Maybe network executives are just throwing their hands up for now and clearing the cupboard shelves of what’s left, which includes the funny, engaging Weird Loners.

It's an interesting and damning film but not as engrossing as HBO's recent "The Jinx" series.

There's little urgency to the storytelling, which is as slow-paced and easy-breezy as lying in a hammock strung between two palm trees on a Key West beach.

The network scores again with the clever, entertaining enough iZombie.

The season premiere makes a gentle effort to re-establish the show’s shrinking original cast.

Obvious, dumb and mostly unfunny, One Big Happy is an embarrassment for all involved.

The Royals is pretty much the entertainingly trashy prime-time soap you’d expect.

Powers doesn't get off to the the best start but the concept is strong and the world so detailed and cleverly built out that it's probably a series that bears some monitoring to see if it will improve.

The original French version of The Returned embraced spooky stillness, and the American version attempts to do this, too, but succeeds to a lesser extent. And while there’s at least a language barrier reason for remaking the French version of “The Returned”--unlike Fox’s “Gracepoint,” a remake of BBC America’s English-language “Broadchurch”--that’s still not enough creative justification for this identical, second version of the same show to exist.

It’s a smart, funny series, and it’s a relief to know Netflix saved it from what was sure to be terminal neglect had it aired on NBC.

It's one crazy mess of a TV "event series" that doesn't make much effort to clarify what it's about in the early going, plopping viewers into two concurrent plots that will presumably intersect at some point.

It's a thought-provoking drama that doesn't in its first three episodes seek easy black-and-white answers or scapegoats, painting all its characters in varying shades of gray. And while the characters are flawed, they are not insufferable as on NBC's "The Slap."

While there are still some improbable elements--would the nephew of the killer, Olly Stevens (Jonathan Bailey), really still be allowed to cover a relative's trial?--Broadchurch remains a tense, engrossing drama.

Fans of “CSI” shows will likely warm up to this latest franchise extension and viewers of more character-driven, less preposterous drama will ignore it like they have past “CSI” shows.

Netflix’s soapy House of Cards stumbles out of the gate in its third season with a first hour that’s short on lead character Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey) and long on a supporting player whose foibles are by now a TV cliche.... but the show recovers in its second episode, returning the emphasis to Frank’s political brinksmanship.

As CBS procedurals go, Battle Creek is smarter and a little funnier than average.

One of the worst murder-mysteries to come along in a while, ABC’s Secrets & Lies is completely undone by its casting and writing.

The first half-hour is all setup, and while entertaining in its own way, with just one character, it's insular and unlike anything else on TV, which is always a tough sell for viewers conditioned to expect more of the same. The second episode gives Phil a much-needed sparring partner, which is funnier than the gags during his solitary existence.

Sex Box is not dull despite being a talky show, but it's also unclear how many times viewers can watch this before the relationship issues gets repetitive. As for the "therapy," it's pretty shallow and fleeting.

Truly funny interactions between Triumph and celebrities in the field get dropped into the studio-based inanity. The studio stuff is often dull, less funny and pathetically produced; it looks like some of the movies I made in high school.

The Odd Couple is genial--but not hilarious--multi-cam sitcom business as usual.

Bosch is by no means a revolutionary show like Amazon's "Transparent," but it offers smarter than usual cop drama fare, and it's certainly better than any cop show currently on a broadcast network.

Maybe in an airy Broadway theater the issues the show attempts to explore would play better, but on TV The Slap suffocates, packed with too many awful characters I don't want to spend another moment watching.

Saul isn’t a failure at all. Instead, Saul feels like a series with many of the hallmarks of classic “Breaking Bad” episodes that’s set in the familiar “Bad” universe, emphasizing a similar vibe that mixes personal drama with dark comedy.

Fans of podcast sensation “Serial” and anyone intrigued by a good character-driven murder mystery will want to jump on board HBO’s six-part documentary series The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst.

Allegiance is not terrible, although its characters are paper-thin, and, beyond feeling derivative, the show isn’t all that credible.

The cast of unknowns is terrific and the writing, overseen by executive producer Nahnatchka Khan (“Don’t Trust the B---- in Apartment 23”), is fresh, funny and mostly clean.

It's actually the supporting characters who make Breaking Greenville the most fun.

Fortitude, which was originally slated to air on Starz, doesn’t feel quite as urgent a viewing experience as “Broadchurch,” but the first two hours (of the 12-part series) introduce enough intriguing characters and relationships that it’s worth watching for fans of murder-mystery dramas just as long as the show doesn’t introduce too many red herring suspects (the show appears to be pointing to one already by the end of the premiere).

Sons of Liberty seems to get the broader strokes of history correct, but viewers who see the devil in the details will howl with laughter.

Mr. Wilson does his best to make the character unapologetically snarly, and Backstrom does benefit from a lighter tone thanks to the unpredictable nature of the lead character. But in form and style, Backstrom is exactly what viewers have come to expect from "House" wannabes.

Through the first two episodes it’s just not enough to differentiate this series from so many conspiracy thrillers that have come before.

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

There’s no question that Man Seeking Woman is not run-of-the-mill entertainment, but whether its weirdness will appeal or repel will depend largely on the openness of viewers to new, strange TV experiences.

Revealing more of what makes these characters tick could remove some of the mystery about them, but Portlandia makes a compelling comedic case for offering this backstory.... The humor is broader and funnier in this half-hour [second episode] that also delivers some surprising plot twists whie acknowledging thier "logic problems."

A cute if unnecessary time-traveling fantasy-drama.

Whether Empire can sustain these running plots remains to be seen.... But the pilot suggests Empire could become [an] addictive, juicy prime-time soap.

A welcome, interesting entry... But to work over the long haul, Agent Carter will need to beef up its stock sexist characters and make them more human.

Yes, a few plots feel repetitive... but overall the feeling for the season is one of new exploration among the characters.

The series does try to develop its characters, but Galavant never quite finds a way to ideally pull together its gonzo comedic spirit and musical aspirations.

For fans of "Smash" who miss that behind-the-scenes-of-Broadway show, Mozart is an OK, if less exciting replacement. Symphony performances lack the visual flair of musical theater numbers but the sense that you're peering into another cloistered universe is similar.

Elf offers some slight, warmed over charms.

There are several intriguing concepts built into Syfy’s Ascension, but the execution is not quite up to snuff in the first episode and infuriating by the conclusion.

The first hour is a deadly dull slog. Viewers get plopped into the action without much effort to provide context and then there are flashbacks to confuse matters further.

The Librarians lacks the fun of the first film--seeing Flynn learn to be an adventurer --and feels predictable and rote.

It's a clever, funny hour that's written in rhyme with imaginative songs threaded throughout.

It’s a serviceable drama that’s well-calibrated to the interests of the Bravo audience but it seems unlikely to appeal beyond that particular subset of viewers.

One can’t help but wish all this meta commentary had been grafted onto a better story and a better movie that didn’t feel like such a cheap rush job.

Three years may seem like a long wait for the next “Toy Story” film but if the Disney-Pixar bosses want to fill the gap by turning loose the imaginations of their team on entertaining, wildly creative shorts like Toy Story that Time Forgot, fans will surely approve.

Gortimer is the rare series that's creative, occasionally funny and engaging in its own subdued manner.

Everything about it feels TV-fake and contrived and throwing Heigl into the mix just heightens the sense that viewers are watching a high-glam actress pretending to be a top U.S. intelligence analyst.

The show was never entirely believable and the conceit of having episodes set during actual events--where the characters and/or viewer perceptions benefit from hindsight--felt like a cheat even though it could sometimes also be thought-provoking. The third-season premiere doesn’t shy away from this.

Valerie is still thin-skinned, self-absorbed and occasionally pathetic. Fans wouldn't want her to be any other way, of course, but there's a limit on the variety of ways one can wring comedy from this character premise.

It takes some time to sink into the story--Olive (Frances McDormand, “Fargo”) herself is cold and aloof--but by Monday’s second part of the miniseries as viewers see the characters age through a 25-year period, there’s a relatability that starts to sink in as viewers come to recognize the damage one generation can inflict on the next.

Mom remains funny, thanks in large part to the great work of Allison Janney as Christy's potty-mouthed mom, Bonnie. And the show continues to make excellent use of actress Mimi Kennedy (now a series regular and pictured above at left) as a foil for Bonnie and friend to Christy.

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.

Te pilot episode was written by Michaela Watkins ("Trophy Wife") and Damon Jones ("Peep Show"), who write to Ms. Coupe's comedic strengths while also peppering the background with amusing comic gags (viewers who pay closer attention will reap the most laughs from "Benched"). A second episode sent for review was less funny than the pilot and the plot was also a head-scratcher.

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.

The first episode is fairly entertaining in an absurdist way.

The solution to whodunit ends satisfactorily and in keeping with the book. The leads, though, display little chemistry, and that’s something Jane Austen’s sensibilities would never have allowed.

Taken on its own, Marry Me offers a fast-moving, often hilarious debut episode that traffics in pop culture references as it establishes Annie as the loon and Jake as the tolerant, abiding guy who loves her.

It’s a series about the complications of life, relationships and especially perspective. It’s also the most innovative new TV series of 2014, especially from its fractured approach to storytelling.

A fairly standard family sitcom that rises above its pedestrian premise thanks to star Cristela Alonzo, a comedian who makes a favorable impression in this series about an Hispanic Texas family.

The Jane pilot whips through story quickly while setting up all kinds of potential entanglements for the characters. Whether subsequent episodes can maintain that breakneck pace, which helps accentuate the comic absurdity of the show’s premise, remains to be seen, but Jane certainly gets off to a strong, entertaining creative start.

The over-long season premiere--it's 63 minutes without commercials, so expect it to run close to 90 minutes on air; set yoru DVR accordingly--feels disjointed and the characters seem underdeveloped.

The premiere feels a little overly long--it clocks in at 53 minutes--but it capably creates the show’s insular world of blood, sweat and cheers, ending in an inevitable fight that features Nate as Ryan and Jay offer encouragement from the sidelines.

Town of the Living Dead, though entertaining, does not feel at all real.

It’s not a revolutionary show but at a certain level it is a step away from the angst and a return to the positive, uplifting feelings evoked by the 1978 Christopher Reeve “Superman” movie.

The first three hours of the new season that Showtime made available for review suggest Homeland is up for new challenges that move the show somewhat closer in tone to “24” while still maintaining a prestige sheen that it’s smarter, less formulaic and more believable than the Fox terrorism drama.

Mulaney feels dated, a throwback to '90s sitcoms that's out of place in Fox prime time in 2014. Maybe it would feel more at home on TV Land.

Cute, light and--most importantly--funny.

The pilot is not that funny as it trades in predictable gags about a woman who's competent at the office but a mess in her personal life.

The first couple of Gracepoint episodes follow the same plot [as "Broadchurch"]--even some of the same camera angles in some scenes--with such stringency it will be difficult for "Broadchurch" viewers to avoid a sense that this new show is a rerun.... For the murder-mystery fans [who haven't seen "Broadchurch"] among them, Gracepoint is fine, but they’d be better off seeking out the superior "Broadchurch."

[The pilot episode] winds up having a decent if unlikely resolution to its primary mystery. Even if it’s possible to get past the ugliness of the violence against women in the pilot, it’s hard to imagine that a procedural with such a tight focus won’t get old fast.

Although a TV series about the trappings of sudden fame could be cliché, Mr. O’Malley roots the show in specific, believable characters that make Survivor’s Remorse one of the fall’s stand-out new shows.

Fans of teen soaps may enjoy Happyland for the lark that it is but veterans of the genre may also move on quickly: Even the happiest place on earth gets old after a while, and the same goes for what’s ultimately a likeable but fairly generic series.

Manhattan Love Story is simply an unfunny study in tired male/female stereotypes.

A cute enough pilot from writer Emily Kapnek (“Suburgatory”). But is there really a weekly TV series to be had here? Time will tell.

Fans of “Six Feet Under” are likely to enjoy Transparent while those who find characters who make consistently poor choices frustrating and may be less enamored. “Transparent” isn’t funny all that often, but at its heart it does tell a relatively new, original story in a way that’s grounded and heartfelt without being at all saccharine.

How to Get Away with Murder is not by any stretch transcendent TV but it is great, gonzo fun, a breakneck-paced, well-made prime-time soap that, if future episodes are as entertaining as the pilot, may easily become viewers’ new TV addiction.

It’s the conversation about race and African-American culture in the pilot that gives Black-ish a little bit of edge. Whether that will be maintained in future episodes or dulled into familiar family sitcom pabulum remains to be seen.

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.

If Scorpion were better suited to today’s TV landscape instead of bringing to mind a TV series from 30 years ago, it could be an of-the-moment series worth watching. But it’s not.

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

Fans of sophisticated drama may feel there's a dearth of smart new shows on the broadcast networks but The Good Wife continues to be broadcast's best answer to the scripted dramas on cable.

Viewers who come to TV for smart, serious, sophisticated fare will likely hate this show while viewers just looking for something innocuous and entertaining will be more forgiving.

It’s unclear from the pilot how all these players fit together.... Gotham could rebound from its overly familiar opening episode. Maybe the villains will become more than the sum of their early cameos. And certainly the presence of actors of the caliber of McKenzie and Logue, capably playing odd-couple police partners, offers promise.

"Glee" benefitted from the novelty of its musical performance and high-camp humor. Red Band Society has almost no unique attributes, which renders it an OK but not outstanding teen soap.

Fox executives could have saved substantial production costs and achieved basically the same boring result by filming 14 randy monkeys in a cage containing only 10 bananas.

Overall, Z Nation is pretty grounded and also manages to surprise viewers with the characters it chooses to sacrifice in its pilot episode.

Once The Chair gets beyond producers bloviating, it’s a more interesting series about the two newbie directors.

BoJack Horseman gets the particulars of late '80s sitcoms right and has a few scattershot funny moments but it's mostly not a laugh riot.

The show does begin to fill in a few blanks, particularly the immortality angle, in its second episode, but it’s still a slow, sometimes tedious process.

It's possible Wizard Wars will get old quickly if too many of the tricks contestants come up with look the same, but in this first episode anyway it's a fairly entertaining hour of TV.

Darker and less escapist than TNT’s other new summer entry, “The Last Ship,” Legends offers a down-and-dirty hero with rough edges but surrounds him with a cadre of cleaner, less sullied colleagues, making for somewhat of a tonal mish-mash.

Someone more philosophical than Shatner might have ruminated on the nature of reality in the world where technology can make anything seem real. But the space cowboy opts instead for action -- often shot in sluggish slow motion -- and humor, some of which seems blissfully unintentional. [18 Jan 1994]

Provocative and occasionally insightful--except with Whitney Cummings brays with laughter--The Approval Matrix is like "The McLaughlin Group" for pop culture junkies.

Mostly it's the story of a sex-starved, immature, lazy guy who flings dog poop into his neighbor's yard. NBC has done something similar by inflicting this show on the viewing public. [24 Sept 2002, p.C-6]