Dumb and dumber

Here is a complete list of all the good reasons to watch ABC's new crime drama "The Evidence":

1. There's some really great San Francisco locations visible in the premiere.

Here's a partial list of the all the reasons to avoid watching "The Evidence," which premieres Wednesday at 9 p.m. on Ch. 4:

1. The gimmick of showing viewers shots of the evidence in a crime at the top of the hour is just that — a gimmick. And a dumb one.

2. The evidence presented to viewers at home will NOT help them solve the crime. It's disjointed, sort of gross and an utter waste of screen time.

3. "The Evidence" is essentially just another ripoff of "CSI."

4. Rob Estes and Orlando Jones — who star as longtime partners/best friends/police detectives — have zero chemistry.

5. Inspector Sean Cole (Estes) is tortured by the unsolved murder of his wife — which is about the millionth time that old chestnut has been trotted out.

(Just last fall that was the motivation for the lead character in the remake of "Night Stalker." And, also just last fall, Fox had a short-lived crime drama — also set in San Francisco — in which the detective was getting over the death of his partner.)

6. Inspector Cayman Bishop (Jones) is supposed to be funny. He's not.

7. The "witty" dialogue Estes and Jones spout isn't.

8. The writing is derivative and dull. If the murder mystery in the first episode can't keep your attention, that doesn't bode well for succeeding episodes.

9. The writing is also manipulative in the manner of a low-budget horror film. One of the bits of evidence you see at the top of the hour is the victim's body, so when it flashes back to before the crime you know she's going to die. Not once but twice "false alarms" are foisted upon us.

10. Red herrings abound. Still, even if you've dozed off during the show you will be able to figure out whodunit.

But, hey, at least there are those gorgeous San Francisco locations!

NBC ENTERTAINMENT president Kevin Reilly was running FX when that cable network began developing a multipart series about a big plot to pull off a huge robbery. When he moved to NBC, he started developing a multipart series about a big plot to pull off a huge robbery.