`Turks’ starts on solid ground

To describe something as “solid” is too often seen as being derogatory.

“Solid” isn’t spectacular. It isn’t flashy. But likewise, it isn’t schmaltzy. It isn’t hackneyed.

“Solid” is dependable, reliable. And “Turks,” which debuts at 9 tonight on CBS, is solid. Unlike too many shows today, afterward you won’t feel like you’ve wasted an hour of your life that you’ll never get back.

“Turks,” a cop drama set in Chicago, is the latest showcase for William Devane, still looking for his first hit since “Knots Landing” left the air six years ago. In a less showy role than in his past, Devane plays Joe Turk, a police sergeant and the patriarch of a close-knit Irish family. Joe’s marriage to Mary (Helen Carey) has grown stagnant. She has channeled her energies into the local Catholic church, while he’s becomed intrigued by Ginny (Ashley Crow), the world-weary waitress at the local cop bar.

Two of the Turk sons, married Mike (David Cubitt) and single Joey (Matthew John Armstrong), have followed in their father’s footsteps and become cops as well. A third son, Paul (Michael Muhney), is a college student with a serious gambling jones, which has gotten him deeply in debt to local loan sharks.

In early episodes, “Turks” has proved a heady blend of cop show and family drama, that rapidly draws viewers into its characters’ lives. Even though there’s too much pipes and fiddle in the soundtrack, the characters are quickly being fleshed out beyond ethnic stereotypes, something “Trinity” never managed to do during its abortive run last fall.

Much of the credit should go to creator and writer Robert Singer, most recently known for the often camp “Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.” But “Turks” hearkens back in tone to Singer’s late-’80s gem “Midnight Caller,” which shares the new series’ moody atmosphere.

Now “Turks” isn’t hardly the second coming of “NYPD Blue” (watch the ABC drama this season for that). But it still has a great deal more substance than simple whodunits such as “Diagnosis Murder,” which “Turks” bumps back to 8 p.m. It’s an enjoyable investment of time, which is all too rare these days.