When the cliches go marching in

Today's non-Emmy column starts off with a review of Fox's disappointing new drama "K-Ville":

The road to mediocre TV is paved with good intentions.

Take the new Fox cop drama "K-Ville" (9 p.m., Ch. 5). It takes place in -- and, more importantly, is filmed in -- New Orleans, a city that desperately needs the money and attention the production will provide. It stars Anthony Anderson, an actor mainly known for broad comedies ("Barbershop," "Big Momma's house") who's been in need of a dramatic leading role ever since his mesmerizing turn as drug lord Antwon Mitchell on "The Shield."

Those are two reasons to want "K-Ville" to succeed, and the show opens up by showing off both its setting and its star. It's Sept. 1, 2005, the levees have burst, and Officer Marlin Boulet (Anderson) and his partner Charlie are trying to get surviving citizens to high, safe ground. While Boulet is tending to an injured woman Charlie cracks under the strain, hops into their police cruiser and speeds away as Boulet screams after him, just another New Orleans resident abandoned in his time of greatest need.

But then we're in the present, and both Katrina and Boulet's emotional scars from it become little more than window dressing for a very average, cliche-ridden cop show.

There are also some brief thoughts on the increasingly silly doings at "Prison Break." To read the full thing, click here. Feel free to use this post to comment on both premieres tonight, as I don't think I have anything more to say about either one.