Stamos' half-hour goes on to indulge such other TV trends as black lesbian confidantes, "BuzzFeed listicle" Web checks and the single camera's incessant progression of "witty" repartee jumping to quick-cut "gags" jumping to "awww" sentiment.

Wish the news were better here, but "Reggie Dinkins" is just OK.

What works so well on the page becomes inert on the screen. This superb cast, headed by the always fine Spector, fights the inertia but it can't fight the novel.

The setup is stagey, the dialogue slack (or--worse--obvious).... [Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin] effortlessly know how to elevate even average material--and pretty much do so here.

"Joe" has promise and heart but — at least just yet — not nearly enough of everything else.

Crowe is good to a point, but "The Loudest Voice" can be root canal.

The cast is certainly a good one, and Winslet is too much of a pro not to make Mare worth watching, at least most of her time on screen. It's all the time in between that's the problem.

The stories may hardly be innovative... but their very familiarity becomes comforting.

The good news is that "Brothers & Sisters" isn't even remotely a disaster. The bad news is that it isn't even remotely a success either.

Other than the discovery of a murder victim and a major reveal in the closing seconds of the seventh episode, almost nothing happens in Sharp Objects. ... The narrative creep notwithstanding, there are pleasures in Objects. Adams' performance is one of them.

The trouble with "Friends" is that Cox is not strong enough as a comedian. [5 Sep 1994]

Good cast but fake LI setting for a bland sitcom stew.

Asylum has some good special effects, just not much of a story to hang them on.

There are a few funny lines here and there. But too few of them, and too far in between, makes Friends From College that rare Netflix misfire.

There's no sense of spontaneity, no sharp thrill of discovery (or fear). Gracepoint just plods along, right straight into the surging Pacific tide.

This show lurches along, all its sitcom puzzle pieces laid out without being assembled into even a Hollywood picture of life.

Body of Proof feels like a show that has nearly been nibbled to death by network ducks. You can almost see the TV executive Post-it notes on the screen.

Recycled theory with some fresh perspective--but it still smells recycled.

Cheap humor? Yes. Based on obvious stereotypes? Yes. Funny? What can I say? Borat got a chuckle out of me. And so did Bruno. [21 Feb 2003, p.B47]

Banshee is baloney, but viewed as pure camp, there are some good action sequences and amusing moments.

Swingtown can't decide whether the '70s were transformative or deformative; there's a distinct ironic edge, applied mostly through the use of music.... But that edge isn't nearly sharp or funny enough (unlike "Weeds"), which tends to muddle the point of view.

Most of Luis so far is underdeveloped and oversold. [19 Sept 2003, p.B48]

Something's amiss here. The new "CSI" is a little stilted, a little obvious. [23 Sep 2002]

Syfy knows we come to this only for the sharks, cameos, chain saws, acting--the worse, the better--and dialogue so sublimely inept that even the sharks wince when they hear it..... For discerning viewers and shark lovers everywhere: F+. For Sharknado fans: B+

Work in progress, but at least the progress seems to be in the right direction.

Visually compelling with a nicely pensive music score--courtesy of Colin Stetson of Arcade Fire and Bon Iver--The First is otherwise plodding and padded.

"NYPD Blue" is no longer cutting-edge TV. ... It has become a soap. [14 Oct 1996]

"Ink" is not the worse thing I've seen this year. But was it worth the long wait? I don't think so. [21 Oct 1996]