The ambition’s an admirable one, and Outsiders clearly has ambitions. But what it doesn’t have is much of a story or all that much conviction in the one it’s telling.

My heart tells me that any show that revolves around an honest-to-goodness native of Commack deserves an A+. My head tells me this one deserves a C.

Steinfeld is good, the cast too and the show is not terrible either. What it's forgotten is that while we're all free to make Emily Dickinson into whoever we want, at least make her interesting. Emily deserves as much.

"Pistol's" most watchable episode is the last, covering the band's first and (effectively) only U.S. tour which crashed and burned after the 1978 concert at San Francisco's Winterland. But what comes before is the humdrum — a whole listless swath that spreads over scenes, characters, and episodes. Hardly anyone catches fire, including Johnny Rotten, although his spiked red hair does do a good impression of shooting flames.

Nothing is left unspoken in dialogue as blandly obvious as "I am the only other person who knows" and "She had a lot of secrets."

To steal from the old beer slogan, (this show) looks great, (but it's) less filling (than it intends).

Bull is sleek in look, pace and technique--and crafty enough to indulge CBS’ trademark dollop of human feeling amid the flash. But it’s essentially breezy TV junk food, leaving behind a prefab aftertaste.

A disappointing adaptation that offers a new ending, when the old one worked just fine.

Hairspray Live! is forgettable.

There is at least one troubling aspect to "Wishes" - an abundance of product placements within the show itself, which begs the question: Does salvation come with a price tag?

At first engaging, then slowly, inexorably, Succession turns into work.

The pilot is, in fact, baffling, and needlessly so.

Slattery is fine in this bland AI thriller.

Few divorces are pleasant, but the sharp, nasty scenes between Abby and Jake are the only emotionally honest moments over the first two episodes. Not surprisingly, they're the best ones, too. A shame the antagonists are so unlikable.

9-1-1 is insufferable, but it’s also watchable.

"Teachers" isn't half-bad.

The target is broad and easy to hit (others already have) except "Based on a True Story's'" aim is unsteady. The show would much rather be a comedy (also unsteady) or thriller (unsteadiest of all). At its best, this series features three seasoned and particularly appealing actors who know how to sell the premise — outlandish and as full of plot holes as this one is. But at its worst — far worse — is a recurrent pattern of violence against women.

Not that I think The CW has any grasp of the mental mojo that made its WB network predecessor such a pop-culture kick. Really? This twaddle? Every single week?

Champions wants to be liked, and it is likable, but maybe just a little too eager to earn points.

It's as if Empire had too many antecedents, and--failing to decide upon one--embraced them all. The result is an interesting idea that can't quite figure out what that idea actually is--or where it should go from here.

Despite Salomon's efforts at visually stylish filmmaking, Justice for Natalee Holloway never puts any real meat on the bones of the much-hyped saga.

I'm punchy after an hour-and-change of lame chases, inane dialogue, ludicrous plot twists and absurdist acting techniques. But by the end of this, I pretty much had a crush on Piper Perabo and Anne Dudek (who plays her sister), so I guess it was worthwhile after all.

While it's nice to see a show that isn't cops/docs/lawyers, it'd be nicer if the show was better.

Elfman is good (as usual), but Alice doesn’t give her a whole lot of room to expand either. ... There’s not much more here, other than those standard sitcom garnishments, and that spunky, chatty fuzzball.

Some genuine charm here and Buscemi; otherwise premise, story and that joke get old--fast.

That's a lot of pressure, even for Iron Jay, and maybe why Night One felt like a work in progress--terribly rough in spots, not bad in others.

A fossilized sitcom that time-travelled all the way from the 1990s, with one calcified gag after the next, punctuated by the occasional (fortuitously rare) discordant off-color joke. ... With its trusty old-school TV verities, hug-it-out moments, beats as familiar as any from "Father Knows Best," and a laugh track that's probably turned up a notch too loud — plus bonus points for a solid supporting cast — it'll probably be a hit.

Kelly knows how to work the camera, and the camera knows how to get the best out of her. For Kelly, and NBC, that’s the good news from Monday’s launch. Otherwise, that long “Will & Grace” cast interview was a self-inflicted injury that clouded what this new show is and can be.