The vampire detective returns but in a show without any bite

Alex O'Loughlin is one of those actors who we've been waiting to have back on TV on a regular basis.

Even those of us who didn't love "Moonlight" (sorry, even with Jason Dohring, I never could quite get into the show) liked O'Loughlin. The man oozes charm and sincerity - a nice combination for any lead character.

It's too bad that it's "Three Rivers," premiering Sunday at 9 p.m. on CBS, is the show that is bringing him back to TV. As you may have heard, the original pilot was completely scrapped and reshot. But unfortunately the changes just took the show from being a not great show about transplant surgeons to a generic, fairly boring medical series.

O'Loughlin stars as Dr. Andy Yablonski, the premiere transplant surgeon at Three Rivers Hospital. Katherine Moenning ("The L Word") co-stars as Dr. Miranda Foster and Alfre Woodard plays chief of surgery Dr. Sophia Jordon. Nothing about Sunday's episode stands out. Even with the transplant angle, the stories seem exceedingly generic, overly familiar and melodramatic which is odd because transplant surgery could obviously be a fascinating topic. It was so easy to see what's coming. The minute Andy tells a husband he has a heart for his pregnant wife, you know something is going to go wrong - you'll even be able to predict exactly what is going to go wrong long before it happens. Even for viewers like us, who have seen a lot of medical dramas in our time, things should not be that predictable.

The other weird thing about the show is while Dr. Yablonski is mired in a transplant crisis, Dr. Foster is in a run-of-the-mill medical story line. I think the show would have been much better off to keep the focus on transplant surgery.

Of course, I'll watch a few more episodes - there's no denying O'Loughlin has star power. Maybe he'll be able to work magic on "Three Rivers" or maybe it will get better now that it has the stress of having to completely remake the pilot behind them. After you watch "Three Rivers," let me know what you think. Three stars.

Question of the Week

You know how some people (me included) positively adore John Noble's performance on "Fringe" while others find him annoying and affected? I'm beginning to think that Ty Burrell is eliciting that same type of divisive response for his performance on "Modern Family." I've been a fan of Burrell's ever since the CBS comedy "Out of Practice." I watched him on "Back to You" and was thrilled when he popped up on "Damages." I've been waiting for him to have a hit series - and I think "Modern Family" is it. His performance as clueless dad Phil is spot on. I think he's hilarious. I giggle every time I think about him explaining that "WTF" means "why the face?"

I've heard from some of you who think Burrell's performance is far too reminiscent of Michael on "The Office." While both directly address the camera, to me that's where the similarities end. Michael is totally incompetent and simultaneously needy and full of himself. Phil is more well-meaning and clueless. I'm loving his performance on "Modern Family." How about you?

Where Have I Seen Them Before?

Lesley and Robin recognized that the young Grace on "Cold Case" was played by Ashley Johnson. Johnson was Sharlee Cates on "Dirt" and Mel Gibson's daughter in "What Women Want," but to many of us she'll always be little Chrissy Seaver on "Growing Pains." Lesley also caught Sharif Atkins, Gallant on "ER" and Gary on "The 4400," as the hostage taker on "CSI: Miami." Monique Gabriela Curen, Detective Beaumont on "The Unusuals" (a show that so deserved a second season), was the receptionist who was shot.

Sam Page was the abusive client who refused to pay Lauren on "Melrose Place." He's currently playing Joan's husband Dr. Greg Harris on "Mad Men." He was also Casey on "Shark" and Jesse on "Point Pleasant."

Lindsay Sloane was Ted's repeat blind date on "How I Met Your Mother." I'll always remember Sloane as Marcy on the late, great satire "Grosse Pointe." She was also Valerie on "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch."

Faith Prince was Jane's mom on "Drop Dead Diva." She was Claudia on "Spin City" and Kelly on "Huff." Like "Diva" star Brooke Elliot, Prince has also starred in several Broadway productions.

Michelle recognized Linden Ashby as the doctor who treated Sarah Elizabeth on "Army Wives." He was Coop on "Melrose Place."Ashby's real life wife, Susan Walters, Christine on "Melrose Place" and Meg on "Point Pleasant," was the army wife Pamela ran into who told her Chase had gone to the shooting range. Michelle also remembered her as the woman whose name rhymed with a female body part on "Seinfeld." Perhaps Ashby and Walters have a thing about working together - they both appeared in the pilot of "Drop Dead Diva" as the couple that was divorcing. Remember, Jane represented Vicky Wellner, played by Walters.

Where Have I Seen Someone Who Looks Like Her Before?

Candace recognized that Makenzie Vega plays Grace Florrick, Alica's daughter on "The Good Wife." She's the younger sister of Alexa Vega, who currently stars as Ruby on the ABC Family series "Ruby & the Rockits." Alexa was also Carmen in all the "Spy Kids" movie.

Where Have We Seen That Before?

Laura and Amy were the first to recognized that Cappie and Evan were working for the Party Down catering company - as in the Starz series "Party Down" -- on "Greek." They even had the pink bow ties!

Quotes of the Week

"I am all of them, but none of them is me." Echo to Ballard on "Dollhouse."

"The scary part is of the two women you could marry, that's the stable one." Julie to Mike about Susan on "Desperate Housewives."

"After you, Dr. House." Scanlon to Allison who is walking with a cane on "Medium." Thanks to Karen for the quote.

"I admit that things are different since Grissom left." Catherine in the understatement of the year on "CSI."

"Put your nose down and pay attention to your work because there's not one thing that you've done here that I couldn't live without." Don to Peggy on "Mad Men." Wasn't that just so devastating?

"I'm not as easy to ignore as you thought, am I? That's because I ooze charm." Sylar to Parkman on "Heroes." Thanks to Mark for the quote.

"That was before I discovered 'The Biggest Loser' marathon on cable. I like to pretend they can see me eating." House to Wilson on "House."

"Excuse me, Meryl Streep could be Batman and be the right choice." Cameron on "Modern Family" when someone at play group suggests that Meryl Streep wasn't the right choice for "Mamma Mia." Thanks to Ritchie for the quote.

"But we were done, Tom, we were across the finish line. No more diapers. No more strained carrots. No more reading stupid 'Good Night, Moon.' And with Preston going to Europe we even had one moving out! We will never be done if we birth two every time one moves out. That's just math!" Lynette to Tom on "Desperate Housewives." Thanks to Daphne for the quote.

Exchanges of the Week

"They were blown off for another mixer and so stayed in for mud masks and a TV series about old people having old people sex." Rebecca to Casey and Ashleigh on "Greek."

"They were watching 'Private Practice?'" Casey's response.

**********************

"What's so special about this Bella girl? Edward so whipped." Damon to Caroline on "The Vampire Diaries."

"You gotta read the first book first. It won't make sense if you don't." Caroline to Damon.

"I miss Ann Rice. She was so on it?" Damon's response. Thanks to Sandy for the exchange.

That's all for today. I'll be back on Monday with a review of the new Lifetime series "Sherri," thoughts on "The Office" (Jim and Pam are going to the chapel and they're gonna get married), "Grey's Anatomy, "The Vampire Diaries" (are we still liking the show?) and more. Also coming next week, a review of the fourth season premiere of "Ugly Betty." Have a question? Seen a familiar face? Want to nominate a quote of the week or a topic for discussion? Write me at amytvgal@zap2it.com or follow me on Twitter. Have a great weekend. Talk to you on Monday.

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