Brett Panelli/The WB Jared Padelecki, left, portrays Sam and Jensen Ackles is Dean in "Supernatural." Click photo for larger image. Reviews: 'Bones' When: 8 tonight on WPGH. Stars: David Boreanaz. 'Gilmore Girls' When: 8 tonight on WCWB. Stars: Lauren Graham. 'House' When: 9 tonight on WPGH. Stars: Hugh Laurie. 'Supernatural' When: 9 tonight on WCWB. Stars: Jared Padalecki. 'Head Cases' When: 9 p.m. tomorrow on WPGH. Stars: Chris O'Donnell.

On its face, The WB's "Supernatural" seems like a terrible fit with its lead-in, "Gilmore Girls."

"Girls" is smart with sophisticated dialogue and a gentle spirit; "Supernatural" is loud, scary and violent.

So what's the connection? The young hunks of "Supernatural" are expected to draw the girls who watch "Girls" (it doesn't hurt that "Supernatural" star Jared Padalecki played good guy Dean on "Girls" for years). Plus, young women have turned horror films into a thriving genre. So this programming strategy has merit, and although "Supernatural" isn't my type of program per se, it is a well-made little show of horrors that's likely to scare and thrill its target audience.

Tonight's pilot (9 p.m., WCWB) -- which runs to 10:07 p.m. for anyone setting a VCR -- creepily and efficiently sets up the premise: Brothers Sam (Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles, "Smallville") lost their mother 20 years ago to some sort of supernatural ghoul that gutted her, plastered her on the ceiling and then made her burst into flames.

In the present, Sam prepares to attend law school when Dean shows up at Stanford and announces that their ghost-busting father has disappeared. Sam reluctantly joins Dean for one last adventure that -- because this is series television -- turns into an ongoing road trip, as the brothers travel from town to town solving weird mysteries.

Cast as brothers, Padalecki and Ackles only seem to share the hottie gene in common, but they're good choices for a WB horror show.

"Gilmore Girls" fans, who are accustomed to hearing Padalecki called Dean, might be confused since the Ackles character bears the name here, but they'll appreciate that Padalecki again plays the nice, sensitive guy; Luke Skywalker to Ackles' cockier, Han Solo-type.

For anyone looking for a case of the creeps and potential for a good scare, "Supernatural" should fit the superficial bill.

'Bones'

For a series about a forensic anthropologist, Fox's "Bones" (8 tonight, WPGH) is unusually jokey, sort of a "CSI" written by comedy scribes.

F. Scott Schafer/FOX Adam Goldberg, left, and Chris O'Donnell star in "Head Cases." Click photo for larger image.

Dr. Temperance Brennan (Emily Deschanel) is a forensic anthropologist for the Jeffersonian Institution who writes novels on the side. Her boss, lab director Daniel Goodman (Wilkinsburg native Jonathan Adams), loans her out to the FBI because it's politically expedient. There she partners and spars with special agent Seeley Booth (David Boreanaz, "Angel") in an obvious attempt at smoldering sexual tension. It seems forced.

Temperance, who hates the nickname "Bones," is depicted as clueless about pop culture, which is a tough premise to sustain when she looks like a model. It's easier to buy the notion that she's closed-off to other people because of her parents' disappearance when she was 15.

"My most meaningful relationships are with dead people," she says in tonight's premiere, which begins with her return from an archaeological dig and continues with her beating up a Homeland Security agent after a co-worker (Michaela Conlin) flashes her bra-covered breasts at an unresponsive airline gate agent.

It's an (occasionally) frothy mix -- comedic moments tumble into serious scenes of forensic examination -- that's not altogether terrible, but neither does it beg to be watched on a regular basis.

'Head Cases'

For the past couple of seasons, Fox has announced at least one series that never actually makes it on the air. It seems a little late in the game for that to happen this fall, but there'd be no harm done if the premiere of "Head Cases" (9 p.m. tomorrow, WPGH) gets pre-empted and the series is never heard nor seen.

Golden boy lawyer Jason Payne (Chris O'Donnell) sees his world crumble when his wife (Krista Allen) kicks him out of the house for not spending enough time with the family on the same day he has a nervous breakdown at work. After two months in rehab, Payne tries to regain his former life, only to discover he's lost his job.

His therapist (Rockmond Dunbar) pairs him with Schultz (Adam Goldberg), an unkempt, low-rent lawyer who suffers from "explosive disorder." "Odd Couple" antics ensue, but the show is neither funny enough to be a comedy nor dramatic enough to be an engaging drama. The show just sort of meanders across the screen, making occasional outbursts that catch your attention, but mostly "Head Cases" just dares you to watch. It was easier to be entertained by the white walls in my living room that are begging for some color.

Returning favorites

The WB's "Gilmore Girls" (8 tonight, WCWB) returns not a half-second after where it left off: with Lorelai (Lauren Graham) proposing marriage to Luke (Scott Patterson). The show wastes no time making viewers wait for Luke's answer.

"I thought there was a better chance of all four Beatles getting back together than you two ever calming down long enough" to deal with the relationship, says town leader Taylor.

Whatever the future for Luke and Lorelai, the two aren't on the same page about how to handle Rory (Alexis Bledel) and her arrest for joyriding in a boat. Lorelai thinks she should let Rory work through it herself; Luke wants to intervene. Looks like turbulent waters ahead.

On Fox's "House" (9 tonight, WPGH), grouchy Dr. House (the incomparable Hugh Laurie) adjusts to his former love, Stacy (recurring guest star Sela Ward), working as the hospital lawyer while trying to solve the medical mystery surrounding a death row inmate (LL Cool J).

"House" remains the rare procedural drama that also takes time for character development, and no character is more entertaining than the wickedly humorous House, a self-loathing curmudgeon with a quick wit. Laurie's performance is the be-all, end-all reason to tune into this series.