Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll may not be easy to swallow, but it digests comfortably.

The show is at its slightest when it slides into the “dumb daddy” territory previously mined by “According to Jim” and myriad other sitcoms. But at its best, The Jim Gaffigan Show manages to be cleverer despite a familiar conceit.

Generally too predictable and slight to merit much attention.

It certainly should have been no longer than 41 minutes but even that seems a bit padded.... But 7 Days in Hell is often quite funny, particularly in its sillier moments.

Gleefully absurd and filled with terrific comic performances--Wiig and Rudolph are stand-outs in the first two episodes--The Spoils Before Dying marks another winning offbeat comedy from IFC.

Whether Scream can overcome Noah's legitimate concerns about adapting a slasher movie for TV remains to be seen. But tonight's premiere gets the show off to a strong creative start.

We can suspend disbelief when watching “Jurassic World” because it’s dinosaurs, but when the predators are zoo animals, it’s a greater challenge to take seriously.

Humans does introduce some intriguing scenarios that may, or may not, pay off.

The Mr. Robot pilot is too long--one montage drags on interminably--but it begins and ends on intriguing notes. It’s completely unclear what the show will be on a weekly basis, which makes jumping in a risky proposition.

The humor is quick and smart, often poking fun at the conventions of period dramas and the perceived privilege of the wealthy.

The wartime setting gives The Crimson Field” more gravitas than a “Downton-style soap but the premiere episode never gets too bleak.

In its second half the Ballers pilot finds its footing and the show’s trajectory becomes clear, playing like an entertaining mix of HBO’s “Entourage” and “Arli$$” and Starz’s “Survivor’s Remorse.”

The Brink is just silliness. It takes a while to get used to that, but this broad humor may win over some viewers.

An enjoyable mix of romance, period adventure and serialized plot turns, Poldark proves an entertaining, 18th-century summer soap.

The new season’s more-is-more approach feels forced. Even the pretentiousness seems turned up a notch.

Killjoys tries to build a mythology, but both the low-rent look--a red filter for this scene! a green filter for this scene!--and the emphasis on fights over character development dooms the show to medocrity.

When a wannabe TV thriller doesn’t work, the show devolves into a morass of characters making repeated bad decisions, like “Groundhog Day” but without the intentional comedy.

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

The premiere episode of Deutschland 83 delivers an excellent mix of coming of age character drama and espionage derring-do. For viewers not allergic to subtitles, it's well worth watching.

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

Through the first three episodes of season two, Tyrant continues to suffer its share of problems, most notably failing miserably when it comes to characters making realistic, believable choices. But viewers tuning in for just an engaging soap opera, which it is, may be willing to cut the show some slack.

A lethal robot (Zoie Palmer), who tries to kill one of the six before they wipe her memory. She then sets about reconstructing the ship’s data, eventually learning the ship’s destination and their possible purpose that throws everything the audience has learned in the show’s first hour into question. It’s a good twist. What Dark Matter makes of it in future episodes remains to be seen.

Catastrophe has its sweet moments but balances them against more outrageous comedy--including a hilariously ugly, profane discussion of childbirth in the series premiere--resulting in a thoroughly entertaining series.

The program features a mix of tones that don’t always sit together comfortably, but taken as a whole this unusual period drama entertains as it winds its way to introduce its lead characters in the premiere episode.

It’s a strong start to the season that continues in the second episode that introduces Mary Steenburgen as the mother of Pornstache.

All of the beats are overly familiar and the jokes are just as tired.

The Tick"is a funny, creative show and a risk worth taking. It's disappointing Fox has so little faith in these oddball superheroes. [8 Nov 2001, p.E-4]

The pilot exudes lots of flash (many things blow up, lots of gunfire) and little heart. The characters lack any spark of life and depth. [8 Oct 1999, p.40]