The soapy drama turns out to be a bit too much, and if that’s what the creators think is necessary to sustain the show, it might hint at structural flaws that a TV series can’t overcome.

The Originals deserves credit for a mostly clear set-up for newcomers.

Killing Reagan is pretty much the expected, rote bio movie of the assassination attempt on President Reagan by John Hinckley Jr. (Kyle S. More).

You may not come away knowing whether you like it, but you won't be bored.

Dollhouse isn't awful, but neither is it remarkably good. It's a passable hour of entertainment that shows potential to improve but flails and confuses (and occasionally bores) from the start.

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.

So much about Incorporated is predictable and rote, it's tough to buy into the story or its characters.

To be fair, "Three Wishes" is touching. It is heartwarming to see nice things done for people in need. But it also feels like the show manipulates viewers.

The show is becoming somewhat repetitive and a bit dull to the point that it feels like Downton, already renewed for a fifth season, needs to wrap it up sooner rather than later lest it overstay its welcome.

Madigan Men fails creatively for one simple reason. Its rhythms are all wrong for a sitcom filmed in front of a studio audience. This show is screaming to be a single camera comedy shot on film, similar to "Sex and the City." The humor is subtle. It doesn't warrant the guffaws of the studio audience that interrupt its natural flow. [6 Oct 2000, p.44]

A perfectly serviceable teen drama.

The investigations are intriguing. The investigators are blah, their relationships a poorly defined muddle. [6 Oct 2000, p.44]

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.

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.

Mr. Kinnear certainly has the charm to play this rakish character, and the overstuffed pilot introduces a lot of characters who might help propel the series' stories in the future. But if "House" is the model, Rake is a somewhat stale successor.

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.

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.

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

It's possible that Hung will lighten up as time goes on. The weak ending to Sunday's pilot is trite and feels like a half-hearted effort to be uplifting. It doesn't work.

TNT’s Proof is not a terrible show, but it is a terribly ordinary TNT drama.

There are no television breakthroughs in Breakout Kings, a pretty pat procedural that tries a little harder than some of its predecessors.

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

Written by series creators Andrew Mogel (“Allen Gregory”) and Jarrad Paul (“Living with Fran”), The Grinder sets up a decent one-joke premise--actors, they’re so vain!--but it remains to be seen whether there’s more comedy to wring out of that joke in subsequent episodes.

A children’s reality competition — one that would be at home on Nickelodeon. ... HBO Max waters down the brand with shows like this.

It’s similar to History’s “Six,” which aired earlier this year, as well as CBS’s own 2006-09 show “The Unit.”

Like other Sci Fi shows of the recent past (think: "Eureka"), Warehouse 13 begins with a strong concept and suffers from weak execution.

Parks has its funny moments but the comedy's first episode also has a distant and chilly feel to it.

In practice, Grandfathered is cute but forgettable.