David Boreanaz

What: Thanks to its intriguing heroine, much more than a bare-bones crime procedural.

Where: Tuesday, 8 p.m.

When: Sept. 13

Who: Emily Deschanel, David Boreanaz, Eric Millegan, T.J. Thyne, Michaela Conlin, Jonathan Adams.

Why: As long as we keep watching "CSI" variations, the networks will keep making ’em.

How: Dr. Temperance Brennan (a.k.a. "Bones") has good looks, a blunt style and a working knowledge of judo. She’s also a world-class forensic anthropologist who is drawn into the FBI’s toughest murder investigations. A distant sort ("My most meaningful relationships are with dead people," she concedes), Bones works in dicey partnership with FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth, who, in a nice turnabout, is this team’s sensitive, outgoing member. Thanks to Deschanel, Bones is the season’s sexiest new tomboy, while Booth (Boreanaz) is a hunky teddy bear. Too work-driven to get involved, or even admit to mutual attraction (maybe), they could be the successor to Mulder and Scully as the hottest chaste couple on the air. And they solve the crimes, too, in fascinating ways.