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Sometimes strangers are brought together in the most unpredictable of ways. And when they are, their lives may never again be the same.

That's the underlying premise of one of the fall TV season's most intriguing new dramats, The Nine, which premieres at 10 tonight on ABC.

The show opens with a bank robbery during which two gunmen take a number of customers and bank employees hostage. The robbers are brothers, one is a brutal killer and the other, Lucas, is a pretty decent guy - as bank robbers go, anyway.

"This will all be over in five minutes," Lucas assures the frightened hostages at the outset.

But no such luck. In the next scene, we flash forward 52 hours and watch as a SWAT team bursts into the bank to end the hostage standoff, grabbing the robbers and rescuing the haggard survivors, one of whom has been shot and is close to death.

All this happens in the first 10 minutes, though, so you know it's not the end of the story. It's just a beginning, as the survivors of the robbery return to their respective lives, only to find that the harrowing events of those 52 hours have changed them in ways both big and small, and forged a peculiar bond among them.

Among those caught up in the turmoil inside the bank are Nick (Tim Daly of Wings), a police detective with a gambling problem and a crush on one of the tellers; Malcolm (Chi McBride from Boston Public), the kindly bank manager; Kathryn (Kim Raver of 24), an assistant district attorney; Jeremy (Scott Wolf from Party of Five), a hotshot surgeon; Lizzie (Jessica Collins of Ghost Whisperer), who is Jeremy's girlfriend; Egan (John Billingsley from Prison Break), a meek little guy who had planned to commit suicide that day; Eva (Lourdes Benedicto, 24), a bank teller; Franny (Camille Guaty, Prison Break), Eva's sister and fellow teller, and Felicia, (Dana Davis, Veronica Mars), Malcolm's daughter, who went to the bank to borrow her dad's car.

After the ordeal is over, it doesn't take long to see some of the changes in the former hostages. Lizzie no longer has feelings for Jeremy, but that's OK, because he now has a thing for Franny. There may also be sparks in the future between Nick and Kathryn. Felicia can't seem to remember any of what happened in the bank, but Egan sure does, and he's no longer a suicidal loser, having received a new lease on life.

We don't know what happened during those 52 hours to change these people, but ABC says that each episode will include flashbacks that reveal a little bit more of what went on inside the bank.

When the wounded hostage dies - and I won't tell you which of the nine it is - the rest gather for the funeral and decide it would be a good idea for them to get together periodically at a local diner just to stay in touch.

(With one of the nine hostages dying, some might wonder, "Why isn't the show called The Eight?" Well, it's because it looks as if one of the robbers - the nicer one of course - has also developed ties to the group, and he becomes the ninth member. It's safe to assume, though, that he won't be attending too many of the reunions at the diner.)

The ensemble drama is a complex one, and it demands that viewers pay close attention. With all the flashbacks and piecemeal revelations about the characters and their evolving relationships, the show bears some resemblance to Lost, which not coincidentally is The Nine's lead-in show.

This series boasts a first-rate cast, and its producers include the people behind Without a Trace, Judging Amy, and The West Wing.

There are lots of questions raised by The Nine's premiere episode, but just for fun, we've managed to boil them down to nine:

1. Why does Nick punch out the lead hostage negotiator minutes after he's freed?

2. Who knew Tim Daly could handle a serious role so well?

3. What really happened inside the bank?

4. Will the characters' unlikely bonds deepen each week, or will they appear more unlikely and contrived with each passing episode?

5. Who cut off half of Kathryn's hair during the hostage crisis, and why?

6. Speaking of hair, does Chi McBride look better here with hair than when he played the bald principal on Boston Public?

7. Come on, really, what did happen inside that bank?

8. Will the surprise twist at the end of the first episode bring viewers back for Week 2? I know it'll bring me back.

9. Will The Nine stand a chance in a tough time slot against CSI: New York on CBS and Kidnapped on ABC? (Hint: With powerhouse ABC lead-ins like Dancing With the Stars and Lost, don't bet against it.)

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