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.

Legacies establishes its world fast. This is a supernatural “Riverdale” — which might be redundant, given the direction of that show this season. But after two series, the magic is thin and your interest may wane like the moonlight.

Aquarius’ problem is that it doesn’t want to tell a single story from the Summer of Love, it wants to tell every story from that summer, so you get heavy-­handed displays of institutional sexism and racism, drug use, the rise of black activism, the generation gap, the Vietnam War and some marriage melodrama to boot.

There's not much new to see in this neighborhood, but the producers have done a superb job of scoring the series with fresh music.

As a sitcom version of herself, the onetime “American Idol” outshines Gellar, which is not a good omen for the show. Williams seems ex­hausted. So is this show.

A last-minute reveal in tonight’s episode is dropped for shock value and is all but retracted next week. The twisting in the story is a betrayal of viewer trust.... With a story like The Family, everyone needs to be paying attention to the fine details. But at least we get to enjoy Allen in our homes every week, for a time, anyway.

The sitcom starts with one of the best introductions to a group of losers. By the end of the third episode Fox provided for review, I was yawning and daydreaming about buying nail fungus remover.

Malkovich’s detective lacks his spirit. ... This detective is subdued, almost meek. He is an imposter.

A spy show mixed with an awkward romantic-comedy. Imagine if “Grey’s Anatomy’s” Shonda Rhimes decided to remake “Get Smart” as a drama and you get a sense of the tones at war here.

Though the tragic-comedy tone is intriguing if a little askew in the pilot, the bigger problem looming ahead is the show's static formula. [3 Jan 2005]

Sunjata is talented and charismatic.... He deserves a show that will cement his status as a leading man. This isn’t it. Tveit buckles under the script shifts, in one scene a dweeb, in the next, a canny agent.

Why did executive producer Jerry Bruckheimer ("Remember the Titans") populate his CBS series with such revolting characters? With the exception of Marg Helgenberger's harried but compassionate investigator, this is a crew teeming with bullies and psychos. [6 Oct 2000, p.S32]

As The Voice made loud and clear, there's not enough talent to go around.

While the cast is competent, Cox seems to have difficulty with her lines in some scenes. With time, she may relax into her role, but I have misgivings Doubt will be around long enough for anyone to get comfortable. Imitation Shonda Rhimes just isn’t as good as the real thing.

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.

With its relentless narration, Gold Rush: Alaska more often plays like anaudible.com download with stunning visuals of Sarah Palin's home state as a backdrop.

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

Despite the often eerie parallels to the Showtime thriller, ABC’s eight-part miniseries The Assets is based on fact. That does nothing to make it compelling.

The cartoon is often laugh-out-loud funny, pulling off ridiculously zany sight gags, such as when Mondo decides to impress a girl by surfing and, instead, inadvertently beheads a bird, among other things.

The worse things get--and they get very bad--Lopez gets much better, withdrawing into herself, growing ever more still, as her character must spin lie after lie to stay ahead, to stay alive. Academy Award-winner Barry Levinson directed the first two episodes, and they are unusually taut. De Matteo makes a welcome return to series TV, but her character’s escalating marital woes seem a distraction.

Kudrow seems to be aiming for ``The Larry Sanders Show'' or ``Curb Your Enthusiasm'' territory but only gets as far as ``Reba'' with the f-word. [2 June 2005, p.47]

Suspense, surprises 
and crackling dialogue: True Blood is pumping strong again.

Netflix’s energetic reboot of the cult sci-fi series adheres to the best spirit of creator Irwin Allen’s vision of a family in space fighting for their futures.

A dramedy poised to be the breakout show of fall — if it can only overcome the trying symptoms of treacle.

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

USA should toss this series into the clinker. [23 Jul 2000]

Filmed in South Africa, Sails is awash in lush scenery, bloody expensive sets and brutal action. You’ve probably never seen a sword fight like the one that caps tonight’s episode.

Superstore is a product of “The Office” co-executive producer Justin Spitzer, and like that already classic show, it digs into the mundane indignities of the work experience for its laughs, right down to the company magazine that blasts “Minimum Wage is Maximum Fun.”

When Happy Endings is funny, it's need-to-pause-the-DVR-because-I'm-laughing-so-hard funny. And viewers should easily be able to commit to that.

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.

The show’s pacing, particularly in the first hour, could trigger a nap.

It’s sweet, loaded with a talented cast (Morton is particularly authentic), but it could use a bit more of the devil to it, if you know what I mean.

Limitless may give you an immediate high, but side effects may include listlessness, dangerous plot holes and a sinking feeling you’ve wasted an hour of your life.

Beggars and Choosers has moments of high laughter and inside-y insight. Ultimately, though, it's a downer that dwells more on the cliches than the truths. [17 June 1999, p.59]

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.

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

TV this dull should be outlawed.

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.

The first three episodes are essentially capers involving spy chasing spy as angst-ridden Russians try to defect, the CIA tries to get to them and the SVR sics the O’Connors on everyone.

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

There are a few scares here, but while the “Scream” films kept audiences jumping, Scream the TV series risks putting viewers to sleep.

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.

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

Hudgens is delightful as a young woman determined to show she can make a difference in the world even without superpowers. Pierson is only listed as recurring, and she needs to be upgraded pronto for her heroic, hilarious meanness. Pudi can do great things — he proved that on “Community”--one can only hope the scripts will give him a chance to soar.

ABC deserves credit for its diverse casting, but Selfie looks to have the longevity of the average Snapchat pic.

The players have all done fine work in other venues, but the story isn't here. The network that "knows drama" needs to step it up a beat.

The Son rises and sets on Brosnan’s work. Everything else is distraction.

Watching Those Who Can’t is like being stuck in Saturday detention. It feels like forever.

Peregrym fits as the quintessential Wolf heroine: Broody, brunette, powering through her angst, which in typical Wolf fashion is considerable and grows exponentially. The drama’s explosions are harrowing, and the score adds an appropriate amount of dread to the grim investigation.

The glimpses of 1930s Hollywood come off like cotton candy dipped in bourbon. ... Of the cast, Grammer manages to keep his head above the material. His studio mogul can be gruff, but Grammer is canny enough to play against the dialogue.

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.”

Technically, the show is superb, melding animation with actors similar to “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” Hines and Meadows in particular do a great job essentially acting opposite nothing. But Son of Zorn seems like Adult Swim filler. There are better shows out there for fall.

Holloway looks leaner than his Sawyer days and cleans up nice. Ory, such a spitfire on ABC’s “Once Upon a Time” as both Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf, seems tamed here, and unfortunately, a little dull.

Tierney and Morrow are both seasoned TV stars, but even they can't make The Whole Truth ring true.

Allison is one precious snowflake and is about as interesting as last week’s church bulletin. Lynch, meanwhile, plays her interloper with Sue Sylvester snark peppered with the kind of innuendo you’d hear on “2 Broke Girls.”

TNT bills Franklin & Bash as a dramedy, but it is more accurately a comedic bromance laced with pop-culture jokes and a dash of legal jargon to trick you into thinking you spent an hour on something of substance.

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.

Aaron Sorkin can write crackling dialogue. Believable characters, not so much.

Once the story finds its pulse, Coma is fun, but there are a few hiccups.

The show is so far removed from the standard set by "The Sopranos." It just doesn't get off the ground. [4 Apr 2000]

McBride is convincing, not surprisingly. He has a special knack for inhabiting the skin of imbeciles, and I mean that in a good way. Goggins proves he is one of the finest character actors working in television.

You think you know how this story will end, but trust DeKnight and his company of players to surprise us to the last bloody moment.

Beau resents his son for abandoning the family homestead. Rooster enjoys egging them on. The war of words can sometimes feel brutal. The work gives Kutcher a chance to truly act, to bring some pathos to the fore, but The Ranch is a slog.

CSI producer Jerry Bruckheimer and Amazing Race producer Bertram Van Munster combine the worst elements of their shows for this six-episode time-killer.

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.

Delany can be both captivating and infuriating as the know-it-all medical examiner, but she always holds the screen.

The direction, at times, has a jerky feel. The dialogue is riddled with cliches.... But just when the whole miniseries, which Syfy is clearly hoping will become a regular series, is starting to feel mundane, there’s a last-minute twist that will demand your attention. It has the potential to make the series fascinating and much more than it originally seems.

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.

Like the look of the ladies, the show is gorgeous, but it needs to reveal some substance.

Scoundrels is wicked fun when the Wests are being wild.

The pilot is a rough go, winging from one angel to the next, necessary perhaps to set the premise but a slog. Nobody from the cast makes much of an impression.

Too often “Project Blue Book’s” approach makes “Dora the Explorer” look like a work of subtlety. Government coverup? Check. Conspiracy? Sure. Shadowy men wearing fedoras? Why not? The truth may be out there, but is it here? With a series like this, it’s best to indulge your own inner Scully.

For a show that starts out with so much energy, Breakout Kings quickly settles into a procedural rut.

Disenchantment casts a demented spell.

Everyone seems to be down to their last nerve here. No Activity might have that same effect on you.

TNT’s latest crime drama reeks of stale TV crime procedurals from the ’70s and ’80s.

Schooled at its goofiest recognizes the value of teachers.

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.

[Blunt Talk] is dull, depressing, charm-free, puerile and pointless. You’ll have more fun slapping yourself in the head with a spoon for a half-hour.

If GCB wants to soar to heavenly numbers, it better let the devil out to play.

The pace and the performances carry the film.

Your enjoyment of the show will hinge on how much you can stomach the antics of the First Screw-Up.

If its characters continue to be dumb about someone in their midst (hey, see how that title comes into play), it could diminish them and the show. ... [Unlike ABC's Whiskey Cavalier,] this show goes beyond the standard cloak and dagger to ask some serious ethical questions about methods and how even the most seemingly benign operation can lead to civilian collateral damage. For treating us like grown-ups, you might be willing to make friends with “Enemy.”

The show everybody will be talking about around the water cooler. [20 Jun 2002]

Starz's Spartacus - Gods of the Arena is endlessly creative when it comes to all things stabby. It seems to have a bottomless bucket of fake blood in its production budget.

There are two last-minute twists that stretch and nearly break any credulity.

Kelley is known for cre­ating wonderfully mem­orable, sometimes deliriously neurotic characters. Judging from the writing here, it’s as if he’s been medicated into a stupor. Diagnosis: Waste of time.

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.

Because this is a Bravo reality show, every hour has to end with a manufactured epiphany.

Her tips could be found in the nearest public library. And stretched to an hour, Jobmother seems downright inflationary.

This supernatural thriller is much more attuned to the times than PBS’ costume period piece “Downton Abbey,” which filters such hot topics as women’s rights and homosexuality through a modern lens.... Mina’s aspirations to become a surgeon are publicly disparaged by the person closest to her next week in a moment that hits harder than the onscreen horror. Dracula’s visit to an under­ground gay club next week is well, bizarre, but it captures how homosexuals dwelled in the shadows, terrified of exposure. Those moments are far more biting than any of the so-called scares.

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

Unfortunately, the drama between Federline and Jackson seems to be about the only reason to tune in, making this serving of “Fit Club” especially tasteless.

Peter Pan Live! wasn’t interesting enough to hate watch.

The maestro behind “Sons of Anarchy” returns to FX with this over-the-top gorefest that tries to outdo both “Game of Thrones” and “The Walking Dead” for spectacle.

Judging from the first two episodes of the 10-hour season, the show is riddled with characterizations that are meant to be humorous but are just dumb or offensive.

It’s a dank, depressing series made on too little money that could have been vastly improved by cutting the episode order by at least a third. At 13 hours, you’ll feel as if you’re the one being punished for something.

From pariahs to parodies. What a quick ride. The party is almost over for Jersey Shore.