Kevin Hill debut, 9 p.m., Channel 25.

Maybe originality is overrated. Kevin Hill has not a shred of it. However, everything else - the writing, acting and directing - is first-rate.

Taye Diggs plays a slick lawyer, representing sports stars and others. He's a handsome bachelor, surrounded by beautiful women and a beautiful life.

Then he's given his late cousin's baby to raise. Responsibility intrudes.

In Hill, Jerry Maguire has been fused with bits of Raising Helen, Baby Boom, Jersey Girl, various situation comedies and even the country song "There Goes My Life." Originality has been banished.

The important thing, however, is how well it's executed.

Kevin Hill blends drama and comedy beautifully. Diggs is perfect, ranging from brash confidence to crumbling confusion. By the end of the hour, he has great support from Patrick Breen (as a gay nanny) and from Michael Michele, Christina Hendricks and Kate Levering as his new law colleagues.

Worth watching

Lost, 8 p.m., Channels 9, 22. Last week's opener ended with a jolt: Nearly 50 survivors of a plane crash were groping for ways to survive. Then they learned that there's something very big and scary on the island. That supernatural element is the only weak spot in what's otherwise a strong, realistic drama. Tonight, Lost answers some questions via flashback, including a key one: Who was the federal marshal transporting? Stick around for a strong story about people building a society amid crisis.

Origins, 8-10 p.m., Channels 48, 16. Here's the second half of an ambitious documentary viewing the creation of Earth. Tonight's first hour asks why, despite strong efforts, no one has found life on other planets. The second hour flashes way back, asking how a big bang could have led to a habitable planet.

Smallville, 8 p.m., Channels 64, 26. Lois is still in town; now she and Clark are being sought by military men.

The Apprentice, 9 p.m., Channels 5, 2. The reality show runs one day earlier than usual in order to make room for Thursday's presidential debate. Tonight, the two teams compete in the restaurant business.

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, 9 p.m., Channels 12, 7. In an odd step, CBS made a late decision to delay the season-opener of King of Queens and the debut of Center of the Universe. Tonight, it simply plugs in this rerun. Grissom and his team investigate multiple deaths at a grocery store.

CSI: NY, 10 p.m., Channels 12, 7. A female has no memory of being brutally attacked in Central Park.

Wife Swap, 10 p.m., Channels 9, 22. This well-made reality hour starts with opposites. One woman works constantly at her jobs and with her family. Another spends most of the day on "me time," shopping and working out and getting pretty. When they temporarily switch families the result is fascinating.