Fox sci-fi series too busy to succeed > ‘Freakylinks’ can’t live up to ‘X-Files’

“Freakylinks,” debuting at 9 p.m. on Fox, shows why paranormal series are such a tough sell to the masses. It also points out why “The X-Files” has kept popular appeal, while so many imitators fall by the wayside.

Since many viewers won’t even acknowledge any possibility of paranormal events, these shows start in a hole. “Freakylinks” adds to this problem with a convoluted back story.

Derek Barnes (Ethan Embry, “Can’t Hardly Wait”) is a Net surfer working for his brother, Adam, who runs the Web site occultresearch.com. After Adam’s untimely death, Derek takes over the renamed site, assisted by his partner, Jason Tatum (Karim Prince, “Malcolm in the Middle”) and brainy Web master Lan Williams (Lizette Carrion). The trio follows up on reports of bizarre happenings.

Then one day, Derek gets an e-mail involving Adam, turning his world upside down. He recruits Adam’s fiancTe Chloe Tanner (Lisa Sheridan), and together they look into the circumstances of Adam’s death, aided by psychiatric patient Vince Elsing (Dennis Christopher, “Profiler”). They quickly get in over their heads, and later resolve to help others while trying to solve Adam’s death.

“The X-Files,” although infinitely convoluted, has succeeded by following creator Chris Carter’s well-mapped-out vision. A sense of humor and a pair of mismatched but personable leads doesn’t hurt, either.

“Freakylinks” was created by Gregg Hale (“The Blair Witch Project”) and David Goyer (“Blade”), who then handed it off to executive producer David Simkins (“Mercy Point,” “Vengeance Unlimited.”) It takes itself too seriously and too often substitutes quick-cutting, hallucinogenic montages for storytelling.

“Freakylinks” is, in short, a muddle – another show the networks can point to and say, “See, that’s why we don’t schedule paranormal.”

At 8 p.m., CBS offers the third version of “The Fugitive.” Does the world need another “Fugitive,” following the classic 1963-67 David Janssen series and the suspenseful 1993 Harrison Ford-Tommy Lee Jones movie? Probably not, but the new series is an earnest, solid effort.

For those who have been living in a cave, here’s a quick recap of the plot: Dr. Richard Kimble (played by Tim Daly, “Wings”) returns home to surprise a burglar. He struggles with said burglar, and discovers the intruder has a prosthetic arm. Kimble sees his dying wife, and goes to help her. The police don’t buy his “one-armed man” story, and Kimble is charged and convicted of her murder. A freak highway accident allows Kimble to go on the lam, pursued by Lt. Philip Gerard (Mykelti Williamson, “Forrest Gump”). Kimble seeks to track down the one-armed man to prove his innocence, helping others in need along the way.

This new version of “The Fugitive” doesn’t do anything to dishonor the series’ storied reputation, and is taut and action-packed. If viewers allow them to step out of the shadows of their predecessors, Daly and Williamson are believable and intriguing in their roles. “The Fugitive” deserves to escape a quick cancellation.

Seeking a breath of fresh air, CBS has gone into … the morgue? “C.S.I.,” debuting at 9 tonight, follows the exploits of a crack team of Las Vegas forensic investigators, who focus on the evidence to solve crimes.

Now it might seem that fingerprints and entrance wounds would get old quickly, but a likable cast turns the cases into flesh-and-blood mysteries, not dry, scientific data.

Heading the cast are William Peterson (“To Live and Die in L.A.”) as the father figure, Marg Helgenberger (“China Beach”) as the mother figure and Paul Guilfoyle (“Air Force One”) as the cranky boss. George Eads and Gary Dourdan play a pair of competitive, salt-and-pepper investigators.

“C.S.I.,” which has Jerry Bruckheimer (“Con Air,” “Armageddon”) as one of its executive producers, shows a unit that looks past the obvious at crime scenes to root out what truly happened in each case. While it won’t make any one forget “Quincy,” the prototype in forensic drama, this is one engrossing detective series.

A pleasant surprise buried among the dross on ABC is “Madigan Men,” debuting at 9:30 p.m. It’s about three men in the same Irish-American family that live together and get on each other’s nerves.

The show is carried by the Celtic charm exuded by film star Gabriel Byrne (“The Usual Suspects”) and Tony Award-winner Roy Dotrice as architect Ben Madigan and his proverb-spouting father Seamus, just off the plane from Dublin. The interplay between the two is priceless. They’re aided by a capable supporting cast, including Grant Shaud (“Murphy Brown”) as Ben’s business partner and Sabrina Lloyd (“Sports Night”) as their assistant.

Premiering at 8:30 on ABC is a true piece of dreck, one of the season’s worst so far along with “Yes, Dear.” “The Trouble with Normal” follows the exploits of a group of paranoids and the attractive young counselor who tries to help them. They think the world is out to get them, and they’re right, starting with TV critics. Building a sitcom on the phobias of the mentally ill just doesn’t cut it in the modern world. What’s next, laughing at drug addicts?