CLOSE, BUT NO WINNER, AGAIN, FOR SHOWTIME

Showtime's new "Street Time" is the premium cable channel's latest
attempt to run with the big dogs, to create a water cooler hit like
HBO's "The Sopranos" and "Six Feet Under" or FX's "The Shield."

It's also Showtime's latest attempt at buzz-worthy programming to come
up a little short of the mark.

At least the premise and setting of "Street Time" (10 p.m. Sunday)
are relatively fresh. James Liberti (Scott Cohen) is a parole officer
specializing in high-profile cases. He also has a family he doesn't
see very often, money problems and a gambling jones that borders on
addiction. Liberti's latest "client" is Kevin Hunter (Rob Morrow)
who just spent five years in prison for trafficking in marijuana. He
has a son he's never had any time with, a common-law wife who parties
hard and a brother and brother-in-law who keep trying to suck him back
into the drug world.

The clear intent of "Street Time" -- which was created and written
by Richard Stratton, a writer who spent eight years in prison for drug
dealing -- is to be a tough, street-smart drama that traffics heavily
in moral ambiguity. Instead, the first few episodes come off as
dreary, too tentative in their approach to the main characters and
lacking in the kind of dramatic depth one can find on "The Wire" or
"The Shield."

Even more surprisingly, given Stratton's background, is that too much
of what takes place on the screen simply doesn't ring true. Incidents
and characters come off as unbelievable which, since Stratton has
lived the life, one can only chalk up to a breakdown in writing and in
the direction of Marc Levin, a noted documentary filmmaker.

What "Street Time" does have going for it is some superior acting by
Cohen, who may be TV's most versatile actor, and Morrow, who hasn't
been this good since the early seasons of "Northern Exposure." When
Cohen and Morrow are dominating the action, "Street Time" is almost
worth your time.

But given what else is out there in TV land, "almost" doesn't cut
it.