Dark Angel

By CAROLE HORST

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Det. Walter D'Arcangelo (Roberts) pops into the New Orleans Police Dept. trailing a mysterious past like Spanish moss that leaves his new boss (played in a grating, over-the-top manner by Paul Calderon) and colleagues suspicious.
 

Dark Angel (Tues. (10), 8-10 p.m., Fox) Filmed in New Orleans by Big Ticket Television in association with American Zoetrope. Executive producers, Francis Ford Coppola, Fred Fuchs, John Romano. Producers, Elisa Kohn Taub, Robert Iscove; supervising producer, Steve Beers; director, Iscove; writer, Romano, based on a story by Romano, Randall Wallace; camera, Francis Kenny; editor, Casey O. Roberts; production design, Linda Burton; sound, Thomas E. Allen; music , Michael Wolff; casting, Robert J. Ulrich, Eric Dawson, Carol Kritzer. Cast: EricRoberts, Ashley Crow, Linden Ashby, Gina Torres, Paul Calderon, V.P. Oliver, Nicholas Pryor, Wayne Pere, Joel Polis, Ray Baker, Terence Rosemore, Rob Treveiller, Don Yesso, Tom Nowicki, Adrian Colon, Walter Breaux, Allison Diftler , Margo Moorer, Alissa Vincent, Eliott Keener, Jean Paul De La Houssaye. Backed by a stellar trio of exec producers, "Dark Angel" delivers slick goods in a stylish manner, with few missteps and a remarkably restrained and enjoyable turn from star Eric Roberts. Steamy New Orleans locations and shabby chic production design adds depth and hipness to above-average serial killer thriller.

D'Arcangelo soon proves his police prowess and wins over his new partner Harry (Linden Ashby).

But when D'Arcangelo's probing links two murders, the serial killer begins contacting D'Arcangelo "confessing," as D'Arcangelo puts it, dovetailing with his heavily Catholic boyhood, which sets off a twisted plot that, unfortunately, wilts like a crisp linen suit in the Louisiana heat at its denouement.

Script by TV vet John Romano doesn't flag as mystery unfolds at a leisurely pace, although Roberts gets the only fully fleshed out character, delivering a sexy, wiseguy performance. Most everyone else has to walk that line between hip irony and outright overacting. Most fall on the wrong side.Robert Iscove's direction is crisp and straightforward; Linda Burton's production design and Francis Kenny's camera make good use of the flavor of the city.

Carole Horst