When Skip is used more as a garnish and not the focus, his character is less annoying and more amusing.

It turns out Erica’s betrayal was not diabolical, but the excuse she offers is weak and only proves the whole series is based on a preposterous contrivance.

A pretty family entertainment, lit by Ullman's energy and just small flashes of the Burnett we love.

An OK (but visually unexceptional) pilot that does little to set viewers up for what the show will be on a week-to-week basis.

Jokes about farts, falling down, hypersexualized kids and grabbing the wrong person’s rear end ensue--but they’re obvious, predictable and not funny.

Once again, a reality show that could have been an entertaining diversion is ruined by an over-long running time.

The pilot offers fine post-teen drama, but it lacks the nod and wink of lead-in “Riverdale” and so far is more grounded and less insane, a positive or negative depending on one’s love of the crazy.

Some of the supporting characters, including Victoria Hughes (Barrett Doss) and Dean Miller (Okieriete Onaodowan), make decent first impressions. But the whole enterprise feels so similar to “Grey’s”--co-workers as family, love triangle, heroics on the job--as to be unessential, which programming in the Peak TV era cannot afford to be.

What “Snowpiercer” does best in early episodes is world-building. But it’s problematic for the show’s long-term prospects that the various train cars — cattle car, aquarium car, classroom car, night club car (with multiple levels and a surprising number of staircases for a train) — stir up more initial excitement than the characters or story.

For some viewers this sameness will be like slipping on a comfy pair of slippers; for others NCIS: New Orleans might be too much the same.

"Lovespring" could benefit from stronger plots with less ludicrous conclusions.

It's a cute, generally uplifting concept but I'm not sure it will work.

Like "Family Guy," The Cleveland Show jumps from the main plot to tangential asides often built around pop culture. But the show's tone is different because Cleveland is such a well-meaning, likable character.

Like too many reality shows, The Fairy Jobmother offers easy, incomplete answers and sometimes doesn't ask the right questions.

That producers opt to tell a different Titanic story is admirable in light of so many filmed versions of the story that already exist, including a four-hour miniseries that aired on ABC earlier this year. But the decision not to reveal the fates of the miniseries' fictional characters may feel like a cheat to anyone who invests 12 hours in this program.

It's all cheesy and silly with minimally adequate performances but, eh, what do you expect from a show in this genre.

The show’s staging in the Hall of the Universe at New York’s American Museum of Natural History in front of an audience is a little low-concept, but the enthusiasm of Mr. Liu and Ms. Lord in Monday’s premiere keeps Star Talk from getting too dry.

A lackluster entry that's unessential viewing in this age of #PeakTV.

Nothing in Dracula is as unique or as wonderfully weird as "Twin Peaks," and Dracula plows through plot more quickly, introducing and then writing off several intriguing plots and characters within its first three episodes. It's too soon to say whether that will turn out to be wise or foolhardy, but Dracula at least gets off to a mildly promising start.

Executive producers Todd Slavkin and Darren Swimmer ("Smallville") tie the show's tangle of plots and relationships together with an agile skill that makes this new Melrose Place more appealing than the show's concept suggests should be possible.

Mr. Garcia’s style of humor tends to be sophomoric--sex jokes, overweight stripper sight gags and broad comedy predominates--but this style manages to blend well with the show’s unique format.

Because it’s set in such an alien world and jumps around a lot introducing its myriad characters of assorted social classes while also setting in motion multiple plots, The Bastard Executioner gets off to a messy start. (When press notes offer more details on the many bearded and long-haired look-alike characters than the show itself, you know there’s too much going on in a series, and clarity has been sacrificed.) But Bastard Executioner improves as it goes. The question is whether viewers will stick with it.

An easy, breezy binge, “Corona” puts a welcome, mostly upbeat spin on trying times.

It's an (occasionally) frothy mix -- comedic moments tumble into serious scenes of forensic examination -- that's not altogether terrible, but neither does it beg to be watched on a regular basis.

The “Charmed” redo is stronger when it goes for a laugh--at moments the style of humor brings to mind “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”--than when it goes all-in on supernatural theatrics involving its three sister lead characters.

Compared to so many other crime procedurals, Grimm offers a twist on the usual. It remains to be seen whether that twist will be superficial or substantive.

All of the beats are overly familiar and the jokes are just as tired.

The Guardian is a show with promise, and it may well develop into a high-quality program in the coming weeks. But it's not a warm, fuzzy, easy-to-love show like, say, "Judging Amy." It's rough and tumble, a challenge to watch. [25 Sept 2001, p.C-1]

Billingsley brings a gentleness to the role, making the character believable, decent and a surrogate for the audience. He watches The Others with amazement, and so will viewers. [4 Feb 2000]

We can suspend disbelief when watching “Jurassic World” because it’s dinosaurs, but when the predators are zoo animals, it’s a greater challenge to take seriously.

Seems like it should be a movie instead of a serialized weekly series.

The new cast is certainly game, expecially Cox, who has some terrific moves in her dance routines. And Adam Lambert crashes through a window on a motorcycle to perform a rollicking number. But what plot there is goes sideways in the last half-hour, just as in the movie. At that point, I just wanted it to be over.

Mostly the show, as these reality series are wont to do, follows the dysfunction within the family.

For anyone who's seen the "Spider-Man" films (or even the last, worst season of NBC's "Heroes"), there's little to recommend about this new series that has its bloated, two-hour debut.

Give this show the “Space Force” medal for unfunny comedy. And as bad as “Space Force” was, Netflix’s Steve Carell disappointment was still better than this dud.

More often than not, watching Drunk History is like being the only sober person at a party where none of the people present are your friends.

It's not a bad show, just nothing special or innovative. It's another plot-driven, bland character drama from executive producer Dick Wolf. [29 Sept 2001, p.C-6]

Forever is not a bad show--the pilot is pretty well made for what it is--but aspects of the premise feel awfully familiar.

Whatever the politics of it, The District is a decent drama. Not great, but certainly interesting, especially if it actually deals with issues of race and politics. [7 Oct 2000, p.B-8]

It's a cute concept but producers don't seem to have a knack for proper execution, filling time with terribly padded segments--picking teams takes an eternity--and challenges (watching people play chess in the premiere) that, try as they might, don't make for compelling TV.

By the 8:30 episode, the novelty of Pounder as a funny mother is gone, and it becomes abundantly clear the show has nothing to say and the writers are already spinning their wheels.

In episode two the tone lightens up a good bit – you can see network notes at work – and more typical CW storylines set in, including a romance with a bearded hunk (Casey Deidrick). This makes “In the Dark” more bearable but less unique.

It's a strange little show: A light-hearted half-hour caper that purports to be a comedy but isn't really that funny.

AMC is airing only the show’s first hour this weekend, and if it leaves viewers confused about the world, come back for episode two, which fills in a lot of blanks about the Badlands and its characters.

The songs, while hummable, aren't all that memorable, but the jokes about surf movies are amusing, although sure to be lost on the film's target audience.

The two-hour “Yellowstone” pilot is both talky and somewhat predictable as it establishes the characters, their relationships and conflicts. But future episodes offer more surprises and deepen the characters--flashbacks help establish why Beth is the way she is--making “Yellowstone” an enticing summer diversion.

“Love Life” lacks the HBO edge but it’s still the HBOiest of HBO Max’s early offerings, even as the characterization of Kendrick’s Darby is closer to Ally McBeal than Lena Dunham’s Hannah on “Girls.”

In its early episodes, Tyrant is as engaging when it focuses on family drama as when it veers more in the direction of taut, serialized, political thriller.

Hour fits comfortably, if unimaginatively, among CBS's other crime procedurals, but with only two regular cast members, it seems like it will have less character development than any of the "CSI" series.

Jane is a decent enough little show but it's difficult to imagine how its writers will manage to sustain the premise.

As a psychological thriller, it's not terrible--certainly better than Fox's dreadful monotonous "The Following"--but Those Who Kill suffers from character/relationship incoherence.

For the most part, the movie is a candy-colored whirl through the shoulder-padded late 1980s.

A serviceable if predictable single-camera comedy.

With the Chicago setting and local politics at play, “Pearson” sometimes resembles a watered-down version of “The Good Wife”/”The Good Fight.” Fans of “Suits” and Ms. Torres may still want to give “Pearson” a try but no one can blame them if they choose not to stick with this series.

An unexpectedly amusing comedy meal.

Imagine any "M• A• S• H"-style cliche and odds are good it will turn up in Combat Hospital whose predictability makes it a dull summer entry that may encourage viewers of this week's premiere to become deserters before next week's episode.

If you hate this genre, don't bother with Popular. But if you actually like spending time with teens or remember your own adolescence, Popular isn't the worst depiction of the not-so-wonderful years. [29 Sept 1999, p.E-1]

Fans of relationship-driven story-telling might just get hooked on this silly, lighter-than-air summer series.

It’s a marginally adequate, unremarkable series that follows fictional members of Navy SEAL Team Six on fictional missions inspired by actual missions.

Fashion Star remains a cool idea. But its execution and formatting need work.

There's nothing in ABC's Castle viewers haven't seen a million times before, but the cast elevates the pedestrian material.

[The Mist] resurrects many of the small­town tropes that were in “Under the Dome” but with a cast of largely unknowns and B­-movie effects, writing and performances.

Ridiculous and filled with hospital show cliches.

Among the reality shows, “Marvel’s Hero Project” acquits itself well with a 25-minute running time.

Growing Up Fisher offers earnest, heartwarming stories about "a new kind of family," as ABC Family promos would call the divorced-but-still-friendly Fishers if the show aired on the basic cable network instead of NBC.

Written by I. Marlene King ("Just My Luck"), Tuesday's premiere is a generally predictable introduction that too often plays like a bad "Saturday Night Live" parody of a teen soap.

“Brave New World” begins as mostly serious and dystopian, but by episode four there’s a shift in tone. Whether by showrunner David Weiner’s design or network notes, the show lightens up, allowing for more moments of dark humor but also some weird character turns.

Better than average.

The concept is unique, the performances solid or better, but when so many similar shows are competing for attention from viewers who are only willing to commit so much time to watching ongoing TV series, "Six Degrees" just isn't good enough.

"Just Legal" is just tedious.

Writers Steven Long Mitchell and Craig W. Van Sickle are certainly inventive, if inventive can mean willing-to-crib-from-sci-fi-culture-past, but the Tin Man story doesn't hang together well.

The painfully blank Blanchard may look like Silverstone, but she has none of her flair or personality. It's like watching a copy of a copy of a copy. All she does is make you appreciate how good Silverstone was in the original. [20 Sept 1996, p.28]

History purists who loathe artists taking creative license steer clear, but for viewers who enjoy a good soap, gorgeous costumes/locations and a winning soundtrack, The CW’s Reign delivers an entertaining romp in its premiere outing.

It doesn't make for an original TV show, of course, but Young Americans still manages to be guilty summer fun. Mindless and cliche, to be sure, but escapist entertainment nonetheless.

It's a mildly entertaining reality series designed to encourage controversy to draw viewers and goose ratings.

Not flashy, not spectacular, "8 Simple Rules" is a cute show that will appeal to its intended audience.

The first half of Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! takes itself too seriously with return appearances by minor characters from the first two films and the destruction of Washington, D.C., landmarks that viewers have seen before with better special effects.... But halfway through--right about the time a character loses his limbs one by one while trying to take heroic action--the mojo that makes these absurd movies a hoot kicks in and Sharknado 3 becomes the insane event viewers anticipate.

Whenever Mr. Highmore is on screen, “The Good Doctor” compels, but he’s surrounded by standard-issue medical show characters and plots.

While it's fun to see what happens in Total Blackout once, it seems like it will grow old.

The concept of Nikki sounds trite, but the execution is at least amusing in two out of the first three episodes. [8 Oct 2000, p.G-7]

Daytime Divas has its funny moments as it recounts the petty behaviors of daytime chat show stars but too often in its first two episodes the show moves in all the expected directions and feels like a lesser Lifetime entry.

Killjoys tries to build a mythology, but both the low-rent look--a red filter for this scene! a green filter for this scene!--and the emphasis on fights over character development dooms the show to medocrity.

As frustrating as it is fascinating, watching the quarterlife characters is like gazing at animals in a zoo.

Future episodes elevate the Belle and Ben relationship to a more complicated place, which bears some promise and may give Secret Diary the distinction it lacks in early episodes.

The mysteries of Haven do offer some intrigue but coupled with fairly unextraordinary situations and plots, the show may have a tough time convincing viewers to become weekly visitors.

Code Black brings nothing new to the genre, except, perhaps, more chaos than usual for an ER show, and the dialogue is heavy with exposition and barked medical show cliches.... It benefits from a strong cast and a brisk pace, so there’s reason to hope for improvement.

An action-packed adrenaline rush.

Preachers' Daughters is pretty much the show you expect/fear it will be but with just one girl who's really gone down a bad path.

When the show is focused on Mr. Ritter and Ms. Metcalf, The McCarthys rises above the usual sitcom slop that it feels like whenever the other characters get screen time.

"Runaway" is no "Everwood," which featured complex characters and an exploration of social issues. "Runaway" is far more pedestrian -- "The Fugitive" with a family -- but it may not be any better of a fit with its lead-in "7th Heaven."

Constantine seems like a good fit tonally for Friday night companion series “Grimm,” but Constantine will need to more clearly establish its world--and the rules of its world--and better define its characters if it hopes to become a fanboy favorite.

Legend of the Seeker may thrill some "LOTR" fans, but the content of the pilot is nothing original.

The whole show is paint-by-numbers predictable, from the wayward cousins’ unhappiness, to their slowly grudging acceptance of their aunt and uncle saving them from getting shunted to a random foster home.

Fans of this hit-or-miss crime serial--and of Linden and Holder, in particular--may want to stream these final episodes just to see what kind of miserable state the show leaves poor Linden in, but The Killing long ago ceased to be required viewing for cultural currency.

Ultimately, dull, dreary Krypton does feel like a waste of time.

This new “Murphy Brown” is it at its best when the show is most topical, when Murphy is at her most outspoken as Ms. Bergen still delivers a zinger-filled rant flawlessly. ... There’s an obvious fire-in-the-belly for these scenes, but they’re surrounded by a lot of dated sitcom cliches.

Gossip Girl offers a fun, juicy mix of popular music and melodrama.

It's not a bad show, merely ho-hum. Perhaps it will have greater appeal to people who liked math in school, but to me "NUMB3RS" just seems like a "CSI" clone with the quadratic formula tossed in for good effect. [23 Jan 2005]