Sunday

Crossing Jordan

Who killed Jordan's mom? Who cares? The drama hit a ratings bonanza last year by mostly ignoring that once-hot topic -- and it'll keep doing so in season 4, especially now that Ken Howard's Papa Cavanaugh seems to be gone. ''The who-killed-Jordan's-mother aspect, that's taking a backseat for a while,'' says creator Tim Kring. (Also unlikely to be addressed: the disappearance of Dr. Winslow, now that Ivan Sergei has run off to NBC's ''Hawaii.'')

Stand-alone episodes include a sweeps-week Las Vegas crossover, with Jordan (Jill Hennessy), Macy (Miguel Ferrer), and Hoyt (Jerry O'Connell, now a full-time cast member) heading to Sin City. Says Kring: ''Getting to see a buttoned-up character like Miguel's character there is gonna be a lot of fun.'' Jordan, Macy, drunken quickie marriage. Bring it!