Even when "My Boys" isn't wildly funny (which would be most of the time, frankly), it has a lot of charm.

While HBO’s new "How to Make It in America" is light on plot, characterization and humor, it’s got atmosphere to spare. And for a few episodes, that may be enough.

Because of the episodic nature of the reenactments, and abetted by merely competent acting and bland writing, they fail to gain momentum. This lack of urgency in the production is ironically heightened by a heavy-handed percussive score that never lets up.

Most of the humor feels like a show that’s trying too hard, except when we’re watching the great-yet-tiny character actress Linda Hunt as the boss of NCIS’s Los Angeles field office.

The prospect of jumping from era to era to stop Savage holds promise, but there isn't enough interplay between the characters to add any dimension to the early episodes. If only they could go back in time two hours and make a different show.

A workmanlike space opera.

Yes, this is "The Shield," with more gloss and less shock, and the story starts to strain as Harlee's FBI handler Warren Kole (Robert Stahl) shows an unhealthy interest in his undercover agent and the series worryingly starts to veer into "Enough"/"The Boy Next Door" territory. But the increasingly fraught dance between Harlee and Wozniak is absorbing and even occasionally nail-biting, and certainly reason enough to give Shades a shot.

It's not a finished product yet, and Poehler and the writers need to find more ways to distinguish Leslie from Michael Scott, but funny forgives an awful lot.

The show is soapy for sure, but only at the end of the premiere does it descend into the borderline sappiness that could have been its calling card. It helps that the entire cast has charisma to spare--even the kid in the coma.

They're clearly going for a raffish "Thelma & Louise" charm here, but the wind-up is strictly "Golden Girls."

Tonally, Privileged is an amalgam of the CW's other shows in this genre: more contemporary and (at times) funnier than the new "90210" but not as nihilistic as "Gossip Girl." And Garcia's both charming and a promising light comedienne.

What is surprising is that the network that turned "Small ville" into a soaring hit has crashed so badly with its second flight of Spandex fancy.

None of those jokes serve any purpose except to be jokes, and they suffer for the fact that real people don't talk, think or act this way.

The era is a rich vein to mine, and to their credit, the creators are light on pirate cliches--I do not believe one "aargh!" is uttered--but at the same time, there's a little too much emphasis on pirate economics and labor disputes than is necessary, and the sprawling cast and hierarchy a little hard to keep straight.

Despite a wonderful cast put to good use, a very well-designed parallel world and some marvelous turns of phrase, I can't help admiring Kings more than I actually liked it.

It's relatively engaging and slickly produced, with effective visuals showcasing Brian's new talents, but the side effect of this show may be fatal blandness.

Like all the Bruckheimer procedurals... you know what you're getting from the jump: solid but unspectacular acting and storytelling that will leave you satisfied without rocking your world.

The set-ups are disparate enough [from "The Americans"], and Allegiance's twisty allegiances, are promising enough not to dismiss the show out of hand.

With MTV's Scream, anyone who has enjoyed the original is bound to be disappointed here.

Whedon is a vastly better storyteller than anyone involved in "My Own Worst Enemy," so Dollhouse can be very engaging, even if the premise doesn't make sense. Dushku isn't as versatile as the role demands--many weeks, the only difference in Echo's persona seems to be her wardrobe--but Whedon and his writers certainly are.

It's not funny, it's not engaging, it's not in any way, shape or form a good match with "Party Down," and I would advise those of you watching that show tonight to change the channel abruptly as soon as the end credits are done rolling.

Powerless has a high-flying concept indeed. Too bad it fails to take off.

There's the usual assortment of quirky neighbors/co-workers, none of whom register as more than caricatures in the pilot, and the social media buzzwords sprinkled with abandon throughout the pilot comes off as hashtag desperate.... Selfie is actively grating.

A lame new sitcom.

It's different enough from the original that you may be better off looking at it fresh, as a promising and more straightforward (okay, relatively straightforward) sci-fi adventure series with the requisite shadow conspiracy and, for those in the past, a looming Armageddon.

The hallucinatory gimmick can only do so much for the same old stories.

It's a watered-down, TV version of the familiar tale, as bland and inoffensive as possible.

It's still as detailed, opaque and confusing as ever. [8 Jan 2005]