Your enjoyment of "Vengeance" ultimately hinges on how much you remember the betrayals and back-stabbings of the first season, "Spartacus: Blood and Sand."

This Is Us brims with some mighty acting. ... Creator Dan Fogelman’s script, however, takes the sting out of some major moments with some minor humor. There’s a huge twist in the final moments tonight that might have you rethinking everything you’ve watched, or might have you feeling like you’ve been played.

Tethered by Gonzalez’s authentic performance, Icebox doesn’t ask for sympathy, nor does it demonize the people Oscar comes in contact with as he tries to remain in the U.S.

Game’s dialogue is inconsequential, pushing the players around from scene to scene, but the plot payoffs come fast and furious.

The two episodes tonight give you a chance to see how a series can change post-pilot. One of the nerds disappears from the core work group, and Emet’s oldest son is dramatically recast. ... Bad’s supporting cast excels at tormenting Emet in the most loving ways.

Ice doesn’t have pretensions of high art or maybe even good drama--but as a crime show that constantly keeps moving, Ice pops.

This is "King Arthur Begins." Fiennes seems determined to play the Joker. Whether this interpretation of the sorcerer will cast a spell over viewers is uncertain.

The show needs to work on building the urgency to its stories and cutting away the treacle.

Judging from the first five episodes the cable network provided, the sophomore season looks to be an upgrade from the first, but Shaw proves to be the least interesting person here. That’s not the slam it sounds like. The Brookline native gives her cast juicy material, and they steal the show from her.

If you dwell too much on the plot, you’ll fall into a chasm of disbelief.... Flowers doesn’t look like a Lifetime film, and that’s a compliment. The production moves at a brisk pace, and unlike the children’s predicament, never feels claustrophobic.

In its best moments, the drama has the grit of something more likely to be found on cable channel TNT.

Serenity arrives in surprising ways. Whether Mike makes it in this arena or not, Taking on Tyson suggests he's already won his toughest battle.

At times, the show careens from black humor to near tragedy and then back again.

'Real World III' seems to have learned from the past. While there is the requisite amount of conflict, this group seems to be able to deal with it without the angst, the anger or the attitude of its predecessors. These roommates seem - hang on to your flannel shirts - mature. [23 Jun 1994]

She’s Gotta Have It proves a charismatic cast can make a shaky premise watchable.

His [creator/writer/executive producer Tony Tost's] critique of capitalism is overt and bracing for scripted TV, and perhaps, like many science-fiction shows, from “Star Trek” to “Black Mirror,” its faraway setting will make its message more palatable. But the weight is undercut by moments that border on black comedy.

Like a lot of reality shows ranging from the silly "Real World" to the loathsome "Jersey Shore," All-American Muslim ends up reinforcing some stereotypes while defying others.

At a half-hour, Song of Parkland is too darn short. And some perspective from the parents of the teens here would have been welcome.

Witches of East End is the campiest hot mess on TV.

A&E reboots the legend of Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho,” but Bates Motel plays like a slow-burning riff on David Lynch’s “Twin Peaks” sparked by some fascinating, nuanced performances.

Elementary turns the myth into CBS' answer to "Castle," with a shade more intelligence.

ABC’s “Reef Break” is everything that CBS’ “Hawaii Five-0” should be — breezy, bright, a wee bit sassy, a whole lot silly, the ideal summer show to catch as a nightcap before bed.

Spartacus fetishizes violence even more than it depicts sex and nudity, which is often. There’s a whole lot of B.C. banging going on here.

Of the cast, Winger seems to be the weakest link, brittle and uncertain, but it's too soon in her arc to write her off. The series is like a mystery novel, but the crimes of the heart here are ones the patients unwittingly inflict upon themselves and the lengths they'll go to hide from the truth. Watching Byrne's sullen shrink match wits with Ryan's cool therapist is the best reason to book an appointment with In Treatment.

Sit through TNT’s The Hero and “72 Hours” and REELZ’s “Race to the Scene” back-to-back, you realize how much the genre lives on the tired bone marrow of “Survivor” and "The Amazing Race."

If the show can strike a balance between chuckles and capers, Covert Affairs won't be a secret. It will be USA Network's biggest hit.

Telenovela can be fun, if only the show knew the difference between silly and dumb.

Carter’s journey is rushed. If the show just pumped the brakes a bit, it might discover a heart worth following.

Mattfeld delivers a nuanced performance as a woman who has chosen to meet the world with hostility as a calculated defense. No matter how middling the story, she’s always worth watching.

The X Factor is "America's Got Talent" with lockjaw, "The Voice" with a smoker's hack and "American Idol" on steroids. It is a garish, crass spectacle, and just might produce America's next superstar.

The twist in the final moments suggests the series already could be catching a case of the stupids, in which case, no cast, no matter how talented, will be able to save this show.

A&E’s Wahlburgers is a thick heaping of Boston baked silliness starring two of Hollywood’s biggest stars and their beloved mom.

Quibbles about the premise aside, Ritter makes and sells this show. He balances the pathos and the comedy. In lesser hands, this hour just would not be appealing.

The second season of Direc­TV’s MMA fighter family saga Kingdom circles familiar territory, but the third episode is a knockout, with a swerve that could permanently divide this fractured family.

[Jane] Buckingham is likable and, in a genre better known for its bombastic Chris Harrisons, presents good tips and doesn’t make the show all about her.

Oh, you'll laugh. But you probably won't remember much of it the next day.

Is the show still funny? Sure. But it now seems about as cutting edge and relevant as "Alf" or "Suddenly Susan."

Stan Against Evil toys with horror cliches and assures you that whatever you fear, something worse--or funnier--is right around the corner.

The stories move briskly and come together in a surprisingly emotional finish. “Me” is smart enough to realize you can’t exist on brains alone. You need a little heart.

The talking-head portion plays like a video Kickstarter pitch for Elon Musk’s SpaceX, his private rocket company determined to get man to Mars and keep him there in a sustainable community. The drama plays like a low-budget Ron Howard film, which it is, sort of.

Plotting is not Fellowes' strength, but Downton's appeal is visual.

The Newsroom manages to be both precious and irritating at the same time, and Sorkin’s characters still have that habit of talking over each other, which might be realistic, but makes it hard for viewers to understand what the heck they’re sparring about.

The show, like so many unscripted series, can be repetitive. ... But in taking a light to an alley few dare to tread, Remini may have given some viewers out there more than a hope and a prayer.

Deschanel is utterly con-vincing as this off-kilter gal, and of the supporting cast, Wayans sparks the most as Coach.

By now, you’ve grasped Poldark is a soap, a four-letter word by PBS’ standards.

Even offering a slightest knock of this show feels about as kind as, say, throwing a rock at a Haitian orphan. This viewer, however, is not convinced there’s a one-hour series here.

What I kept looking for in Queer As Folk was a transcendent story line or sex-neutral message to lift this drama higher than the sum of its body parts. I couldn't find that deep thread of meaning...There are shreds of stories but, basically, it all comes back around to men bumping like bunnies - or wanting to bump like bunnies, or talking about bumping like bunnies.[30 Nov 2000, p.47]

While some of the best dramas can dovetail a character's work and personal lives, Prime Suspect might be better off, at least in the beginning, focusing on solving the weekly case.

When it comes to One Day at a Time, it’s best to go moment to moment. You might get hooked.

So long as the dinos roam, Terra Nova has a future.

Judd, who serves as series co-executive producer, makes for a surprisingly convincing action hero. It's when she stops to emote in full mommy mode that the show drags.

The miniseries, allegedly based in fact, is one great big advertorial for the company, not that it doesn’t have its pleasures, chief among them some thrilling road contests that suggest the chariot races of “Ben-Hur.”

Hate touches a comic nerve, the war of independence between teenage girls and their moms, but invariably settles for a hug when a few more slammed doors might be funnier.

Go beyond the in-your-face, outrageous title here, and you'll find a somewhat sweet show struggling to create some real laughs.

It’s a treat being able to enjoy their black comedies back-to-back Monday nights, but “Nurse” shows symptoms of a serious malady: serial recidivism. We’ve seen all this before. It’s time for Jackie’s world to come crashing down, the sooner, the bigger the laughs.

Detroit's on-location shooting aids its authenticity, but the show goes awry when it goes for a joke. For example, medical examiner Abbey Ward (Erin Cummings, "Mad Men") carries bruises from her after-hours avocation: roller derby. Detroit 1-8-7 is one of those shows that is going to need some time to finds its destination.

There are moments when Innocent Man plays like one of those popular true crime podcasts. Its storytelling can be pokey and features a dizzying array of supporting characters--the pistol-packing preacher is a highlight--and a few, granted, become stunningly significant as the narrative continues.

Boy is often silly, but this cast is just so likable.

Some things do [change]. Homeland deepens its story for its fifth season, and this journey might be Carrie’s most treacherous.

In its personal vignettes, Weight illuminates, but too often the segments are a numbing array of statistics from well-meaning talking heads.

On its last call, Rescue Me has saved a few treats in its fire truck.

Just at the moment when you’re getting tired of the “Groundhog Day” antics and thinking Nadia’s rerun rumpus is a trip to anywhere, Russian Doll drops a twist in its third episode that changes everything.

It’s not the end of an era. It’s the end of a good, occasionally great show that overstayed its welcome.

Skins feels raw and gritty. The characters' pain is often palpable. Only the show's target audience will know how true its portrayal of adolescence is, but it should make many parents pay closer attention to what's going on in their teenagers' lives.

After watching the first five episodes, I don’t recommend watching “Now Apocalypse” every week. I do suggest waiting to the end of the season and downloading the series in one sitting. Now Apocalypse plays like the kind of show that can only benefit from a decadent binge.

It's a shame--but not a surprise, perhaps--that directors Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato don't delve deeper.

[Wayans] shouldn’t have to work this hard, but that’s the funny thing about comedy. When the material’s this light, somebody has to do some heavy lifting.

Mad doesn't stray far from "Mother's" formula

The premiere prologue gives away too much, and the mini’s pacing­ drags at times.... It’s a tale that never gets old.

Becoming Us suffers from poorly cut segments that might give you flashbacks to the ’90s seasons of MTV’s “Real World.”

There are a number of bad wigs and beards on display here, but much of the cast surmounts the costuming problems. The pace and the depth of the story might have been helped by extending this film into a two-night event.

Awkward is adept in some quick cutaways, as in a classroom scene that echoes "Ferris Bueller." Rickards works so hard to emulate "Easy A" star Emma Stone, she just might end up in a full body cast by the end of the season. But with the tide going out on such reality drivel as "Jersey Shore," Awkward is a cagey move for MTV.

Britton plays Debra as if some Botox seeped into her brain. Bana charms while simultaneously simmering.

Crossbones rises and falls on Malkovich’s inspired delivery and is under­cut by the show’s joyless, convoluted plotting, especially in next week’s episode.

The show toggles primarily from 2014 to the present, but some of the twists seem right out of Bad Thriller Handbook, especially the climax of the second night. ... Yet as these players elevate every turn and twist of this dark drama.

You've seen this game before, but not played with this level of desperation. There are moments when the boardroom feeding frenzies might cause you to step away from the table. There's something to be said for escapist TV after all.

The first episode is confusing, introducing a multitude of characters and agendas. Stay with it. The second episode brings several of the characters and the conflicts into focus.

Hardwick might be the most jacked actor working on TV and has some nice moments with Loren as he tries to reconnect with a love that has only grown fonder over the years. But the dialogue, slathered with f-bombs, seems lazy, and there’s not much ur­gency to the plot.

As the Chosen One, Egan is blond and bland. Dale and Head do well playing against type. As the Big Bad of the piece, Gabriel appears for perhaps 40 seconds of the 90-minute premiere and is still the most interesting character here.

The real Grace was released from prison after 30 years of incarceration, reportedly moved to New York and was lost to the tides of history. “Alias Grace,” however, will leave you pondering the mysteries of this woman for a long time to come.

For all the story’s shortcomings, you’ll come back for the acting.

Even at approximately 80 minutes, director/producer Nancy Buirski's work could be tighter, but it's hard to imagine a more appropriate documentary for Valentine's Day.

The Librarians wears its cheesiness on its sleeve like a gratuitous elbow patch, which it also wears on its sleeve. It knows exactly how imitative and low-budget it is, and it doesn’t care if you know

In broadcast TV terms, this is more “Night Gallery” than “Twilight Zone.” ... Weird City is built on one twisted foundation.

Despite the schlocky space adventure, the series just might hook you because of its flawed protagonists.

Gravity’s inability to find a consistent tone may lead to its early demise.

Punk'd seems to have a budget to rival a commercial network show, and the twist of rotating hosts--upcoming stars include "Twilight" actor Kellan Lutz and "Glee's" Heather Morris--whips up a new level of paranoia.

At times, the dialogue stops and unloads for exposition dumps, and a few of the young cast mates could use some more training back in the land of the Muggles.

The dramedy digs deeper, tightening the connections between these seemingly random residents.

In one of the episode introductions, Tatum says he spent 107 hours in the studio dubbing his role, so much time that he ended up hurting his voice. There’s no way to be sure if he’s telling the truth. But if he is, it was time well and weirdly spent.

This admittedly over-produced series has one of the toughest elimination rituals to watch: Each of the three finalists walks to check out a callback list to discover if they are still wanted.

Bunheads has the potential to have that cross-generational appeal. To thrive, the series must find its own tune to dance to.

Flint is an admirable salute to the power of grass-roots activism as well as a laudable public service message.

If the show can cut down on crime and focus more on the squad room silliness, Brooklyn Nine-Nine has a chance of getting past probation.

It's an extended "Law & Order" that never settles on a verdict.

Gaffigan plays a tubby man-child version of himself, and in the classic TV marriage cliche (see “King of Queens,” “According to Jim”), he just happens to be married to an insanely hot woman (Ashley Williams, “How I Met Your Mother”) who is loving and supportive beyond rational means. But Gaffigan has ambition.

After hewing reasonably close to the record, at least for the trial, the film goes off the rails in its postscript.