'Good Morning' needs to say good night

'Good Morning, Miami' Airs: 8:30 tonight, NBC (Channel 41) Stars: Mark Feuerstein, Ashley Williams, Matt Letscher, Jere Burns, Tessie Santiago, Constance Zimmer, Brooke Dillman, Suzanne Pleshette Nutshell: Do I even have to tell you how despicable this show is? You likely figured it out yourself from watching that promo - over and over, during NBC's Emmys telecast - in which characters on the show misuse the word "boink," producing roars of prerecorded laughter. A show is not its promo, of course, but the unfunny "Good Morning, Miami" spot captures its cringe-worthy humor all too well. The sitcom revolves around a young producer (Feuerstein) trying to turn around an unpopular morning show. He is hobbled every step of the way by an entrenched staff and feckless station manager (Burns). It's kind of quaint to think of a time when last-place TV stations could afford to hang onto all this deadwood instead of having security escort it out the door. (For that matter, it's extremely quaint to have a last-place TV station with a cue card person, a touch that reminds me of that Ted Danson sitcom about a 1990s newspaper where everyone used manual typewriters.) The joke, I think, is supposed to be that the morning show is so bad it's good. Maybe it is, but I couldn't get anywhere near it to be sure - that's how much this sitcom stinks. Kansas City native Brooke Dillman plays an unnaturally chirpy weathercaster-slash-nun on the show. It's a role that might fly on a Saturday night sketch show but here seems destined to trigger a fax campaign by the Catholic League. Don't blame Dillman - blame the creators of this mess, David Kohan and Max Mutchnick. How these two could produce something as sparkling as "Will & Grace" and then turn around and churn out this ... well, the Lord does work in mysterious ways. "Without a Trace" Airs: 9 tonight, CBS (Channel 5) Stars: Anthony LaPaglia, Poppy Montgomery, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Enrique Murciano. Nutshell: Intriguing show solves missing-persons cases the way "CSI" solves murders. Intended to supply the third hit hour for CBS on Thursdays, "Without a Trace" is unambitiously - but understandably - modeled on the show that is its lead-in, "CSI." Crucial scenes are imagined and then replayed, over and over, as the diligent detectives comb the evidence and ask for just the facts from those who knew the missing. It's all pretty familiar territory, right down to LaPaglia's and Montgomery's resemblance to "CSI" leads William Petersen and Marg Helgenberger. "Without a Trace" has a built-in time element - the trail of a missing person supposedly goes cold after 48 hours - and the victim not being necessarily dead supplies added suspense. On top of that, the first episode has a woman-in-danger story, which suggests this show is aimed squarely at the Lifetime crowd. To reach Aaron Barnhart, phone (816) 234-4790 or visit the TV Barn Web site at www.tvbarn.com. @ART CAPTION:Kansas City native Brooke Dillman is a nun and weathercaster in "Good Morning, Miami." @ART:Photo