“Navy NCIS,” CBS, Tuesdays 8 p.m.

Overview: CBS's new drama was originally labeled as a spin-off of “JAG,” but the network insists the only real commonality between the two shows is executive producer Donald Bellisario. Unfortunately, “JAG” wasn't the only acronym that threatened to confuse audiences. Originally titled “Navy CIS,” CBS decided that a show about military crimes might be confused with that other, similarly named CBS hit drama about criminal investigation.

     But instead of changing it altogether, CBS simply took some artistic liberties with the name, changing the series title to the more appropriate “Navy NCIS” – Navy Naval Criminal Investigative Service. The change may seem subtle, but it's sure to erase any confusion about the network's inability to brainstorm an alternative moniker.

    “Navy NCIS” follows a team of government agents in charge of Navy-related crimes. The group is led by TV veteran Mark Harmon (of “Chicago Hope” and “St. Elsewhere”) as J.P. Gibbs. “Dark Angel's” Michael Weatherly and “Presidio Med's” Sasha Alexander join him as agents with backgrounds in homicide and the Secret Service, respectively.

Verdict: Despite the confusing title, CBS is looking at another hit. As the only adult drama in the 8 p.m. timeslot, “Navy NCIS” is primed to lead audiences into the rest of the network's stable of Tuesday night dramas.

“I'm With Her,” ABC, Tuesdays at 8:30 p.m.

Telltale quote: “I had such a crush on my high school English teacher… no, wait – that was a movie. Because I killed him.”

Overview: “Spin City” writer Chris Henchy used his own marriage to Brooke Shields as the inspiration for new series “I'm With Her.” While the couple insists that the show is not about their lives, the premise of a regular Joe-meets-celebrity does reflect Henchy and Shields' real-life relationship.

     In the show, David Sutcliffe stars as Patrick Owen, an English teacher whose uneventful life is turned upside down after a chance meeting with movie star Alexis Young, played by “Meet the Parents” actress Teri Polo. She gives him her number, but when he doesn't call, she decides to take matters into her own hands. Her relief in meeting someone who isn't obsessed by her next career move is matched by his realization that they are more alike than he first presumed.

     Both characters come complete with wise-cracking, embittered sidekicks. For Owen, it is a fellow Carter High School colleague whose personal interest in Alex Young borders on creepy, while Alex's younger sister mimics the whining tone of the slacker generation she represents.

Verdict : “I'm With Her” should benefit from an “8 Simple Rules For Dating My Teenage Daughter” lead-in for the first few weeks, and the well-intentioned sentiment is likely to give NBC's sarcastic offering “Happy Family” a run for its money.   But once the hype wears off, the sugary sweet notion of a high-profile star who just wants to be a regular gal is likely to leave audiences with little more than a stomachache.

“One Tree Hill,” WB, Tuesdays at 9 p.m.

Telltale quote: “I can't change the fact that this kid exists. If I could, I would.”

Overview: If “The O.C.” is the next “90210,” then “One Tree Hill” is the next “Dawson's Creek.” In fact, “Tree Hill” is replacing Capeside on location in Wilmingon, N.C., and WB has recast one of the characters to play up a Dawson-Joey dynamic.

     The premise is relatively simple: A young teenaged couple has a baby – the guy won't give up a college scholarship for her and splits, leaving the girl to raise baby Lucas alone. The jock ends up marrying and having a son of his own, Nathan.

     Fast forward to today, when both boys attend the same high school and have the same last name – only Nathan (James Lafferty) is the star basketball player while less fortunate Lucas (Chad Michael Murray) is left to play hoops at the park. Not only is Lucas after a slot on the Hill Ravens team, he's also eyeing Nathan's girlfriend, the brooding, rock-music loving Payton Sawyer, who manages her angst by being a popular cheerleader.

    It's not exactly clear how the two boys can be the same age when their dad presumably completed four years of college between their births, but it's a snag that WB audiences are likely to ignore.

Verdict: The WB tends to offer shows more time to work out kinks than other networks, giving this show a fighting chance at survival, but not without a few smirks and rolled eyes. The juxtaposition of Lucas' street ball game and Nathan's high school varsity game is a forced contrast of their social status, and the hooded Lucas jogging at sunset is reminiscent of Eminem's “8 Mile,” complete with “Lose Yourself” soundtrack.

    “One Tree Hill” was a last-minute substitution for a Rachel Leigh Cook series, “Fearless.” While the series may lose some of the lead-in “Gilmore Girls'” female audience that “Fearless” might have maintained, “One Tree Hill” should appeal to a young dual audience hungry for a “Dawson's Creek” follow-up.

By John Rash

“Navy NCIS,” CBS, Tuesdays 8 p.m.

    “Navy NCIS” looks like a show that is a result of a program development meeting. Because as opposed to appearing as an original artistic inspiration, “Navy NCIS” looks like a focus group combination of two of CBS's foolproof formulas -- forensic crime and “JAG” jingoism. And while Mark Harmon is well cast as the savvy Navy investigator, the script of “Navy NCIS” enlists nearly every cliché, with the pilot playing like a mix between “JAG,” “CSI” and “A Few Good Men.”
     Yet despite the creative conformity of the standard issue, regimented pilot, “Navy NCIS” should still attract a few -- and on some nights many – good men, who along with a few good women were used to watching “JAG” in this time period. All of which should continue to make CBS a surprisingly formidable force in Tuesday night's Nielsen battle.

“I'm With Her,” ABC, Tuesdays at 8:30 p.m.

    Since Shakespeare, if it's not on the page, it's not on the stage -- meaning that it is still writing that gives TV meaning, as the best sitcoms are usually the product of a good scriptwriter's imagination or life experience. So it should not come as a surprise that one of the season's sweetest sitcoms is from writer Chris Henchy, who in real life was the unknown scribe who fell in love with and married the well-known Brooke Shields.

   “I'm With Her” works because he humanizes and contextualizes both characters, making the famous actress as vulnerable -- and loveable -- as the faceless writer. Viewers end up pulling for both of them, as opposed to the constant conflict that sets up so many sitcoms. Sure, there are standard sitcom sidekicks, but even they work, with the male lead's goofy, gabby teacher friend and the star's sister making comic contributions.
     This show satisfies and is light, fun and smile inspiring, like a good romantic comedy should be. I'm with “I'm With Her,” and if the series holds up to the pilot, I won't be alone.

“One Tree Hill,” WB, Tuesdays at 9 p.m.

    “One Tree Hill” rides WB's one trick pony of teen angst to its clichéd conclusion. All the requisite elements are there: The fatherless, brooding boy from the wrong side of the tracks; the rich daddy's boy; a climactic game of one-on-one, winner-gets-the-girl midnight basketball. And the entire student body impossibly more beautiful than in any high school the WB's viewers ever attended.
     In other words, it's perfect for the WB's target of teeming teens and yearning young adults who are so loyal to the network's signature style. Indeed, “One Tree Hill” may become the talk at the water cooler (or school locker in the WB's case) as was the formerly awesome “Dawson's Creek.” But for nearly everyone else, “One Tree Hill” is a melodramatic meltdown of privileged people creating conflict where it doesn't need to exist.

For past Media Life reviews of the new fall shows, click below.

NBC's "Las Vegas"

CBS's "Two and a Half Men"

WB's "Like Family"

Fox's "Luis"

ABC's "Threat Matrix"

UPN's "All of Us," "Rock Me Baby"

UPN's "Eve"

WB's "All About the Andersons"

WB's "Steve Harvey's Big Time"
WB's "Run of the House"
UPN's "The Mullets"

UPN's "Jake 2.0"

NBC's "Whoopi"
NBC's "Happy Family"

A.J. Livsey's fall season overview