Naughty number nine

I know, I know - you're waiting for some scintillating discussion of the big 3 from Wednesday night (ANTM, Lost and Runway). But before we get into all of that, I'd like to draw your attention to a new show, which airs after Lost. It's called The Nine. And it's worth staying up for.

The set-up is a bit unusual. Nine people happen to be in a bank when it is robbed by two men. The robbery turns into a 52-hour hostage standoff. When the nine leave, they are shattered to the core, and changed forever.

So it all begs the question - what exactly happened in there? And THAT is what the show is really about.

OK, sure - maybe there are one too many hour-long dramas with a big central mystery that will be revealed in pieces on this fall. I'm just suggesting you choose this one, and forget you ever heard about Six Degrees! ("Pick me! Love me! Choose me!")

To get a better idea in case you missed the premiere and want to catch up, here's a rundown of the group:

The Cop - Tim Daly plays a cop who has a gambling problem, and appears to be a bit of a loose cannon to boot. And his father is the police chief. Think Ana Lucia but not looking angry all the time. He asked Eva out just before the robbery.

The Lawyer - She's an assistant DA, and is having an affair with her co-worker (who played Grace's ex-fiancee on Will & Grace). She emerges from the bank with a chunk of her hair missing. Why?

The Doctor - Continuing the tradition of former Party of Five cast members playing surgeons on ABC, Scott Wolf works in a hospital where he is dating Lizzie. But by the time he leaves the bank, she doesn't want to see him. What did he do?

The Social Worker - Lizzie also works at the hospital, and is determined to bring the group back together after the standoff. How did these strangers become so close?

The Bank Tellers - Good friends, one of whom is the one everyone is asking about when they get out of the bank. The other will become involved with one of the men from the crisis.

The Bank Manager and his Daughter - He's the quiet nice guy who's trying to be a stern parent; she's the bright teenager that wants a little freedom. The big question is why she does what she does at the end of the episode? And why can't she remember anything?

The Suicidal Shlub - One day he's considering killing himself, the next he's hailed as a hero. What turned his life around, and what happened to that gun?

As the show progresses, we will week by week see more of what happened in the bank chronologically. Was anyone killed? Why did the robbers take hostages in the first place? Why did the police take so long to end the standoff? Did some of the hostages fall into Stockholm Syndrome? So many questions...

Of course the challenge here is the obvious question - "How long can a show about a finite time period last?" Well we asked a similar question about Lost, and it's still going strong at three seasons now, so who knows?

Check it out, let me know what you think. Next week once people have had a chance to catch up, I'll talk about actual plot points (like this week's surprising ending).