Cane

A terrifically cast, intriguing series.

It's a big soapy epic that allows you to turn off your brain late at night, but it ultimately carries no gravitas, minority hiring or not. As long as we're clear on that, there's nothing wrong for applauding what the series gets right, given the constraints of the genre.

A slick and earnest soap about rival families in South Florida.

Notwithstanding the novelty of the setting, the nice Latin music and good individual work by the cast--Walker is especially notable in a role made to notice--Smits is the engine that drives the ship; he gives Cane at least an illusion of speed and substance and soul.

All Cane has going for it now is the cast. In tonight's opening episode, the tone is all over the place

Despite being set in lively, colorful Miami, this saga is as sluggish as can be.

One of those slack, campy throwbacks that really ought to be thrown out, Cane, premiering on CBS tonight at 10, tries to bring grand-opera soap opera back to prime time and ignominiously fails.