Fall TV preview

"You have to capture [viewers] with a look that's really distinctive and looks like nothing else on TV," says Mr. Littman. "And then get them to stay with the story."

Every little detail is part of an attitude and approach that are making life harder around Hollywood for everyone, particularly directors, says Danny Cannon, director and executive producer of "CSI."

"We've raised the bar a little bit on what directors have to function as in television," he says, noting however, that not everyone is rushing to give thanks at the altar of Bruckheimer.

"There was a director, who shall remain nameless, who just said, 'Thanks,' and he said it sarcastically," Mr. Cannon says. This man wasn't happy, he adds, because the standard point-and-shoot approach of most TV shows made the job easier for directors. "You could point your camera in the right direction, record the dialogue, and the actors would get you where you needed to go [as long as] the writing was good enough."

But some wonder whether writing, specifically of well-rounded characters, is what suffers under the Bruckheimer penchant for powerful music and visuals.

"Writers are just happy to be doing scripts these days," says Barry Garron, The Hollywood Reporter's chief TV critic. "But these shows tend to be heavy on the procedural side and light on character development."

Whether you like his vision or not, Bruckheimer's impact is ultimately a good thing, Cannon maintains.

"Directors are directing again on TV," he says. "You have to storytell with your camera, you have to add music creatively," Cannon says, just like a film.

And taking a page from the feature world, "there's a signature look to our shows," adds Littmann. "There's no question."

INTELLIGENCE ON PRIMETIME TV?

Some might say it's not possible. But perhaps as a response to the national war on terror, networks believe there is a deep appetite for information - or at least, entertainment - dealing with official intelligence-gathering operations.

This fall, no fewer than eight new shows, including Threat Matrix (ABC), The Handler (CBS), Karen Sisco (ABC), and Cold Case (CBS), join the growing number of spy-themed shows already on the air. Even PBS gets into the act with a special on the real FBI, for which it received "unprecedented access."

"Threat" producers say these shows tap into a national quest for security in an insecure age. "Sixty percent of any front page of any newspaper in the Western world right now is [wrestling] with this question," says creator Daniel Voll.

"There are a lot of folks out there," he says, "who out of cathartic need ... may want to come home every week and see who is keeping us safe."

"Threat Matrix" is named for the report delivered to the US president every morning at 7:40 a.m., summarizing the state of international security for the US. While the report predates 9/11, it obviously has become far more important since the attacks.

Producers say these shows are a response to the country's growing desire for information it needs to defend itself. "That's part of what we're [wrestling] with," says Mr. Voll. "We're in a culture in which there's a bomb ticking somewhere, and we have to call into question all of our previous assumptions."

At the same time, producers are mindful of the complexities of the war on terrorism, starting with the desire to balance civil liberties against greater security and more information-gathering.

"Those issues are as important as terrorism," says "Threat" executive producer Jim Parriott. "We deal specifically with the Patriot Act and the loss of civil liberties. We're also dealing with fiscal questions: Who's responsible? Is it cities, states, or federal? And how is that affecting our protection?" he says. "We're trying to grapple with all those issues."

The proliferation of shows may be a good thing because, as FBI assistant director Cassandra Chandler says, "I think 9/11 taught all of us something valuable: That no one group, no one law-enforcement piece had all the answers or can do the whole job completely. There has to be an interconnection."

HOLLYWOOD READS CENSUS

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