How Long to Watch “Raines”?

The NBC cop drama Raines starred Jeff Goldblum as the title character, eccentric LAPD homicide detective Michael Raines. Haunted by the death of his former partner Charlie Lincoln (Malik Yoba, Raines found himself in frequent contact and conversation with Raines' ghost (or so he thought). These spectral visitations segued neatly into Raines' peculiar talent: the ability to "talk" to the spirits of the victims whose murders he was investigating. The detective's visions of these victims were determined by the amount of information he had on hand; thus, the ghosts were constantly "morphing" before his eyes as he uncovered additional clues. For example, upon learning that a recent victim was a prostitute, Raines began envisioning the dead woman--whom had previously appeared before him in the form of a virginal girl-next-door--with more garish makeup and an expanded bustline! Although Raines' modus operandi was, to say the least, unorthodox, he invariably got results, and the ghosts that haunted him invariably vanished (and stopped annoying him) once the case was solved. Featured in the cast was Matt Craven as Raines' exasperated superior Capt. Daniel Lewis, Linda Park as Raines' overworked new partner Michelle Lance, Dov Davidoff as antagonistic collegue Remi Boyer, Nicole Sullivan as sarcastic-but-supportive civilian coworker Carolyn Crumley, and Madeleine Stowe as Raines' sympathetic-but- skeptical psychiatrist Dr. Samantha Kohl. Conceived in the tradition of such earlier quirky "procedurals" as Cold Case and Monk, Raines debuted March 15, 2007.