The Mysteries of Laura

Debra Messing, so adorably and effervescently charming in Will & Grace, hasn't lost her sparkle, and The Mysteries of Laura does have a glib, easy charm that fans of easygoing detective series such as The Mentalist and Murder, She Wrote will appreciate. Laura's lightness makes this show a throwback, and its case-of-the-week setup is familiar but not unappealingly so.

Nonetheless, Laura does hit some sour notes that may make it a bit harder for some viewers. It's nice that Laura Diamond is a powerful woman at work in a mostly male milieu. But did the only other woman at work have to be a rival, with the two frequently sniping at each other? In addition, It's creepy to let Laura disregard the law to the extent that she shoots a suspect's ear off rather than waiting for a hostage negotiator and threatens to bust a teacher for a marijuana possession rap if she doesn't get her an interview at a noted private school. If the show were more absurd, such hijinks would be easier to laugh off. But the show seems to want us to take Laura and her issues seriously yet regard her lapses under the law as no big deal, a tone as uneven as the laughs. On the plus side, Messing and Lucas have great chemistry, but the cases themselves aren't as compelling as they could be, and Laura's dramatic reveals smack more of Scooby-Doo than they probably should.