HEIST SHOW DOESN'T DELIVER THE GOODS.

Byline: David Kronke Television Critic

There's no real Smith in ``Smith,'' but there is Bobby Stevens, a thief-for-hire who's accomplished at complicated heists and operates under a number of aliases.

Ray Liotta stars as Bobby, and the most remarkable thing about ``Smith'' is how many actors with fairly sturdy film careers have been recruited to perform in a pretty perfunctory crime melodrama.

Virginia Madsen, an Oscar nominee two years ago for ``Sideways,'' plays Bobby's oblivious wife, Hope, who thinks her husband is just another traveling salesman. Shohreh Aghdashloo, an Oscar nominee three years ago for ``House of Sand and Fog,'' appears as the enigmatic Charlie, who dispatches Bobby on his jobs. One would think such acclaimed actresses deserve better roles than these, which are thin and underwritten.

Amy Smart, Simon Baker,Jonny Lee Miller and Franky G serve as members of Bobby's crew, in which tiny cracks of dissent threaten to form. They're given desultory characterization signposts such as womanizer or parolee. Everyone drives flashy cars that the camera drinks in perhaps more lovingly than it does its characters; they like to play their stereos loud (so much for not calling attention to themselves).

Tonight's heist involves grabbing some paintings at a Pittsburgh art museum. The obligatory procedural glitches escalate into uninvited mayhem, as explicated in this exchange:

Charlie: ``What happened in Pittsburgh?''

Bobby: ``Stuff.''

Such traumatizing events and the elevated imperative to maintain a low profile don't, however, prevent Smart and Miller's characters from joining the mile-high club on their way out of Pittsburgh. It's that kind of show.

David Kronke, [phone]

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SMITH - Two stars

What: Ray Liotta stars as a high-stakes burglar whose wife (Virginia Madsen) is oblivious to his true career.

Where: CBS (Channel 2).

When: 10 tonight.

In a nutshell: Slick but perfunctory crime melodrama.

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Photo:

Ray Liotta's ``Smith'' thief even has his wife fooled in the CBS drama.