It's Showtime Sketch Artist II: Hands That See

 ((Sat. (28), 8 p.m., Showtime))

By TONY SCOTT

Filmed in Los Angeles by Motion Picture Corp. of America. Producers, Brad Krevoy, Steve Stabler, Chad Oman; director, Jack Sholder; writer, Michael Angeli.
 
Cast: Jeff Fahey, Courteney Cox, Michael Beach, Brion James, James Tolkan, Leilani Ferrer, Michael Nicolosi, Jonathan Silverman, Scott Burkholder, John Prosky, Robbie T. Robinson, Glenn Morshower, Paul Elding, Lin Shaye, Stephen Rappaport, Cindy Katz, Aaron Seville, Channon Roe, Steve Messina, Suzanne Happ, Trevor St. John, Kaela Green, Denise Dowse, Adam Drescher, Marcos Ferraez, Michael Holden, Chuck Aronberg, Ben Slack, Will McAllister, Dominique Jennings, Julie Araskog, Johnny Cocktails, Cecile Krevoy, Tone Torgerson.
 

Jeff Fahey returns in a sequel to the 1992 cabler "Sketch Artist" as a character who sketches suspects for the police. Now he's asked to draw a rapist-murderer as described by a blind victim. Michael Angeli's uneven script is imaginative and viewers probably will buy the premise.

Under Jack Sholder's generally resourceful direction the vidpic, despite missing transitional scenes, peddles its puzzle with some suspense. First moments catch the blind woman, Emmy (Courteney Cox), being raped and her husband , Glenn (Jonathan Silverman), interrupting in time to save her life.Emmy describes to Jack (Fahey) how the rapist looked as she felt his face, and the police go to work. Hubby Glenn is concerned but leaves her alone a lot -- in fact, the killer sits down by her on a park bench in an awkward scene in which he warns her not to tell the cops anything.

Faux pas occurs during a fracas with the suspect when Emmy calls out the name of sketch artist Jack, even though she doesn't know he's there. (Luckily, the moment whizzes by fast.)

The teleplay builds into a courtroom climax in which witness Emmy has to admit to the defense attorney (Brion James) that she couldn't confirm Jack's drawing of her verbal report. Scripter Angeli neatly finds his way out of that spot.

Fahey hands Jack a sense of caring and humanity, and Cox is terrif. They make an attractive team and there's a becoming hint of attraction between their characters.

Silverman's Glenn plays patient, which he accomplishes well enough. Michael Beach, as Jack's friend on the force, registers well but character makes an unlikely suggestion to Jack about the rapist; dramatically, it doesn't work.

Michael Nicolosi just passes as a wrongdoer but James, as the killer's mouthpiece, is slick indeed. Leilani Ferrer is solid as the prosecuting attorney.

"Sketch" looks smart through Bryan England's cunning lensing. Virginia Lee's production design, Michael Schweitzer's editing and TimTruman's score all contribute to the overall smooth effects.

Camera, Bryan England; editor, Michael Schweitzer; production designer, Virginia Lee; art director, Ross Silverman; sound, Giovanni Di Simons; music, Tim Truman.