Criminal Minds (CBS)

CRIMINAL MINDS follows a team of FBI psychological profilers (led by Joe Mantegna) as they track down mentally disturbed serial killers. In their detective work, the profilers use some traditional methods, such as interviewing suspects and the now-omnipresent forensic techniques made popular by CSI. However, the hallmark of this group is their encyclopedic knowledge of the human mind and patterns of behavior. Through hard work, the use of new technology, and plenty of lateral thinking, they are able to read the minds of the killers and predict their next move.

All of this should sound awfully familiar, as Criminal Minds is undeniably derivative of popular crime procedurals like CSI and Numb3rs. (And, somehow, it even inspired its own spinoff -- Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior, which airs right after it in back-to-back fashion.) Yet on Criminal Minds, the recurring characters we see week to week routinely fail to be compelling, thanks to underdeveloped relationships and dialogue that isn't much more than a pastiche of witless banter and hackneyed truisms.

Of course, mature viewers who crave the built-in suspense of the crime-drama formula and don’t mind the hopelessly wooden writing, might make Criminal Minds part of their weekly fix -- and that’s fine. Just know that it’s a weak brew compared to shows that do it much better.