The premise of the new ABC police drama "Blind Justice" is utterly preposterous and completely unbelievable.
Which means it's just like most of the other shows on TV.
And once you forget about how preposterous it is that a blind man could work as a gun-toting police detective, "Justice" (9 p.m., Ch. 4) becomes an above-average police show.
The new series from the producers of "NYPD Blue" centers on NYPD detective Jim Dunbar (Ron Eldard), who lost his sight when he was shot in the head during a gun battle with bank robbers — an incident that occurred because his partner failed to cover him. Dunbar refuses an offer to retire with a full pension, instead going to court in an attempt to regain his job.
OK, so that part is sort of believable. And, what with the relatively astonishing court decisions we seem to read about every week, so is the fictional court decision that the New York Police Department must reinstate Dunbar to his former position.
You might believe that Dunbar could be given some sort of desk position, but that would make for a dull show. So he's issued a Seeing Eye dog and a gun and he's back investigating crimes.
Executive producer/creator Steven Bochco said he came up with the idea for the show when he attended a charity function that featured entertainment by Blind Boys of Alabama.
"I was so moved by the trust that they all had in each other and the vulnerability that they all had, and yet they came out and they embraced the world," he said. "And within moments, you just had no sense that these were anything less than huge, powerful artists."
But he's not for a moment suggesting that a blind person really would be issued a badge and a gun by any sane police department.
"This is fiction," Bochco said. "We made it up."
Which, once again, describes just about every TV show. As a practical matter, does anyone believe that man will ever achieve faster-than-light travel, a requirement for the literally hundreds of episodes of the various "Star Treks"? Could there really be an island like the one on "Lost"? Would any police precinct go through everything that happened on "NYPD Blue"?
For that matter, would any newspaper put up with a sportswriter like the title character on "Everybody Loves Raymond," who never seems to actually do any work?
"There's so many films and television and theater that are based on the most ridiculous, preposterous scenarios and plots," said Eldard, pointing to the 1990 movie "Pretty Woman," in which a prostitute ends up with the business tycoon who picked her up on the street.
"Wonderful movie," Eldard said. "People would tell you it's a ridiculous, even offensive, premise."
"Blind Justice" absolutely requires you to suspend disbelief. Which is sort of what the other detectives — let alone the crime victims and the criminals — have to do when faced with a sightless police detective.
"What we tried to do in promoting that concept was to build into the pilot and in subsequent episodes the legitimate skepticism that I think both an audience and fellow cops would initially have when faced with a situation where they have to either partner and/or work with a cop who is so handicapped," Bochco said. "And I think by creating, within the body of the pilot and the show itself, that kind of skepticism, it sort of gives the audience permission to go with the concept."
Bochco pushed that line of reasoning a bit too far when he said that, once audiences see the show, "I think it becomes very credible" — c'mon, we're still dealing with a blind cop — but the point is that by suspending disbelief you open yourself up to enjoy the show within the reality it creates. And there's more to "Blind Justice" than just its cop-show elements.
Eldard is great as Dunbar, a man who's far from perfect. Before he was blinded, he was more than a bit arrogant and his marriage to the beautiful Christie (Rena Sofer) was falling apart because of his own misbehavior. She's stuck with him through his recovery, but whether the relationship can survive remains an open question.
And "Blind Justice" takes this guy who was highly competent and full of himself and puts him in a situation where he has to prove himself all over again against huge odds — and with a boss (Michael Gaston), co-workers (Reno Wilson and Frank Grillo) and partner (Marisol Nichols) who don't even want him there.
"Ultimately, for me, it's less a cop show, per se, than it is a character piece disguised as a cop show," Bochco said. "The fundamental story is about this man overcoming an enormous set of obstacles and not accepting that his disability has to limit him in ways that the external world thinks that he should be limited.
"And I think that's a heroic character. I think that people can relate to that. I don't think there's anything fundamentally unrealistic about that."
Still, it's a tough thing to pull off — a walk on a tightrope every week. The three episodes screened for critics do feature some compelling storylines . . . but there are moments of "Aw, c'mon!" to deal with as well.
Like Dunbar solving crimes with his nose more than a bit too often to be entirely credible.
"I had a conversation about five episodes in — I said, 'Steven, I'm done smelling out crime,' " Eldard said.
Let's hope so. Because, preposterous as it sounds, "Blind Justice" has a chance to become a pretty good cop show.
E-mail: pierce@desnews.com