Can ‘The Agency’ survive?

Some primetime series crossovers work better than others. I loved when the “Homicide” squad teamed up with “Law & Order,” particularly when Briscoe (Jerry Orbach) and Munch (Richard Belzer) engaged in edgy small talk about their wives and divorces. But the characters, the plots and the writing on “The Agency” (9 p.m., CBS) and “The District” lack the small, fine touches that define great, or even good dramas. That’s probably why at least one of these series won’t return next year.

Tonight’s “Agency” picks up where last Saturday’s “District” left off. After a CIA agent is found murdered within Washington, D.C., police chief Mannion (Craig T. Nelson) goes straight to CIA chief Tom Gage (Beau Bridges) to complain about his employees’ less-than-forthcoming attitudes. As expected, these two Type-A personalities share some hearty bluster, none of it memorable or believable.

Daniel Benzali plays “The Agency’s” most intriguing character, the reptilian Robert Quinn, a master of dirty tricks now in charge of the CIA’s liaison with the Office of Homeland Security. But not even Benzali can save “The Agency” from its many shortcomings. The cast, which includes Gil Bellows, Will Patton and Gloria Reuben, simply lacks chemistry. If after a full season we’re still in the dark about their relationship with each other, then why should we care about these people? Some of this can be explained away by the series’ cloak-and-dagger nature. But that’s not enough to make “The Agency” interesting especially since two new, and much better series about the CIA, “Alias” and “24,” have emerged this season.

Given the ratings success of “Survivor” and “CSI,” CBS is on the verge of toppling the Peacock from its Thursday night roost. But it won’t do so with “The Agency.” Look for the network to either reassign this series to the Siberia of Saturday-night programming (where you can already find “The District”), or terminate it with extreme prejudice.

While some military experts see a U.S. clash with Iraq as all but inevitable, “Frontline” (8 p.m., PBS, check local listings) examines U.S. policy toward Iran, another regime in the “axis of evil.” Before Sept. 11, diplomatic relations between America and Iran appeared to be warming. Many in the State Department urged the government to make overtures to Iranian moderates, who had upset religious hard-liners in several elections. But Iran also has been linked to exporting weapons to terrorists, including a boat filled with 50 tons of military equipment seized by Israeli forces.