(CNN)CBS takes 1 measurement into the chartless and different into the comfortableness of the past this week, which is astir arsenic adventurous arsenic 1 tin expect risk-averse broadcasters to beryllium these days. "Ghosts," a mildly amusing comedy, tries to bring immoderate caller beingness to network's Thursday drama lineup, portion "CSI: Vegas" combines aged and caller faces astir its acquainted chalk outlines.
The premise successful "Ghosts" is reasonably simple, arsenic a young mates (Rose McIver, Utkarsh Ambudkar) inherit an aged location from the wife's deceased large aunt, 1 inhabited by a fig of ghosts from antithetic eras, depending connected erstwhile they died. Unable to leave, they're excited astir perchance having immoderate caller humor around, with 1 asking, "Whose beingness are you guys hoping to ticker next?"
The eccentric residents see a '60s hippie (Sheila Carrasco), an 11th-century Viking (Devon Chandler Long), a Native-American from the 1500s ((Román Zaragoza), and a foppish Revolutionary War militiaman (Brandon Scott Jones), who, among different things, is aghast to perceive that one-time rival Alexander Hamilton's sanction has go much celebrated than his.
Adapted from a BBC bid (creativity successful Hollywood lone goes truthful far), the unusual premix of characters yields a just magnitude of hit-miss gags and movie callbacks. One of the ghosts, for illustration -- a stock-broker bro (Asher Grodman) who died without his pants -- tin physically determination objects, barely, successful a motion to Patrick Swayze's quality successful the singular movie "Ghost."
Still, the question of whether the radical and spirits tin larn to coexist has an age-old prime to it, with the disclaimer that the premise creates immoderate limits connected wherever this conception tin go, and doesn't needfully bode good for however it's going to age.
For now, though, "Ghosts" -- which premieres with back-to-back episodes -- milks capable laughs from the sharpness of its penning and sheer goofiness to warrant a look. Whether that translates into a semipermanent enactment remains to beryllium seen, but dissimilar a batch of caller sitcoms, astatine slightest this 1 doesn't look dormant connected arrival.
Speaking of things that travel backmost aft dying, "CSI" revives 1 of TV's biggest hits of the 2000s, bringing backmost respective acquainted characters portion introducing a caller boss, Maxine Roby (Paula Newsome), gradually mounting up the premise with a enigma that stretches implicit the archetypal fewer episodes.
Specifically, questions originate astir tainted cases from the past, forcing Roby to scope retired to the alumni squad successful the hunt for answers. The aged standbys see (not immediately, successful each cases) William Petersen and Jorja Fox, but saying overmuch much would hazard spoiling things, to the grade they tin be.
The bid intelligibly feels arsenic if it's hoping to get a caput of steam going connected the spot of its nostalgia, earlier taking disconnected successful a much accepted body-of-the-week absorption that made the archetypal tick.
Of course, with a trio of "FBI" shows, 2 versions of "NCIS" and "S.W.A.T.," CBS has demonstrated it's omniscient not to stake against the lingering assemblage request for capitalized transgression shows.
So portion it mightiness instrumentality a mates of episodes to benignant retired the "Who are you?" portion of The Who's recognition song, the "why" down "CSI's" revival is beauteous obvious.
"CSI: Vegas" premieres Oct. 6 astatine 10 p.m. ET and "Ghosts" premieres Oct. 7 astatine 9 p.m. ET connected CBS.
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