'Citizen Baines' Airs: 8 p.m. Saturdays, CBS (Channel 5) Stars: James Cromwell, Jane Adams, Jacinda Barrett, Embeth Davidtz Aaron's advice: Tape it. Elliott Baines (Cromwell) is in a campaign dogfight to hold onto his U.S. Senate seat. He's going to lose, we know that, because the show isn't titled "Senator Baines." He's not going to weave in and out of Senate halls with an aide on his elbow, briskly debating policy a la "The West Wing." This is a measured drama about a family that has held together for decades but is about to come apart through two momentous events: the recent death of the senator's wife and his impending defeat. This is a terrific role for Cromwell, who has to be both tough and tender - easy work for an actor who has played both the gregarious Stretch Cunningham on "All in the Family" and the kindly farmer of "Babe." His three grown daughters all have their own stories, which take up a great deal of time, but even after preview ing two episodes I couldn't tell why viewers would tune in to follow them. For Cromwell's sake, I want this to work. Problem is, it's not fully his show. COMING SUNDAY 'Alias' Airs: 8 p.m. Sundays, ABC (Channel 9) Stars: Jennifer Garner, Bradley Cooper, Merrin Dungey, Victor Garber, Carl Lumbly, Ron Rifkin, Michael Vartan, Kevin Weisman Most closely resembles: "La Femme Nikita" Aaron's advice: Watch it! J.J. Abrams, who brought us the uber-sincere WB series from the heart, "Felicity," now brings us a show that will do something else to your heart - make it race. The action and suspense starts from the first scene of the premiere and it doesn't stop until more than an hour later. ABC will show the first episode commercial-free until 9:09 p.m. That's 69 thrill-a-minutes. Garner plays a graduate student by day, government spy by night. Only on TV, right? But somehow it works, thanks in part to a tangled intrigue that pulls this lowly matriculator into a conspiracy of the highest order. 'Law & Order: Criminal Intent' Airs: 8 p.m. Sundays, NBC (Channel 41) Stars: Vincent D'Onofrio, Kathryn Erbe, Jamey Sheridan, Courtney B. Vance Most closely resembles: "Columbo" in a black raincoat Aaron's advice: Tape it If you like your "Law & Order" short and to the point, you're in for a surprise with "Criminal Intent." As NBC keeps reminding us, this is the first "L&O" that shows the POV of the criminal (in other words, sometimes you get to see the murder). But it differs from the other two hours of "L&O" in that it's not an ensemble show. D'Onofrio is the star detective here; everybody else is backup. D'Onofrio was all over the three episodes I previewed; a big, baby-faced sleuth who paces the room, asks a lot of seemingly irrelevant questions and is usually the first to know whodunit. Detective Goren is a smart guy, and for a show where the viewers often know the perpetrator before he does, the episodes are almost as gripping as a true whodunit. Like the other "L&O" shows, "Criminal Intent" has tense, colorful writing, stories ripped from the headlines and the distinctive on-screen packaging. But will that be enough to lure viewers? NBC has had few successes in this time slot, and viewers may find Goren an anachronism. 'UC: Undercover' Airs: 9 p.m. Sundays, NBC (Channel 41) Stars: Jon Seda, Vera Farmiga, Oded Fehr, William Forsythe, Bruklin Harris, Jarrad Paul Most closely resembles: "Falcone" Aaron's advice: Try it Though the world has not exactly been crying out for undercover-stakeout shows - remember "Players"? - NBC will try again this fall with "UC: Undercover," featuring "Homicide's" Seda as part of an elite team that infiltrates crime rings. Other than the ludicrous plot turn at the end of the pilot episode - one that may very well convince you not to tune in ever again - it's a taut hour in which one story twist follows the next. Aaron Barnhart's fall TV preview is online at www.kansascity.com @ART CAPTION:James Cromwell @ART:Photo (color)

