29 new shows are headed for your TV

Nick George (Peter Krause of "Six Feet Under") is the son of the Darling family's longtime attorney. He's estranged from his father because dear old dad always devoted more time to the Darlings than to his own family. Nick has become a do-gooder lawyer helping the underprivileged.

But dear old dad is killed in a plane crash, and family patriarch Tripp Darling (Donald Sutherland) makes Nick an offer he can't refuse. In addition to a huge salary, he promises $10 million a year to go toward Nick's charities.

So Nick finds himself trying to keep all the Darlings out of trouble. Patrick (William Baldwin) is New York's attorney general, with a secret, transgendered girlfriend. Karen (Natalie Zea) is a much-married socialite.

Brian (Glenn Fitzgerald) is a nasty, vindictive Episcopal priest. Juliet (Samaire Armstrong) is a talentless aspiring actress. Youngest son Jeremy (Seth Gabel) is a wastrel.

And family matriarch Letitia (Jill Clayburgh) is hiding something.

Actually, there are a lot of secrets hiding here — including how Nick's father really died.

This isn't just good soap opera, however. It's good comedy. And it's smart enough to know how silly it is.

What's to like? Just about everything. Great cast, great script, great potential.

What's not to like? Well, it might be hard for upcoming episodes to be as good as the pilot.

Will it work? It's not an easy time slot, but — if ABC has some patience — it could develop into a success.

Debuts: Wednesday, Sept. 26

LIFE (Wednesdays, 9 p.m., NBC/Ch. 5) is about a cop wrongly sent to prison for a murder he didn't commit. And when he's finally exonerated, he goes back to work as a cop. Specifically, as a detective.

Damian Lewis ("Band of Brothers") stars as quirky detective Charlie Crews, a very smart guy who's still somewhat suspect in the eyes of a lot of other cops. Including his skeptical partner (Sarah Shahi).

But Charlie has millions of dollars (a settlement from the government); a good buddy/former cellmate/convicted white-collar criminal (Adam Arkin) for financial advice and comic relief — and he's determined to find out who framed him.

What's to like? Lewis and Arkin. And the case Charlie tackles in the pilot is interesting enough.

What's not to like? The pilot is OK, but nothing to keep you coming back for more. And a little bit of quirky goes a looooong way. "Life" looks very much like somebody said, "Hey, that quirky guy is very successful over on 'House' — let's do that same thing with a police detective." Not such a good idea.