David Boreanaz (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer”) returns to episodic television in “Bones” (7 p.m., Fox), a police procedural drama in the “CSI” mold. The new series stars Emily Deschanel as Dr. Temperance Brennan, a forensic anthropologist with an uncanny ability to ferret the truth from a pile of skeletons. She’s all brain, a detached scientist seriously out of touch with her own feelings. Gosh, will she need an “Angel” to re-awaken the woman within?

Her uncanny skills earn the attention and respect of hunky FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth (Boreanaz), who takes her on as a partner in spite of the bureau’s doubts about her and its institutional disdain for brainy research types. In fact, Booth’s bosses dismiss Brennan’s oddball staff as “squints” – nerds who spend their time with microscopes while real cops toil in the fields harvesting evidence.

The tension between the FBI and the misfits of science is supposed to be interesting, but it is not. On the other hand, the sexual tension between Booth and Brennan is laid on with a cement trowel. They’re almost always photographed together in tight close-up, their mouths at a distance not appropriate to anyone not engaged, or about to engage, in some serious smooching.

The writers make the most of Brennan’s socially awkward behavior. Like Buffy, she’s surrounded by a clique of wisenheimers who make pop-savvy cracks. But Brennan, who has spent her life in books and on lab work, doesn’t understand any of their jokes. That in itself makes her slightly endearing.

“Bones” emphasizes the visual impact of gadgetry, particularly a holographic device designed to summon the image of the deceased from a handful of dust. The show also makes the most of its Washington, D.C., locale, with impressive use of the city’s architecture and landscape to create a sense of gravitas and grandeur that the story doesn’t always provide.

Tonight’s other highlights

¢ A group of 14 heavies begin a weight-loss program on the second helping of “The Biggest Loser” (7 p.m., NBC).

¢ Mariah Carey, Destiny’s Child, Diana Ross, Bon Jovi and Carlos Santana are scheduled to perform on “World Music Awards 2005” (8 p.m., ABC).