The guys behave badly in mostly cliched and predictable ways.

This comedy has its moments, particularly in scenes featuring Ms. Brandt and Mr. Fox, but too often the stories, as in Thursday’s 9:30 episode feel like they’re straight out of Sitcom 101.

It shows the most potential as a buddy comedy focused on Mr. Williams and Mr. Wolk. By comparison, Ms. Gellar’s character is a wet blanket.

There are two shows struggling to exist in one in the ABC comedy Back in the Game. One is about former all-star softball player Terry Gannon Jr. (Maggie Lawson) and her relationship with her hard-charging, estranged, ex-athlete father, Terry Sr. (James Caan), who goes by “The Cannon.” This show is pretty terrible.... The second show is not at all novel but it’s at least easier to take: Back in the Game is essentially a “Bad News Bears” reboot.

While there are some things to recommend about Lucky 7--the fresh faces in a cast of mostly unknown, diverse actors--the show is also one of those frustrating series where every character is desperate and too many of them make bad choices.

The show has its amusing moments, though not from an abundance of 1980s nostalgia clips (“The Karate Kid,” “Knight Rider,” “ALF,” “Different Strokes” and “Back to the Future” all whiz by on screen) and music cues. The humor comes from the characters and their relationships.

With its title and premise, Trophy Wife is not an immediately likable show but some of the jokes land well and the kid characters are fun.

A terrifically entertaining action-adventure hour that pays dividends for 'Avengers' fanboys/girls but isn't so insular that the uninitiated will be baffled.

Mom is a bit all over the place in its pilot.... The show is at its best when the focus is on Christy and her relationship with her own mother, Bonnie.

The series does hint at Carlisle's motivation, and maybe the show will get more interesting once his reasons for wanting the president dead are revealed, but the pilot doesn't exactly demand viewers tune in for episode two.

Viewers who can handle the twists and turns will be intrigued, particularly by Mr. Spader's performance.

The Guardian is a show with promise, and it may well develop into a high-quality program in the coming weeks. But it's not a warm, fuzzy, easy-to-love show like, say, "Judging Amy." It's rough and tumble, a challenge to watch. [25 Sept 2001, p.C-1]

Dads insults all viewers with its lowest common denominator humor. The sitcom, created by Seth MacFarlane, Alec Sulkin and Wellesley Wild, offers a greatest hits list of time-worn, tired gags.

The humor quotient in the pilot proves to be a mixed bag. The laugh lines come, but they're fairly inconsistent. Still, when they do hit--particularly during a canvassing door-knock scene that includes a Fred Armisen cameo--it's easy to see Brooklyn Nine-Nine's potential to develop into a good, maybe even great, prime-time comedy.

There's an appeal to the gentle spirit of Derek but it would have a stronger pull if the plotting was less dull.

A charming comedy-drama about finding new love late in life and all the complications that come with any coupling.

Mr. Elba remains a magnetic presence, but as with all damaged heroes, Luther presents a problem for drama writers: Heal him and he's less interesting; perpetuate his damage and the show gets repetitive. Luther seems stuck in the latter cycle.

The screenplay seems more likely to have been transcribed by those guys with the plot dreamed up by an imaginative child or a drunken fanboy. Visually, the film is poorly directed sometimes to a point of such incoherence that it's not always clear what's going on, who's talking, etc. And the ending is laughably awkward.

The first hour of Heroes of Cosplay is fairly interesting as a study of an unusual subculture. But just how many unique stories are there to be mined from the characters introduced?

Everything on the show feels outlined, if not scripted.

Early on, Band of Brothers is more methodical, less emotional due to its large, unwieldy cast. Once the uniformed soldiers put their helmets on, it's tough to tell them apart. If you're like me, you'll spend too much time trying to figure out who just got killed to work up much sympathy for the mystery victim. [9 Sept 2001, p.TV-5]

While scenes with a crime crew drag, in part because it's not always clear what's going on with them, anytime the focus shifts to crooked cops Frank Agnew (Mark Strong) and Joe Geddes (Lennie James), Low Winter Sun proves to be a gripping drama with a vibe most reminiscent of "The Wire."

Elfman, the best thing about the short-lived ''Townies,'' is a lovely live-wire who makes eccentricity appear irresistible; Gibson, who was ill-used on ''Chicago Hope,'' is a magnetic leading man who can simultaneously seem vulnerable and stable. As a pair, they fulfill the first essential requirement of a screen romance: they make you want to see them end up together. [24 Sept 1997, p.D-7]

HBO's Clear History, a cable movie that plays very much like an overlong episode of "Curb."

The good news: The White Queen gets off to an entertaining start. The bad news: In subsequent episodes it gets bogged down in then-this-happened, then-that-happened jumps through history.

Ultimately, after eight episodes that wax and wane in intensity, viewers learn whose worldview emerges as the accurate one in this case--Hardy's pessimistic take on human nature or Ellie's more positive outlook. In a small town where everyone knows his or her neighbor, unmasking the killer is almost as wrenching as the crime itself.

The new season of "Carnivale" continues to showcase the series' potential, but it still doesn't live up to the show's enormous promise. It's a cryptic series full of mysteries and that should suck viewers in. But I've yet to feel the full effects of its gravitational pull, which is disappointing because, as they said so often on "The X-Files," I want to believe. [7 Jan 2005]

There's no question this intriguing, seductive series is set to a slow boil. ... But this series picks up its pace in future episodes. Anyone taken with the dark mystery of "Twin Peaks" or "American Gothic" is advised to stay tuned.