Networks on auto-pilot

It's a slick bunch, this class of 2006. The network shows airing this fall look better and sound better (as in good, stylish writing) than any class of shows I've covered in 10 years on the beat.

Unfortunately, they're low on appealing characters (like Dana Delany's in NBC's "Kidnapped"), and this may wind up making them interchangeable in the eyes of viewers.

Link: Kansas City Star | Without a trace … of humanity.

This week in TV: Cancer and kids make for a gut-wrenching two-night must-see documentary on PBS.