"Without a Trace," about the Missing Persons Squad of the FBI, was developed by Jonathan Littman, executive producer of "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation." The premise came out of the summer of Chandra Levy, when Littman realized the number of stories that come from every disappearance and how agents worked to reconstruct the lives of every missing person.

Littman brought the idea to "61*" scribe Hank Steinberg who was drawn to the victimology in the premise and to the flashback-heavy style that would bring the missing people to life. Beyond a fine pilot script, "Without a Trace" had a not-so-secret weapon. The actors may have been uncertain about doing television, but they didn't have any doubts about doing television with Bruckheimer.

Aussie Anthony LaPaglia's reservations were the particularly legitimate. Coming off an award-winning performance in "Lantana," the "Murder One" and "Frasier" vet might have felt he'd done enough TV. Though he jokes that the producers hijacked him in a carpark and said they'd only return his car if he signed on, it's clear what really steered his choice.

"The one thing in television that's really important is that you have the facility, the money and the know-how to make a quality production," says LaPaglia, who signed on to play agent Jack Malone. "I knew that working with Jerry, he had access to the best in the business."

Co-star Enrique Murciano, who plays intense young agent Danny Taylor, worked on "Black Hawk Down" and describes the Bruckheimer experience as "Like getting on a nice cruise line. It's very exclusive and it's where you want to be."

Kidding aside, Bruckheimer has pragmatic and populist reasons for filling his shows with quality actors and top-notch production values. He insists that viewers respond to quality and that the best performers, cinematographers, production designers and writers will always yield a more durable product than any number of fly-by-night reality programs. If quality is the price to pay for success, Bruckheimer is comfortable with that.

Plus, Bruckheimer just loves television. "My mother said 'You're going to damage your brain by watching TV' and now I do it all the time."

The super-producer of hits like "Armageddon," "Crimson Tide" and "Kangaroo Jack" also applauds television's ability to develop characters over the course of a 22-episode season. He admits that whenever his movies run long, character is always the first thing to go.

The people embodying those developing characters on "Without a Trace" say that while the set is an open environment full of humor, sometimes its tough to leave the job behind.

"What they have to deal with is the worst we have to offer," says LaPaglia of the MPS agents. "They don't get called to a nice birthday party and asked to investigate that. They get called when someone gets killed at that party."

"You're happier when you do comedy," LaPaglia adds.

For now, what's real on "Without a Trace" is that the show is holding strong on Thursday nights against "ER" and the writers are planning multi-story arcs to expand character development. Plus, they have Jerry Bruckheimer working behind the scenes using his power to maintain quality.