"K-Ville," the New Orleans police series premiering tonight on FOX, opens with a close-up of a white man in his 30s trying very hard to keep his head above water in a confined space. The date -- Sept. 1, 2005 -- flashes, and the scene abruptly shifts outside, onto flooded roadways with dazed people seeking help, and not enough police to provide it.

"I had to shoot a dog," a New Orleans police officer tells his partner. "It was chewing on one of the bodies."

Moments later, the traumatized cop gets in his car and leaves, deserting his partner and his city.