Flash Gordon is a victim of pedestrian scripting. Worse yet, the characters are forced to spout too much exposition that betrays what should be the characters' natural reactions.

The Company starts slowly and somewhat confused, but eventually it chugs its way to coherence as it becomes a decent little drama.

Writer/creator Nancy Miller ("Any Day Now") imbues the show with touches both subtle and a little overwrought but the divine "Grace" still offers stronger characters and better stories than many other summer series.

"I'm living like there is no tomorrow because there isn't one." Not a pretty sentiment, to be sure, but it makes for an intriguing character in what's likely to be the best new summer series of 2007.

Writer/creator Patrick Sean Smith gives Greek a greater sense of light-hearted fun that seems more authentic to the real-world experience of college as "the best years."

There's nothing clever or original in American Body Shop, a disappointing waste of time and squandering of Comedy Central's resources.

A pedestrian medical drama that sparks to life near the end of the pilot.

"Meadowlands" demands too much of a slog for too little in return.

A silly flight of fancy.

If "South Park" traffics in occasionally brilliant satire, "Lil' Bush" is far more juvenile humor.

The series performs a deft balancing act, creating sympathetic characters in a nontraditional family that viewers care about while making polygamy look like a much bigger relationship headache than any two-person union.

Three episodes in, I started to buy into the world Milch has created. I don't understand it, I don't think I even really like it (almost all of the characters are damaged and rather unpleasant), but I am intrigued by it.

Some of it is funny, some is boring, and some is bound to offend the easily offended.

The obvious, soapy stories plod along at a too-languid pace, leaving talented actors in their wake.

Disposable as it may be, Starter Wife still has more to recommend about it than, say, NBC's "Lipstick Jungle."

A perfectly serviceable teen drama.

It's amusing and knowing and will make some viewers smile, but it probably won't provoke gales of laughter. And that's fine. It's still more clever than most single-camera comedies ABC has put on the air in recent years.

An action-packed adrenaline rush.

Atmospheric and strange (images of power lines abound for no discernible reason), Durham County is not much of a murder mystery--viewers know who the killer(s) are by the end of the first episode--but it is an intriguing crime drama that's more character-driven than it is procedural.

A show that's more boring than funny, an investment of entertainment time that's not worth making.

It's TV for a generation of attention deficit disordered kids.

"Painkiller Jane" doesn't soar to the dramatic heights of "Battlestar," but it is a step above some of the network's other programs, a procedural thriller with a sense of humor and stylish action scenes.

The show is gently entertaining in a way reminiscent of variety shows of old.

It's another one of those dismissable, disposable, oh-so-slight comedies.

A highly entertaining and addictive costume drama.

Where the travails, conquests and bad behavior in "Entourage" come off as dramatic, clever and imaginative, "Sons of Hollywood" is just like any other celebreality show: More boorish behavior by rich people.

The radio show is so much about voice and language and storytelling, I worried that the TV folks would mess it up. Luckily, the radio show's host, Ira Glass, hasn't allowed that to happen.

Like "30 Rock," "Barker" is more absurd and goofy than it is broadly funny, but it's definitely not as mainstream.

As close-ended procedurals go, "Raines" certainly offers an intriguing hook, but I'm not sure it's one with much staying power.

"October Road" is perhaps one of the most clumsily plotted, illogical drama pilots to be produced in years.

"Halfway House" is occasionally amusing but the characters are not well-formed.

"The Riches" certainly has some rich elements -- there's even a little dark humor, just not enough of it -- but in early episodes, the show remains wobbly as it tries to find its footing.

[A] cute wisp of a series.

"The Winner" may not be able to go the distance, but it's a fun little show in the here and now.

A zippy, fun update.

If you enjoy complex, murky dramas about morally ambiguous characters, played by a talented cast of newcomers, then enjoy "The Black Donnellys" while it lasts.

It's a rollicking adventure with decent special effects and better stories and character development than, say, Sci Fi Channel's "Eureka."

Besides being uninspired, "Rules" isn't all that funny.

An engrossing thriller... a welcome return to the juicy, complex miniseries of old.

Dresden's investigations amount to a lot of ho-hum hokum... and his relationships are largely paint-by-number bland.

The show is subtitled, which helps viewers understand the thick accents and British slang, but the whole thing is a bit nihilistic and the characters come across as somewhat debased.

"24" still maintains some of its trademark intensity, but too often in these first four hours, the show is smack-your-forehead laughable.

HBO's most obtuse, impenetrable series.

Never thought a TV comedy would leave me wistful for Silverman's NBC bomb "The Single Guy," but "In Case of Emergency" manages to do just that.

It's a cute show, but the premise is so paper-thin you have to wonder how the writers will sustain "Knights" for a full season, let alone many years, if successful.

A soapy, shallow look at how gossip is currency in Hollywood.

"The Lost Room" is certainly a more creative exercise than past Sci Fi miniseries (including "The Triangle"), but it sometimes feels rushed.

Another edge-of-your-seat thriller.

"Big Day" doesn't feel like a big hit, but it is intermittently amusing.

A lackluster "Sex and the City" companion.

"10 Items" isn't a great comedy yet, but it often takes time.

"Day Break" is both dark and frustrating.

Make no mistake, "3 Lbs." is a show that will better appeal to the CBS audience than "Smith" did, but it's a pretty generic show.

"Longford" dives head-long into some of the most complex questions of human morality, and it's a pleasure to watch an actor of Broadbent's caliber tackle the notion of forgiveness with dignity and solemnity in what is easily one of the best TV movies you're likely to see this year.

There are a fair number of leaps of logic in the light-hearted Torchwood and mysteries abound. The special effects are generally decent and the writing and characterizations leaps and bounds better than in "Flash Gordon," "Eureka" or "The Dresden Files," to name just a few pathetic contemporary sci-fi shows.

Where "Studio 60" takes a scathing and indignant tone toward television, "30 Rock" offers a more sarcastic, less hackles-raised critique. It's also funnier and goofier.

Viewers who like their comedy broad, loud and silly might take a liking to this "Odd Couple"-like sitcom.

"Battlestar Galactica" is one of the most politically relevant and necessarily bleak series on television today.

Easily the best of ABC's overly similar, large-cast ensemble dramas.

Alternately goofy and smartly satirical, ["Freak Show"] may be the best companion to "South Park" Comedy Central has come up with yet.

One of the fall's brightest new dramas.

"The Game" lacks the relationships that made "Girlfriends" a qualified UPN hit and the comedy to make it much of anything for The CW.

Enjoyably challenging TV.

As enjoyable as this first episode is, its premise may be too slight to sustain a long-running series.

This comedy is just not funny.

"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."

NBC's "Heroes" is the best pilot of fall 2006. Whether it continues to soar in future episodes remains to be seen.

"Brothers & Sisters" may find a way to streamline its storytelling and allow viewers to more easily sort out the huge cast of characters (there are at least 10 series regulars), or it may remain an unwieldy mess. Time will tell.

The casting is close to perfect.... This production of "Jane Eyre" holds its own against any other.

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.

"Shark"... is clearly a "House" imitator, but a pretty crisp copy.

It had a weak pilot to begin with, but the second episode is even more of a tedious bore.

In addition to a less convoluted story, "Kidnapped" bests "Vanished" with its high-sheen cast.

This story of professional thieves is beautifully shot, but the structure of the pilot -- it begins with the start of the robbery, flashes back to the planning of the robbery, returns to the robbery and shows its aftermath -- is a little repetitive, which takes away from attempts to build tension and surprise.

Cute but not cloying, funny but not overflowing with gratuitous sex jokes, "The Class" earns a B+, which easily puts it in contention for valedictorian among fall 2006's freshman comedies.

Like his previous series, "Studio 60" features intelligent, quickly spoken dialogue, smart arguments and terrific performances (Perry and Whitford have instant chemistry as longtime co-workers), and it's not a bad show by any means, but it doesn't soar to the heights "West Wing" did, even in its earliest episodes.

It all seems familiar, which isn't necessarily bad, but it makes the show somewhat stale.

There's no question that "Extras" is a hoot, especially for anyone who spends much time observing the ins and outs of fame and the media, but Gervais is correct that less is more.

A mere wisp of a show, so lighter than air that it threatens to float away at any moment.

"The Wire" is as complex a picaresque as one is likely to find this side of Dickens.

The miniseries asks a lot of patience on the part of viewers and gives too little in return.

The pilot plot... follows a well-worn path of sitcoms traceable back to when cavemen acted them out with large dinosaur bones as props.

At least "'Til Death" has some known stars. The cast of "Happy Hour" will likely remain unknown, starring, as they do, in this dud.

Never mind the unbelievable premise -- the way the audience is introduced to it is so strained it's painful to watch.

"Desire" features better production values than a daytime soap, but just as wooden acting by its no-name cast and terrible dialogue.

The pieces may be familiar, but there are enough new elements that prevent this series from feeling like a total rip-off.

"Vanished" is a show that should leave viewers begging for more, but instead engenders more of a shrug because nothing in the pilot is convincing -- not the characters, not the setting, not the performances.

"Eureka" just doesn't rise to a "Northern Exposure" level of quality.

Go to bed early tonight. Your eyes will thank you for avoiding Lifetime's preposterous "Eyes."

Where "The Sopranos" has some laugh-out-loud comedic moments, "Brotherhood" is dark, brooding and forever serious. And that grows tedious after a few episodes.

The lighthearted "Psych" charms even as it duplicates the structure and tone of "Monk."

Although most viewers will notice a scale-down in the scope of effects and stunts, the style, the look and the impact are much the same as in the films.

Dull and plodding, "Hunters" is no reality TV treasure.

One of the more awful projects to hit CBS prime time in years.

It's not atrocious, just sort of bland -- the kind of show we've watched a million times before.

Often funny when it tackles taboo topics head on, the show walks a fine line between honesty and unnecessary crudeness, and it often goes a step too far.

[A] fascinating, challenging series.

The show hits the right Hollywood insider notes, but this season "Entourage" begins to feel a little tired.