Archer hits the comedy bull's-eye with smart, provocative writing.

When Betty White is on screen, the emotions are real, and she's on screen a lot. It's a safe bet that tears will be shed.

[Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler] debuted this week on what seems to be a kinder, gentler and certainly much hairier version of American Idol.

The show remains a not-terrible throwback to the kinds of sitcoms the broadcast networks used to make.

Like any sketch comedy show, IFC's Portlandia has hit-and-miss sketches, but when they hit, they do so with a laughter-inducing amount of comedic force.

For fans of the original, which is only a few years old, this Americanization may be a bit like going to see a road company version of a Broadway show: It's pretty good but definitely less morose (for some viewers that will be an improvement, for others it will be a betrayal).

The 90-minute Fairly Legal pilot, written by series creator Michael Sardo, moves at breakneck speed and fairly effortlessly welcomes viewers into spastic Kate's world. It's not a bad place to visit--but I probably won't be checking in on her on a regular basis.

What the show lacks in originality it makes up for in crisp, politically tinged dialogue.

I'm still not sold on watching the show. I still think I might prefer to listen to the podcasts instead. The animation adds some humor but probably not enough to justify adding this series to my already overbooked TV viewing schedule.

It's a shame that the writing makes Off the Map so unwatchable.

Chalk up Lights Out as another creative success for FX, the basic cable network that specializes in series with male-skewing milieus.

This seven-episode series, written by David Crane and Jeffrey Klarik, doesn't offer many new ideas about the evils of the TV business--a lot of the ground covered here was previously mined by the underrated 1999-2001 Showtime series "Beggars & Choosers"--but it's still fun to join in the mocking of Hollywood, a big, juicy target that Episodes hits with ease.

It's best not to think of Shameless as a deep, important show. Tune in for the character drama and recognize the characters' anti-social behavior for what it is. There's no shame in that.

For anyone who's seen the "Spider-Man" films (or even the last, worst season of NBC's "Heroes"), there's little to recommend about this new series that has its bloated, two-hour debut.

As a new year begins, viewers will be hard-pressed to find a more sumptuous, engaging drama than the "Masterpiece Classic" miniseries Downton Abbey.

An unexpectedly amusing comedy meal.

It's not the best cop show ever but it's certainly an above-average effort for fans entertained by quality TV drama.

Great as it is to see Ms. Badler again, her appearance can't save a show that's so poorly acted and written that the characters spout exposition but rarely say anything that sounds like something a real person would say. V looks and sounds like a cheap cable series rather than the big-budget network show it should be.

Her observations throughout Wishful Drinking are incisive and funny. But at times the production, directed by Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato, gets a little bogged down in minutiae.

The series maintains its sense of creating a believable universe. Yes, a few characters are explained away without making an appearance (BBQ owner we hardly knew ye) but the show tries hard to reward long-time fans.

Like too many reality shows, The Fairy Jobmother offers easy, incomplete answers and sometimes doesn't ask the right questions.

A&E's The Hasselhoffs is not as morally objectionable as other shows have been (think: "Hot or Not," "Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire?"), but it is hands down the cheesiest, least realistic celeb-reality show ever. And mostly that's due to star David Hasselhoff's narration, which sounds like someone with no acting training trying to read dialogue.

Circus offers equal treatment to performers, stage crew and management, showing how a circus operates and the conflicts that inevitably erupt when 150 people share such close quarters, living out of trailers for months at a time.

It's entertaining enough if real-life make-it-or-break-it tension is what you're looking for in TV. That's also a bit of better-them-than-me satisfaction that comes in watching this and all the Tough Guy TV shows. Gold Rush has the added element of will-they-or-won't-they make it rich.

If not for the polarizing nature of its star--people who love her and hate her will tune in to revel in her Palin-ness or mock her for it--no one would be talking about this dull, derivative TV show.

Conan O'Brien debuted his new talk show, Conan, on TBS last night and it didn't feel all that different from the show O'Brien debuted last year on NBC under "The Tonight Show" banner.

Zombies are coming on strong, particularly in the well-made, engrossing (and gross) premiere episode of AMC's The Walking Dead.

They're not making evolutionary leaps but these men do show enough signs of progress that viewers who appreciated their struggles and triumphs in the first season will have renewed reason to cheer them on in season two.