It’s about time someone blew up the Drexler Museum of Art, don’t you think? True, I’ve always appreciated that its $20 admission fee is only suggested, and that you can peruse its immense collection of art by handing over a mere dime without risking a dirty look or a sneer at the cash register. But, like all great museums, the Drexler is now so crowded from the opening bell until the doors close at 5 p.m., when the guards usher you out into the glory of an Upper East Side rush hour, that one begins to hate the place, despite the immense riches of its many separate collections, its gracious galleries, its handsome façade, and so forth.

Museums (unlike basketball games or rock concerts) are far more pleasurable when attendance is sparse, as opposed to packed with busloads of tourists and blithely indifferent mothers pushing their screaming tots through the galleries, ruining the experience for everyone not wearing a headset (or ear plugs, or noise-canceling headphones) while the guards look calmly on in the certain knowledge that 2-year-olds absolutely adore Rembrandt and, after all, you can never introduce a child to art too early.

But why am I talking about the Drexler Museum of Art? Of course I mean the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the crown jewel of Fifth Avenue and 82nd Street. The Drexler, otherwise known as the Met, is what gets blown up in the opening minutes of “Traveler,” a new series on ABC whose pilot will make a sneak premiere on Thursday night. (The series will officially begin May 30.) I know it’s the Met, you’ll know it’s the Met, but nonetheless, as revealed by the wizardly camera persons at ABC, it definitely bears the label “Drexler,” presumably in case any wackos get any funny ideas. Well, that will fool them!

Or perhaps not. In fact I’m going to reverse myself here, despite the grumpy discontent adumbrated above, and say I was rather disgusted by the sight of a bomb blowing a huge hole in the Met (sorry, “the Drexler”) just to provide an explosive start to what is undoubtedly intended to be a long, exciting, fantastically mysterious and multilayered thriller about the “paranoia” that infects post-9/11 America at every level, with the result that friends become strangers, strangers become enemies, and enemies get a lot of good roles on TV. (Note to ABC: If you’re going to blow up America’s greatest museum on TV, have the guts to call it by its real name.)

At the start of “Traveler,” everyone’s friends. Jay Burchell (Matthew Bomer) is a law school graduate of no great charisma, though he has plentiful black hair, a square jaw, and determined eyes. Tyler Fog (Logan Marshall-Green), whose father happens to be one of the richest men in America and was indicted in the Iran-Contra scandal, is as energetic as he is uninteresting. Then there’s the blurry Third Man to Jay and Tyler’s Two Stooges, the soon-tobe mysterious Will Traveler (Aaron Stanford), who proposes that, before they embark on their high-paid post-college careers, the trio enjoy an anarchic twomonth “On the Road” style trip around America, with Jack Kerouac given full reference and a reverential shot of the iconic paperback edition of his book.

But first, just to set the tone, Will suggests a prank: Jay and Tyler will pull a stunt by rollerblading through the Drexler at wild speed, eluding security guards, careening down the central staircase, whizzing past priceless statues, etc., while Will, also on roller blades, follows behind, videotaping the grand adventure for posterity. Then they’ll meet at a prearranged spot outside the museum.

All goes according to plan except that Will doesn’t show up. Instead, as they’re waiting for him, Tyler and Jay receive a call. It’s Will, on his cell, wanting to confirm that they made it out of the museum. They did. Will’s glad about that, but he says he’s sorry about something else. Then he hangs up, moments before a massive explosion rips the heart out of New York’s grandest cultural institution, the Drexler.

What’s it all about, Alfie? Is it about the cult of suicide bombing spreading to the general population? Are we dealing with a September 11 truthiness-style parable about dark forces behind even darker forces hidden behind further forces so dark you can’t even see them? (The special art collection on view at the Drexler is a “Presidential” one.)

Who knows? Certainly, we’re not supposed to know, not yet. All we can surmise is that Tyler and Will appear to have been set up by their supposed friend, as splendidly white and red-bloodedly American as they come, yet — apparently — a suicide-bomber. By the time Tyler and Will make it back to their hotel room, their faces are already on TV (Will’s recording has made it to the local news affiliates in record time), where they are helpfully identified by their skin color — no beating around the bush there.

A massive manhunt ensues, incorporating all of New York’s finest, to prevent the two suspects from escaping. Jay, the responsible law school grad, thinks they should turn themselves in — after all, they’re innocent. They’ve been set up. They’ve also just realized they don’t really know anything about, or even own a photograph of, their good friend Will. Tyler thinks they should hit the road like Dean Moriarty and Sal Paradise as originally planned, only with the entire Department of Homeland Security after them. Will they escape the island of Manhattan? Well, since there’s definitely an upcoming episode, my guess is they will. (Particularly since they seem to have a lot of unexpected help, including a black hotel concierge who seems to be rather more than your average concierge … )

In as much as I haven’t the faintest idea what will happen in Episode 2, I guess the first episode of “Traveler” is a suspenseful success. But the two leads feel generic. How much you enjoy this show may depend on the emphasis you place on character versus plot. A vast capacity for suspension of disbelief will also prove helpful.

bbernhard@nysun.com