"Lost" returns at 9 this evening with the pressure on. What's in the hatch? Why can't anyone get off the island? And above all: Show me the monster.

The showing of the monster is a delicate matter. So far this fall, several new series — "Supernatural," "Surface" and "Threshold" — have demonstrated the merits of a striptease versus the perils of an immediate reveal.

"Lost" has leaned heavily on metaphor as a delaying tactic, which is another way to go. But even when the threat from without is matched by the demons from within, viewers eventually demand some tangible proof.

That brings us to ABC's "Invasion," which debuts at 10 tonight and is a companion piece engineered to keep the "Lost" audience from scattering to other networks.

"Invasion" cleverly proposes that the growing natural disasters the world has experienced of late actually mask the arrival of aliens. The plot that unfolds tonight follows the wake of a major hurricane that hits the Florida Everglades.

I'm not sure our withdrawal from the Kyoto Protocol should be excused so easily. Regardless, it quickly becomes clear that "Invasion" hearkens to a 1950s mind-set in more than one way: It's an updated "Invasion of the Body Snatchers."

Shaun Cassidy, executive producer of "Invasion," told critics last July that he's never seen the atomic-age classic. Perhaps it's merely testament to the film's permeating appeal that he's come up with something remarkably similar.

"Invasion" begins with the onset of the hurricane. The show's location filming has a glorious, National Geographic-like intensity and you almost wish people and a story weren't necessary.

It's hard to avoid echoes of Hurricane Katrina, which has made unwilling bad-weather connoisseurs of half the TV audience. So when characters who should have boarded up their windows two days ago only get around to it at the height of gale-force winds, the opening of "Invasion" seems contrived. The characters, in this case, are the series' main focus. A tangled web of spouses, ex-spouses, siblings, kids and stepkids establishes itself against the storm's fury and sets the tale rolling.

At the head of the group is heroic U.S. Park Ranger Russell Varon (Eddie Cibrian). He has a beautiful brunette wife (Lisa Sheridan) and a beautiful blonde ex-wife (Kari Matchett), who's now married to local sheriff Tom Underlay (William Fichtner).

Let's pause for a moment. When Fichtner arrives on the screen with his haunted expression and wraparound shades, it's practically a guarantee that something rotten is in the state of — well, Florida.

Nevertheless, the makers of "Invasion" had to make sure. As Underlay's teenage daughter frets about the coming storm, he tells her: "The roof's not gonna cave in." She asks how he knows and he ominously replies, "I know."

Cue the sawing bass notes. With the culprit established, a little suspense seeps away and a major flaw is exposed — the series' use of overly coy delaying tactics coupled with a contradictory impulse to hammer home every foreshadowing element.

But "Invasion" has a "Lost" card to play. The arrival of aliens isn't a sci-fi adventure; it's a journey into the dark recesses of our souls. The changes occurring in some characters will test community trust and, by extension, the nation's fiber.

There's nothing wrong with this old scenario, except that "Invasion" doesn't bring much that's new to it. Unlike "Threshold," which updates a classic theme with modern technology and a contemporary heroine, "Invasion" is slack and familiar.

It also leans toward the therapeutically soapy. The excellent cast is hampered by dialogue that derives its rhythm from emotional melodrama instead of taut thriller.

The original "Body Snatchers" was a rush into terror based on never knowing who exactly was the culprit. It was anybody and everybody, and at the end, you perhaps stood alone.

In "Invasion," the identification of heroes and villains and the soft skew toward family allays our paranoia instead of feeding it. What's a little extra-terrestrial encroachment compared to working out our issues?

"E" is for entertaining

He shoots, he scores. Jerry Bruckheimer is the most successful producer in television today, and NBC's "E-Ring," debuting at 9 tonight, is a good example of why.

I confess "E-Ring" is not my kind of program. It's an adventure tale set at the Pentagon and representing the military/covert-operative/CIA school of yarn-spinning. It also has the misfortune to air opposite "Lost."

But "E-Ring" is pretty superb as far as genre series go. If you want your throbbing fix of cinematically scaled, irreproachably timed action and a couple of ruggedly handsome leading men, this is the ticket.

"E-Ring" has the patented Bruckheimer rush: exotic locales, quick cuts, a pounding score and mano-a-mano conflict. It's also a technically interesting delve into the mysterious world of high-level decision-making — the "E" stands for the outer ring where Pentagon calls are finalized.

Benjamin Bratt plays an Army major now assigned to special operations at the Pentagon after a 14-month assignment in Iraq. There, he meets his new officer, a crusty colonel portrayed by Dennis Hopper.

"E-Ring" basically works like this: Each week, a plot is afoot that involves some dicey operation requiring Bratt's moral persuasion. Tonight, it's rescuing a Chinese undercover agent; next week, it's the pursuit of a long-sought terrorist leader in Uzbekistan.

The sets and photography are terrific. To be sure, some dialogue is hard to swallow, as in: "It's not a matter of could we. We are America; we could do anything we want. It's should we."

Nevertheless, fans of the canceled "JAG" and "24"-style thrills should find plenty to enjoy here. NBC will be happy to take the demographic of old-school viewers who otherwise are neglected on Wednesday nights.

Kay McFadden: 206-382-8888 or kmcfadden@seattletimes.com.

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