I can’t blame Benjamin Bratt too much for A&E’s near disastrous scripted drama, The Cleaner, which premieres tonight at 10 pm.

The Law & Order vet throws himself fully into the role of former junkie William Banks, who now spends his time saving other people from their addictions (sex, drugs, gambling). And he has done so 257 times according to the blurb of text at the top of the show, which, perhaps in a nod to Bratt’s former gig, ends dramatically with “This is his story.” (Sadly no “gung-gung!” is added for effect.)

For Bratt’s part, having played straight-laced detective Rey Curtis for 94 episodes on Law, he probably read the Cleaner script and thought, “No suits, I get to smoke cigarettes, and generally look and act like a bad-ass? Sign me up!”

And he does: From his Johnny Depp-ian goatee, lower-register growlly voice, and I’m-a-flawed-survivor-give-me-break-wouldja? attitude, Bratt would seem to embody all traits of a former junkie, though they never say what his poison was, which is annoying. Honoring a promise he made to God for getting a second chance–he even breaks into a spontaneous convos with the Almighty throughout the show–he has dedicated his life to being an “extreme interventionist.”

The general premise is actually pretty good–think A&E’s own Dog the Bounty Hunter meets its reality show Intervention with a dash of Highway to Heaven–but as usual, I’m distracted by all the unanswered questions. Who pays him? And then, does he cut a check to each of his three employees? (Hey, wait, that’s Gil Bellows from Ally McBeal!) Does he give them benefits? If so, is there an extra clause in their life insurance plans about the risks of unncessary car chases?”

I was also hung up on the bit about Banks’ home life, which just doesn’t work. Naturally there is the long-suffereing wife, here played with stiff reluctance by the actress Amy Price-Francis (Californication). The kids (who are so fair and freckled, I don’t see how they could be Bratt’s offspring in any genetic universe), are of that annoying we-are-young-but-wiser-than-you ilk when it comes to Dad’s shortcomings. Yes, even when he misses dance practice, they know he’s trying to change. Oh brother.

The premiere has Banks and his team trying to help a troubled high-school athlete named Zach, who lately has favored meth over basketball practice. Dipping into his cop sources, and naturally he has many, Banks connects with some blabber-mouths in the druggie scene and through the reliable channels of convolutedness, they find dear ol’ Zach trying to hock goods for drug cash at a flea market run by neo-Nazis.

Honestly the plot wouldn’t be too bad if it weren’t for the dialogue. With lines like, “Get the team together, we’ve got a kid in trouble,” and “You’ve exchanged one addiction for another!” the show relies so heavily on cliches, it’s like the creators didn’t realize its target audience has spent the last decade reveling in the genius writing of The Sopranos, Six Feet Under, and The Wire .

I think that The Cleaner could have a chance if it knew what it really wanted to be. Egdy crime drama? Domestic soap? Black comedy? A one-man-against-the-world portrait of redemption? I felt the same way about Saving Grace when it first premiered last year. The whole God-as-show-centerpiece theme seemed forced, and, like with Bratt, Holly Hunter’s performance was infinitely better than the material she was given, though the show did hit its stride mid-season.

But I just don’t see this happening with The Cleaner . Like an addict, this show is, sadly, already too far gone to save itself. So what we’re left with I suppose is a weekly, hour-long reminder that “addiction is no good” and I suppose that’s not all bad.