`BAINES' IS CBS' NEW FAVORITE SON.

Byline: David Kronke TV Critic

``Citizen Baines'' seems wary of its own ambiguities. This drama, about a deposed U.S. senator returning to his home in Seattle, boasts a wealth of promise in its material - how does a man cope with having power and fame wrested from him after having basked in it for too long? Yet the show seems equally likely to lapse into conventional, middle-brow melodrama.

Tonight's episode - which takes place on the Election Day in which Elliott Baines (James Cromwell), who has served in Washington for nearly a quarter of a century and has perhaps lost touch with his constituency, is up once more for re-election - is well made. But it's hardly a starting-off point as a dramatic endgame: Though he's an idealistic man, he's far too self-satisfied with his life to be driven to truly campaign, so he loses to an ascendant politico. Nice point; end of story.

It's not so much the pilot as it is the raw materials from which the first half or so of the pilot should have been drawn. The second half should have set up the show's true premise, which is how Baines adjusts to life as a civilian and, more precisely, how he reinsinuates himself into the lives of his grown daughters, who regard him with varying degrees of awe and contempt.

Ellen (Embeth Davidtz) is the perfect daughter albeit buttoned up a bit too tightly. She's run his campaign and may even have political aspirations herself, if her facade doesn't crumble first. Reeva (Jane Adams) is the deadeningly average daughter, nice and smart and stranded in a miserable marriage and saddled with an unexpected pregnancy. Dori (Jacinda Barrett) is the wild child, who wakes up next to pompadoured buffoons she can't remember meeting, uses her sense of privilege to get out of both scrapes and a real job, and yet resents her father's intruding in her life. She tells her sisters, ``You guys are just jealous because I'm the happy one.'' We'll have to take her word for it.

Next week's episode, however, scarcely solves the problem of where the series will go - Baines is a lame duck in Washington, but has one fairly symbolic act he must perform for a constituent that'll serve as penance for losing track of his mandate from the people. He's humbled at every turn - his truck's battery dies because he's not accustomed to driving himself around, and a political foe gets to gloat. Meanwhile, the daughters' subplots are merely amplified, except that a fairly disastrous job opportunity (narratively speaking) looms. Next week's episode's conclusion is both predictable and really stupid.

What rescues ``Citizen Baines'' is its terrific cast. Cromwell has the right combination of dignity and vaguely off-putting punctiliousness that makes Baines empathetic, yet ready to be knocked down a few pegs. Davidtz hints just enough at her character's inner desperation, while Adams wears her heart on her sleeve and Barrett is credible as a party-hearty gal whose blithe sense of entitlement muddies her ambitions and true heart (any resemblance to any real political progeny is, I'm sure, purely coincidental).

Producers John Wells (``ER,'' ``West Wing''), Lydia Woodward and Christopher Chulack have a credible premise and talented cast. What they must do now is go easy on the soapier elements and, for heaven's sake, find something interesting for Baines to do out of office, and quick. And no, becoming a lawyer is not interesting. Otherwise, viewers may agree with Baines when he says, ``For so long, I couldn't wait for the election to be over. Now, I can't wait for the 'over' to be over.''

``CITIZEN BAINES''

What: ``The West Wing'' (only Bartlet loses the election) meets ``Sisters.''

The stars: James Cromwell, Embeth Davidtz, Jane Adams, Jacinda Barrett.

Where: CBS (Channel 2).

When: 9 tonight.

Our rating: Three stars.

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James Cromwell stars as a retired senator in ``Citizen Baines,'' costarring Jane Adams, left, Embeth Davidtz and Jacinda Barrett, premiering tonight on CBS.