The crooks of “Smith” were quickly gone, so now CBS is trying doctors up against the lawyers (“Boston Legal”) and the cops (“Law & Order: SVU”).

“3 LBS.” (referring to the weight of an average brain) is a drama about a team of top New York City neurosurgeons and the brain conditions that they treat.

Naturally, the show is centered on brilliant but acerbic neurosurgeon Doug Hanson (Stanley Tucci, “The Devil Wears Prada”), who sees his work as “wires in a box.” Think House with the sense of humor removed.

Serving as the sensitive yin to Hanson’s insensitive yang is his new surgical fellow, Jonathan Seger (Mark Feuerstein), whose chief duty is being the buffer between the brusque Hanson and his patients.

Proper trappings are in place for a medical show. There are lots of neuro terms such as “astrocytoma” and “AVM” flying around. There are artfully directed surgical scenes with comfortable soundtracks.

There are even some intriguing subplots. Hanson is having hallucinations, not a good thing for a man doing such delicate work. There’s an exotic, attractive neurologist (Indira Varma) who may have had a past with Hanson and maybe a future with Seger. There’s Griffin Dunne playing a conniving rival of Hanson.

Still “3 LBS.” seems kind of lightweight. The concept has been kicking around for a couple of seasons, yet it feels rushed onto the air (Feuerstein’s character is referred to both as “Seger” and “Singer”). Maybe it will develop into something more. But as “Smith” illustrates, maybe it will never get the chance.