Sex, drugs, visits from Jesus and "family" protests sight-unseen

Many a deed is cloaked in the adage of doing well by doing good. At 9 tonight, two networks demonstrate how.

On ABC, "In Justice" has its time-slot debut following a premiere last Sunday. This rather thin show, starring Kyle McLachlan and Jason O'Mara, attempts a different take on the police procedural by defending the wrongfully convicted while unmasking the guilty.

On NBC, "The Book of Daniel" features Aidan Quinn as an Episcopal priest in a seductive drama about family, faith and human frailty. It's set amid the martini-swigging suburbs known as Cheever country, a place where Christ himself drops in, and so should you.

Both series represent a new wave of programming that tries to inject compassion and spirituality into television at a time when perceived public tastes have shifted from cynical to earnest, or at least emotional. Religion's ka-ching at the box office and on best-seller lists also has had an effect.

Accordingly, TV has scrambled to find a soul to wear on its sleeve. In news, that's meant more interviewing of non-secular figures, Bill O'Reilly's "Christmas crusade" and the rise of Anderson Cooper, who again displayed a flair for feeling while covering the West Virginia coal-mine disaster.

Entertainment has followed suit. This mostly has taken the form of magical transformation shows like "Three Wishes" and "Extreme Home: Makeover" where everyone can be nice, thank the Lord and cry. Court TV's version is "The Innocence Project," which helps free prisoners who didn't do it.

Make-believe series have a tougher time marketing redemption. Virtually every cop show focuses on prosecution with Old Testament zeal, despite mounting real-life evidence that the white hats make mistakes.

Shows tackling religious values also have had difficulty, not withstanding The WB's long-running (and ecumenically bland) "7th Heaven." ABC's "Nothing Sacred," about a radical Catholic priest, fell afoul of conservatives. CBS' "Joan of Arcadia" was axed despite critical praise and small fierce support.

Now, "The Book of Daniel" has come under fire — from the American Family Association, which has pressured NBC affiliates to not air the series. Two stations in Arkansas and Indiana have complied after a flood of e-mail complaints.

What's the problem? Well, it's always interesting when people object to something they haven't even seen.

But anyone protesting the depiction of flawed Christians in "The Book of Daniel" might remember that to err is human. And mankind's foibles are precisely what give this new show its lift, along with the lead character's imaginary visits from a refreshingly tart-tongued Christ.

Early in tonight's pilot, the Rev. Webster (Quinn) guiltily rattles a bottle of Vicodin and informs Jesus (Garret Dillahunt) that he's got his consumption of pain-killers under control.

"Riiiight," says Jesus.

"Could you fit more judgment into that 'Riiiight'?" asks the reverend.

"Actually," replies Jesus, "yes, I could."

Of course he could. One of the show's virtues is that it doesn't pedal back on Christ the preacher or remake him into some Whole Foods-shopping relativist (though he does have the beard and fashionable hemp attire).

However, a preacher is different from a preachy series, which "The Book of Daniel" decidedly is not. It's awash in alcohol, sex and enough complicated relationships and secrets to make "Desperate Housewives" look like a simple comic strip.

This evening's two-hour opener piles it on. There's the reverend's high-strung wife, Judith (Susanna Thompson), and their kids: Peter (Christian Campbell), who's gay; Grace (Alison Pill), who's just been nabbed for selling marijuana to finance her manga strip; and adopted son Adam (Ivan Shaw), about to embark on a torrid affair with the daughter of rich, Asian-intolerant snobs.

You might expect the Rev. Webster to deal sternly with such issues — and he does, in some instances. But I loved "The Book of Daniel" for its ability to let the plot slowly unfold and offer lots of little curves that lean into, then veer away from, cliché.

Besides, Webster has more pressing problems. He's knee-deep in dog doody after his brother-in-law absconds with school-building funds and dies under creepy circumstances. To retrieve the money, he must enlist the help of a Catholic priest and the Mafia.

Funny? Oddly, yes. "The Book of Daniel" applies a light touch to serious issues without undermining its credibility, though viewers accustomed to more straightforward passion may not be won over. I also hope creator Jack Kenny hasn't dug himself a hole.

Speaking of which: There's a touch of "Desperate Housewives" to the series, but also of "Six Feet Under," minus the depth or pretentiousness. (Terrified secularists should just think of Christ as the benign equivalent of ghostly dad Nathaniel Fisher.)

The cast is very fine. Besides the aforementioned, Ellen Burstyn is immensely appealing as Webster's boss, a twice-divorced Episcopalian bishop. James Rebhorn brings subtle poignancy to the role of Webster's father, also a bishop, who must contend with his wife's fragile mental state.

As for Aidan Quinn, he's simply marvelous. This is important, because "The Book of Daniel" begins a bit awkwardly, and viewers have to rely on the strength of Quinn's performance for the first 15 minutes or so. After that, the herky-jerky setups are over and it's smooth sailing.

Some shows never get past the machinery-building stage. That's my sense of ABC's "In Justice," whose heart is in the right place — it's the other parts that don't function as well, notably Kyle McLachlan as a well-heeled millionaire with a hidden passion to free unjustly jailed convicts.

It's too hidden. McLachlan looks distracted and detached. While Jason O'Mara conveys believable ruggedness as the detective, the plots have holes big enough for a viewer to escape through. The rest of the cast doesn't have enough to do, and the forensics are a yawn. Sorry.

Kay McFadden: kmcfadden@seattletimes.com