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Our TV critic rates tonight's premiering show The Barnhart scale, from best to worst: Don't Miss, Has Potential, Needs Show Doctor, D.O.A. (Dead on Arrival). NEEDS SHOW DOCTOR "Wasteland" From Kevin Williamson, the creator of teen favorites "Scream" and "Dawson's Creek," comes a drama about remarkably jaded 20-somethings living in Manhattan. Dawnie (Marisa Coughlan) is the apparent leader of this uninspiring pack of mopes; she's all fired up to write her master's thesis on her fellow 20-somethings and their long march through a "wasteland" of bad relationships and unfulfilled careers. I've heard of anthropologists studying TV, but this may be the first time a TV show turned the tables. Unfortunately, Williamson feeds Dawnie some very dopey lines early in the first episode, and the rest of the hour is spent recovering from those first two scenes. None of the other lead characters grabs my attention; perhaps that will change when Jeffrey D. Sams, a late addition to the cast and its only African-American, shows up. Sams was terrific on "Cupid," last season's short-lived Thursday show. ABC hasn't had a hit on Thursdays in years, and clearly the network is hoping "Wasteland" can attract a large enough core of young viewers to make up for its overall ratings, which are expected to be low. >>>