Sometimes television reminds us why we go to the movies. There’s something about the self-contained dramatic arcs, charismatic star turns, and widescreen images in films that takes us over the edge; sometimes it’s hard to fully suspend disbelief when you know there are dirty dishes waiting in the sink, only a few steps away. That was my experience watching “Hustle” – the slick BBC series that premieres on AMC this Saturday at 10 p.m. and wants desperately to be better than most movies, but pales in comparison to those that inspired it. A cross between “Ocean’s Eleven,” “The Sting,” “The Grifters,” and a stack of other DVDs in the “con artists” section at Blockbuster, “Hustle” doesn’t have the muscle to beat the competition. Despite its rich colors and slick packaging, it only manages to remind us that we’ve seen it all before.

Way too groovy for its own good, “Hustle” (and, annoyingly, the actors themselves) can’t stop winking at the camera – as if to acknowledge our familiarity with the stock characters and stale plots. Set in swinging London, it’s the story of a gang of neo-cons reunited to execute the final score of Mickey Stone, played by American actor Adrian Lester, who has just been released from prison and itches for one last go-around. (Is there a hoarier cliche in the con/heist genre than the final preretirement score?) The group includes Albert, a well-spoken gentleman in bespoke clothes played by the inimitable Robert Vaughn, who appears as the criminal doppelganger of Napoleon Solo, the 1960s secret agent character that launched him to fame in “The Man From U.N.C.L.E. “There’s also the requisite cunning bimbo, disgruntled newbie, and techie know-itall to round out the group.

But with the exception of the always-reliable Mr.Vaughn, none of the actors here has an ounce of the charisma that characterizes the true giants of the genre; real movie stars like Redford, Newman, Clooney, and Pitt put this gang to shame. (I’d even have settled for George Segal.) None appears to have any life outside their small circle of fiends. “We’re like a family,” one remarks in Episode 6, as they get ready for their biggest score yet – but nothing about these people suggests a family, except their occasional bickering over money. The detour into character is what elevates most successful heist movies, not a single-minded devotion to success at lifting wallets from the rich.

“You can’t cheat an honest man” is the stated philosophy of this particular gang. They seek out rich, heinous tycoons and perpetuate crimes that make them sorry for their sins. At the end of every episode, we’re supposed to feel that somehow these folks have righted the wrongs of an unfair society with its priorities mixed up. But this fleecing of the rich doesn’t make much sense when you consider that these crooks end up with all the money. In Steven Soderbergh’s underrated “Ocean’s Twelve,” the premise involved a delicious reordering of wealth when the chagrined hotel owner from the original demands his money back – and the gang must commit a con to bring the ledger book back to zero.There’s no sense here that these criminals end up with anything except piles of cold, hard cash; unlike most movie con artists, the “Hustle” gang is in it for the money, not for the artistry of a clever crime. But there’s no satisfaction in watching a bunch of bad guys get rich.

The storylines don’t deliver much bang, either – mostly because we’ve seen them all before. The most flagrant rip-off comes in Episode 6, a point-by-point plot heist of “The Sting” that’s so obvious the writers had to acknowledge its similarity; one character actually mentions the con’s resemblance to the movie. They build a phony betting parlor, engineer a tape delay of horse races, and lure a high roller to his doom – using, in typical television fashion, the lure of a sexy female as added bait. With 12 episodes – two seasons’ worth – having already aired on the BBC, and a new season on the way in co-production with AMC, it’s scary to imagine how many recycled plots will fill the 18 episodes about to air in quick succession. Alas, I wasn’t surprised that AMC – the channel that cheapened its mandate by putting silly quizzes and logos on the screen during quality movies – has put its weight behind a second-rate series to lure ratings. It’s a petty crime, and proves that you can’t cheat a knowing audience.

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I liked the first week of the Woodruff-Vargas version of “World News Tonight” much more than I expected. You have to give the tag team points for hard work; in a busy news week, they showed their faces in Iran, Israel, and West Virginia, updated the newscast for the West Coast, and did a thorough job with complex stories like the Abramoff bribery scandal and the mining disaster – owing much, in both cases, to ABC’s distinguished investigative reporter Brian Ross. Still, after a week I wonder whether I’m ever going to turn to Elizabeth Vargas in an hour of need. Her facial expressions remind me of a scenery-chewing stage actor who doesn’t quite understand the character she’s supposed to play. She smiles like the star of a toothpaste commercial, and wrinkles her brow like she’s about to get a flu shot – and neither at quite the right moment. Peter Jennings must be rolling over in his gravitas.

dblum@nysun.com