CBS remakes Hawaii Five-0 as just another piece of turn-your-brain-off escapist fare, a loud, action-packed pilot with little heart and less humor.

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 characters are all caricature-y stereotypes and the jokes are of the ba-da-dum! variety, but the pilot made me laugh more than some other new comedies, mostly due to the performances.

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

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.

Not great, not terrible, Welcome to the Family is another occasionally amusing but not really funny family comedy.

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.

Childhood's End is more thought-provoking than many Syfy miniseries of the recent past even as it stumbles through plot holes.

“Swords” is occasionally funny but more often settles for outrageous — a Little People figure swearing and showing off his private parts! — which may work to a degree the first time, but grows tiresome and dull in repetition.

For what it is--a small-screen version of a big-screen shoot-’em-up--Gang Related is fine, but it won’t be confused with great TV.

Comfort food appeal to some viewers who could certainly do worse than this series that tends to be more lighthearted (listen for the bouncy music soundtrack), with enjoyably quirky supporting characters. It’s just unfortunate the show’s primary story is often overwrought and obvious.

It often plays more like an action film than a serious interpretation of a holy book.

Viewers drawn to star-crossed romance are most likely to get absorbed in Outlander, which benefits from beautiful production design--great location work with filming in Scotland--but the show also suffers from some egregious exaggerations, especially the mustache-twirling Black Jack Randall, who couldn’t be more like Satan if he had pointy red horns.

Rookie Blue is "Grey's Anatomy" in a police station. And that's about as remarkable as this fairly generic Canadian co-production gets.

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 two-hour premiere ends with a big question mark, which may lead me to tune in again but I just wish The Expanse was a little less murky. I'm prone to liking complex TV but The Expanse is borderline impenetrable at times.

Huff is not a bad show, it just doesn't feel sufficiently new. Both structurally and thematically, it shares some similarities to the more outrageous and, frankly, more fun "Nip/Tuck" on FX. [7 Nov 2004, p.TV-5]

At best, the show is an average prime-time soap rooted in history that improves somewhat in successive episodes.

Party Down can't decide if it wants to be smart-funny or dumb-funny. Maybe if it does, the party will truly begin.

It’s not a terrible show for fans of crime dramas but it’s not great either, occupying the same mushy middle ground as summer’s “Aquarius” on NBC.

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.

The pilot has its intermittently amusing moments, but episode two, where the trio foments the American Revolution using 2016-era NRA tactics, proves stronger. A third episode involving travel to Al Capone’s Chicago, circa 1919, is fairly lackluster.

Created by writer Justin Spitzer, Superstore has its funny moments as it alternately mocks People of Wal-Mart types while trying to protect the dignity of the store’s employees. It’s difficult for the show to have it both ways. Superstore is at its funniest when it’s also at its most ruthless and offensive, but those moments are few.

Angry Boys will certainly have some appeal to fans of offbeat comedy but it seems unlikely to become a mainstream hit.

It’s unclear if the series will rise above a constant cat-and-mouse game between Wells and Jack, something that seems like it could get old quick.

Bent is not a terrible show but it's not particularly good either.

Midway through night two, however, the action begins to drag.

Power is fine but it doesn’t live up to its title. It’s not a powerful drama because viewers have largely seen all its tricks, plots and character relationships before.