kristen Bell) is a high school student. By night, she's the brains behind her father's (Enrico Colantoni) detective agency. The cast includes a bunch of other teens — an ultra-rich in-crowd and a lower-middle class out-crowd — who inhabit a seaside town where there are secrets aplenty. Including the mystery of who killed Veronica's best friend, an ultra-rich girl whose murder remains unsolved.

This is one of the big surprises of the new season. The premise doesn't sound all that promising, but the pilot episode is excellent. Bell is excellent as Veronica, a girl you're going to want to get to know better. And then there are the mysteries to keep you involved.

"Veronica Mars" previews on Wednesday, Sept. 22, at 8 p.m. before moving to its regular time slot on Tuesday, Sept. 28.

The Mountain (Wednesdays, 8 p.m., WB/Ch. 30) is an attempt to make a slightly older "O.C.," moving from the ocean shore to a ski resort. It doesn't work.

It's a big soap opera from the get-go. The death of the Carver family patriarch brings free-spirited David (Oliver Hudson) home for the funeral, where he learns he's been left in charge of the family resort. That doesn't sit well with his brother, Will (Anson Mount), who's been working while David was out playing. And leaves their mother (Barbara Hershey) to referee. Oh, and there's the Evil Family that wants to take over the Carver Empire.

While this is nominally from the same producers as "The O.C.," the guy who actually runs that show has nothing to do with this one. And this crowd apparently completely missed what makes "The O.C." work — humor and not taking yourself too seriously.

And why the folks at the WB think Oliver Hudson — whom they starred in the short-lived "Rock Star" and then dumped in "Dawson's Creek" — is star material is unfathomable.

"The Mountain" premieres Wednesday, Sept. 22.

Kevin Hill (Wednesdays, 8 p.m., UPN/Ch. 24) is sort of a remake of the movie "Baby Boom," with Taye Diggs stepping into the role played by Diane Keaton. Diggs plays the title character, a supremely self-assured 28-year-old entertainment lawyer who, when he's not tearing things up on the job, is the ultimate player with the ladies. His life takes a sudden turn when he learns his cousin has died and left a 6-month-old daughter to raise. He ends up in a different firm, staffed entirely by women (including one with whom he had a one-night stand), a gay nanny and a whole new outlook on life.