'Rookie Blue,' a pleasant new cop show on ABC

THE SHOW "Rookie Blue"

WHAT IT'S ABOUT After three months at police academy, five scrubs are hitting Toronto's streets - but what they know, or think they know, and really know are two (or is it three?) different things. Andy McNally (Missy Peregrym) is the core member of this wet-behind-the-ears group, because she has so much passion and idealism and looks pretty good in a police uniform. But on her first day on the job, her partner tells her people can instantly spot new cops because they "smell like fresh paint." Carrying the same whiff are Andy's pals Traci Nash (Enuka Okuma), who's trying to balance motherhood with police work, and Dov Epstein (Gregory Smith). There's also that studly do-right of a detective, Luke Callaghan (Eric Johnson), who has his eye on the vibrant new recruit.

MY SAY Look, I could go on and on describing this pleasant, inoffensive cop show and risk putting you into a stupor, or we could all wonder - "Where have I heard this before?" Maybe "Flashpoint" (ummm) flashed through your mind, because both series are set in Toronto - an efficient, clean, well-run metropolis virtually devoid of crime except in those Canadian TV series that are set here. Or if your memory for TV trivia is of "Jeopardy!" caliber, then you'll recall "The Rookies," the early '70s cop show chiefly famous for featuring Kate Jackson before she became Sabrina on "Charlie's Angels."

Or maybe you're just wondering who Missy Peregrym is? Answer: The radiant young actress from "Reaper" with competent chops who is about as convincing in her portrayal of a woman in blue as Jackson was all those years ago. But here's the key thing: It's summer, expectations are low, and you could do a lot worse than this genial, softhearted import.

BOTTOM LINE The word "not" applies - not thrilling, not original, not convincing . . . but not bad and not offensive, either.

GRADE B-