There's no need to go any further. Testees makes "Kath & Kim" look smart and savvy, a nearly impossible feat.

The Easy Money production values are low all-around but they wouldn't be as noticeable if the characters and tedious story sparked to life. They don't, and it doesn't.

Valentine, created by Kevin Murphy ("Desperate Housewives," "Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical"), is fine but nothing special.

Despite a poor job of establishing its characters and their relationships (wait, those two aren't a couple?), The Ex-List begins with a strong, romantic premise.

The first two half-hour episodes, airing at 9 and 9:30 p.m. Friday, are less raucous and seemingly more adult than the film. There's more attention to character development; Jabba the Hutt's flamboyant uncle isn't anywhere to be found.

The show isn't helped by a two-hour premiere that states and re-states its premise too many times.

This first episode back sets a lot of goals for itself: Remind viewers of the backstory, advance the plot from the cliffhanger, and introduce and resolve the murder-of-the-week. Daisies succeeds in accomplishing these tasks and even finds time for a "Sound of Music" shout-out as Olive pulls a Maria von Trapp en route to a nunnery.

It's still a hugely entertaining show thanks to its charismatic lead actor and the tension that builds in its twisty-turny plots. But when a lead character is a murderous anti-hero, there's a fine line to walk between cheering a righteous vigilante and offering sympathy for the devil.

As creator Marc Cherry explained this summer, he wanted to re-set the series and get the stories back to something more closely resembling reality. Sunday's season premiere does that pretty well with some of the women's stories, especially Lynette (Felicty Huffman), whose twins are now terrible teens.

I kept watching last year and I'll probably keep watching this year, although I think the show is already starting to repeat itself.

The easily offended should steer clear, but viewers with an appreciation for outrageous humor are likely to have a good laugh watching Little Britain USA.

Sophomoric and crude, The Life & Times of Tim may be a viable alternative for fans of Cartoon Network's Adult Swim.

The Grey's Anatomy writers acknowledge last season's ratings decline by offering a parallel plot that finds Seattle Grace's ranking as a teaching hospital suffering in tonight's entertaining and ridiculous-in-the-regular-Grey's-ways two-hour season premiere.

This sitcom may elicit a few laughs, but the premiere episode is pretty lackluster overall, with obvious punchlines and predictable characterizations.

Knight Rider is nothing more than car porn.

It's not groundbreaking TV, but the pilot does a good job of introducing the characters, their relationships, their potential relationships.

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

It's too soon to declare Worst Week the fall's best new sitcom, but if the show's writers can find a way to sustain its seemingly unsustainable premise, it may overcome all doubts. It's certainly off to a strong start.

The first hour of Heroes answers enough questions and moves the story forward in such a way that a few "Huh?" moments won't matter as long as they're answered in short order and don't linger for too long.

A disapointing and largely laughless comedy set in an upscale New York City hotel.... Do Not Disturb? Try, Do Not Watch.

Privileged has the potential to be a largely positive, female-skewing series.

True Blood is a sexy affair that sets up an entirely believable world where humans and vampires co-exist. It's a soap, to be sure, but a soap with an eye for social commentary.

It's less aimless and has renewed momentum--even if its plots tread familiar ground.

Gritty and occasionally violent, Sons was created by Kurt Sutter, an executive producer on "The Shield." As "The Shield" prepares to bow out, Sons should capably fill the smart, testosterone-fueled void.

Tonight's season premiere does a fairly good job of wrapping up the sixth season finale and setting the stage to move forward but there's still a fair amount of cleanup to be done.

It's not a great show but it's not a terrible teen drama, not by a long shot.

Bar still feels like an attempt at a '90s-era edgy prime-time drama whose time has past.

By the end of the third episode of the second season there have been multiple hookups and breakups, enough to make your head spin or bore you to tears. Alas, I found myself experiencing more of the latter.

I only made it through the first hour and then I gave up.

There's definitely some amusing moments but the show will have limited appeal.

House of Saddam offers a fascinating but limited portrait of the Iraqi tyrant.

Mad Men relies on its talented cast to communicate the unspoken, to get across the emotions and thoughts that roil just beneath the surface. I'll admit, there are times when I know I'm supposed to intuit something but I'm not completely sure what it is. And that's OK.

The Cleaner is the latest in a string of unremarkable basic cable dramas with a brand-name star playing the tough but damaged lead.

Developments in Brenda's private life also lend the episode some comic relief, which makes "The Closer" a well-balanced prime-time drama that has improved markedly from its earliest episodes.

An engrossing, detailed military character drama, Generation Kill is a modern-day "Band of Brothers," a warts-and-all account that hits closer to home because it depicts such recent events.

It's not terrible, not great, just sort of so-so.

It's far more realistic in scope and situations than "Gossip Girl," but there's such an earnestness and one-dimensionality to the characters that they seem a lot less believable.

It's a mixed bag of un-PC attempts at blue collar humor as four guys yak and try to avoid doing their jobs.

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.

Even as the show deals with serious issues--immigration, euthanasia--Weeds feels lighter and funnier in the new season.

The plot of tonight's premiere is silly and campy, but because The Middleman is based on a comic book, that's not altogether out of place. Whether this tone wears well over time remains to be seen, but in its first outing The Middleman rises above the middle-of-the-pack of scripted cable shows.

Swingtown isn't just misguided because it's on the wrong network. The show's bigger problem is that the resident "squares" are much more interesting characters than the swingers at the core.

Each episode tells a different story but in the first two, it's clear the stories won't be all that different from those we've seen a million times before.

Unlike "Monk," which is essentially warmed-over "Columbo" with a more interesting character in the lead, In Plain Sight augments its plain premise with a full cast of colorful characters.

HBO's Recount is an entertaining political drama, one in which both Democrats and Republicans get dinged, but the film is clearly sympathetic toward the underdog Democrats.

It's occasionally randy and sophomoric, but there are also some smarts and heart mixed in.

American television networks have aired many ridiculous reality shows, but The CW's Farmer Wants a Wife is a master class in televised inanity.

What sets Carrier apart is the amount of time devoted to this single topic, a whopping 10 hours. I made it through the first three hours without losing interest, but I wonder how many viewers will gut it out for the duration.

This new season gets off to a rousing start that lives up to high expectations.

The sexy, sudsy historical drama returns without missing a beat.

For all the show's missteps, there's always Ullman's undeniable talent to entertain. Her parodies of women (e.g. Renee Zellweger, playing a movie character who suffers from "chronic narcissistic squint") generally succeed better than her men.

For viewers willing to give themselves over to whimsy and let go of any expectation that they're watching characters who resemble real-life human beings, this comedy has its minor charms.

Fans of The Riches can expect even more double-crossing, shady business deals, intimidation and moral compromise in the gated community of Eden Falls. It's the same game, only more of it.

Credit for building drama goes to screenwriter Kirk Ellis ("Into the West") and actor Paul Giamatti ("Sideways"). His intellectual, vain Adams is a reluctant rebel, tentative in his support of an American revolution, wary of insurgency and mob rule and defender of the tenets of American democracy.

Miscast and only intermittently funny, Jezebel James misfires on all cylinders.

Depending on the subjects mocked and viewers' personal sacred cows, Root of All Evil won't appeal to everyone on a weekly basis (future episodes include Donald Trump vs. Viagra, Paris Hilton vs. Dick Cheney and Las Vegas vs. the human body), but it is a successful attempt to re-package stand-up comedy for prime time.

Margulies is an ideal actress to carry off this icy role. Perhaps in the hands of a more deft writer, Canterbury's Law could be the edgy show it aspires to be instead of the common courtroom drama it is.

In Tuesday's pilot, New Amsterdam reveals itself as a pedestrian cop show with a vampire-like lead character

In a way, Unhitched reminds me of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" in its attempts to shock, but this new series feels more manufactured and far less likely to become a cult hit.

It may do some good, but it's still a piece of TV entertainment that, first and foremost, must succeed as a revenue generator for ABC. That realistic, not cynical, caveat aside, Big Give is certainly more positive than "Big Brother" or numerous other reality shows.

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

Was this resurrection worth the effort? In a word, yes.

Thoroughly average and unfailingly adequate, NBC's Lipstick Jungle is easier to like than ABC's cold, cynical "Cashmere Mafia," but that's like putting lipstick on a pig, albeit a pig dressed in couture.

Another single-camera comedy that fails to provide any laughs.

Eli Stone offers a well-stirred mix of character comedy, relationship drama, legal cases and musical numbers.

The Lost writers begin the season with a firm grasp on their story and a keen understanding that viewers won't object to the introduction of new characters as long as old favorites are well served.

In Treatment is fascinating TV, but it's not a pleasant experience. Watching these therapy sessions is akin to eating your TV broccoli.

In such rare instances [in the second episode], Breaking Bad achieves a perfect moment of nerdy believability, but too often the series fails to provide details that would help explain its characters' illogical choices.

Torchwood gets off to a lighter, more rousing start in its second season premiere.

Some die-hards may be frustrated by inconsistencies in the timeline with "Terminator 3," but unless you get overly wrapped up in the details of time travel, tonight's pilot is an intense adventure.

Ignoring all that, shallow Mafia entertains in key moments.

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.

For families seeking a new Christmas special, particularly if they're already fans of "Shrek" on the big screen, Shrek the Halls is a treat.

Having watched the first two episodes, I'm pleasantly surprised to say: It worked.

But like so many other shows in recent years, this concept would work better as a one-shot movie than as a weekly series.

There's nothing gritty or particularly realistic about ABC's Women's Murder Club, but that's OK. The show is an entertaining, estrogen-powered hour regardless.

Life Is Wild is a decent but not exceptional family drama set in South Africa.

Pushing Daisies captivates with an emotionally resonant story and dazzles with its bright visual imagery. Fans of delightfully daft fairy tales, this one's for you.

Cavemen is itself an embarrassment because it's not funny. At all.

There's little that's surprising let alone interesting about Carpoolers despite the best efforts of an enthusiastic cast, most notably O'Connell.

It's a timely look at cultural differences and a timeless depiction of young friendship. It's that rare TV comedy with both humor and heart.

it's the danger of Dexter being found out that permeates these episodes, upping the pressure and keeping the series as tense and twisted as it was in season one.

Moonlight is just a weak, generic private-eye drama with a vampire story overlay.

A light-hearted, comedic drama about four wealthy guys with women troubles and work problems.

This Bionic Woman pilot is a downbeat drag, but buried somewhere beneath all the moping is an intriguing show that might yet emerge.

The characters are engaging in their varying degrees of awfulness, and there appears to be plenty of story fodder for years to come.

It gets bogged down by so many procedural elements that all the character moments get squished and forced out around the edges, resulting in an uninteresting blob of an overly familiar TV show.

Kate Walsh seemed like a guest star in what should be her show.

Wise is one lucky devil. And so are viewers who appreciate lighthearted, supernatural dramas.

Cane is probably the most traditional of these soaps. Unfortunately, it's also hampered by a muddled pilot episode with ham-fisted character introductions and an ending that's likely to put off some viewers.

It's one thing when a TV show sets up a concrete mystery whose resolution you have faith will come, something like, "Who killed Mr. X?" But it's quite another when the show is so abstract that you aren't even sure what questions it asks. Kevin McKidd ("Rome") is an excellent actor, and it's only his skill that makes Journeyman tolerable.

Levi exudes an everyman appeal that may catch on with viewers, but the show's plots need to grow beyond the action-adventure tropes of 1970s TV if Chuck hopes to avoid being chucked off NBC's prime-time schedule.

With so few traditional sitcoms on the air this year, the new ones had better be good. Happily for viewers, Fox's "Back to You" and CBS's Big Bang Theory qualify as generally welcome newcomers.

The pilot's plot leads them in a direction where "this just in" becomes an obvious sexual metaphor--some of it is funny, but there's just too much.

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

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

The show squanders any high-mindedness with ridiculous shoot-'em-up scenes reminiscent of any cop show circa 1979.

Once you get past the sex and if you can endure the sadness of the stories, Tell Me begins to have an addictive quality.