BY DAVID KRONKE >TV CRITIC

"Brotherhood's" ambitions always have been more admirable than its dramaturgy.

Like HBO's "The Wire," this Showtime series examines how the system is hopelessly broken. Unlike "The Wire," it does so with often hokey melodrama - it focuses on two brothers who are thugs on opposite ends of the spectrum. Tommy Caffee (Jason Clarke) is a brazenly opportunistic politician in Providence, R.I., while his brother, Michael (Jason Isaacs), is a ruthless gangster whose operations, obviously, eternally threaten to put a crimp in Tommy's grander aspirations.

As season three opens, the two aren't speaking to one another (long, ugly story): When Michael sees his brother on TV, his immediate response is to put a bullet through his set.

Even though the city's budget is essentially bankrupt, Tommy is trying to push through a waterfront development deal that will engorge the pockets of not just the developers but several local politicians, as well. "It's always about money – and if it's not about money, it's about money," Tommy explains.

Weary of the political game and fearful that he'll forever be a utility player within it, Tommy sees this legal scam as one last chance to cash out and perhaps salvage his troubled marriage to his pregnant wife, Eileen (Annabeth Gish).

Michael has problems of his own, as Freddie (Kevin Chapman), his turf-war competitor, is due to be released from prison. Even Michael's cooperation with the U.S. Attorney's Office can't keep behind bars a guy who wants him dead, so, once again, he has to resort to drastic measures.

It's not as interesting as it sounds, if in fact it sounds interesting. Tonight, there's a not-particularly-pulse-pounding subplot involving dry cleaning, and a story line that would've been devastating on "The Wire," about the debasing nature of managed care, only sort of works here.

The guys' mother (Fiona Erickson) has a scene next week in which she's negotiating a phone-mail tree at her prescription provider, but the automated voice with which she does battle is too archly combative to sound automated. Had the voice been more coolly detached, the scene would've packed a sinister punch; as is, it's serviceable if manipulative. There's also a scene involving a politician on a toilet that's just too forced to be effective.

Performances, too, are all over the map, with some bit players really pressing the New England accent. "Brotherhood" percolates with some scintillating ideas and the occasional inspired scene but isn't quite persuasive enough in its overall vision of a culture desiccated by power and greed.

David Kronke, (818) 713-3638 david.kronke@dailynews.com

www.insidesocal.com/tv/

review>

BROTHERHOOD

>What: Season three of two brothers – one, an ambitious Providence politician, the other, a ruthless gangster.

>Where: Showtime.

>When: 8 tonight.

>In a nutshell: Aspires to be "The Wire"; falls considerably short.