One has to wonder why the true story wasn’t dramatic enough that the memory loss plot got added, because the resulting film is pretty paint-by-numbers dull. If the goal was to goose the drama, “Escaping the Madhouse” falls well short of its intent.

No reservations, just a ringing endorsement for Comedy Central’s The Other Two, a smart half-hour comedy.

The show’s cocaine-fueled energy is undeniable, although some may find it exhausting. In early episodes “Black Monday” seems to be trying to find its footing while rushing headlong into schemes and character development at as loud a volume as possible.

It’s not that great.

At just six one-hour episodes (two airing each Sunday for three weeks), “Valley of the Boom” runs out of gas well before its conclusion and begins to feel padded, especially in its last hour. The series also suffers from tension-free drama as the stories mostly go the way viewers will expect.

[Discovery season premiere] offers a mix of resetting characters and action sequences. But it also embraces Pike’s mandate for a lighter tone thanks largely to the Pike character--a warmer, more likable leader than season one’s cold, aloof Capt. Lorca (Jason Isaacs)--and a new character played by comedy actress Tig Notaro. ... So far, so good, but what any of this signals for the rest of the show’s second season is unknown.

Aggressively unpleasant and unrepentantly nihilistic, Syfy’s Deadly Classis likely to have limited appeal.

Potentially intriguing moments feel entirely manufactured, and the plots in between are paint-by-number plain with sometimes painfully bad dialogue.

Sometimes the aliens-as-immigrants rhetoric is a little too on the nose but as remakes go, this iteration of “Roswell” seems like it will appeal to the current CW audience.

It’s a warm but smart confection in a TV universe overpopulated with series vying to be the darkest, most brooding show possible.

There’s nothing epic about Nightflyers. It’s basically a haunted spaceship story--filled with what has to be a record number of uses of the F-word on basic cable--that does a poor job in its first hour giving viewers reasons to care about the characters before putting them in jeopardy.

Viewers accustomed to Connie Britton playing Teflon-strong characters on “Friday Night Lights” and “Nashville” may take a minute to adjust to her role as a soft-spoken, breathy interior designer who falls for a scam artist in Bravo’s pulpy, addictive “Dirty John.”

A smart, realistic drama with believable characters brought to life by dynamic performances, particularly from Ms. Arquette and co-stars Paul Dano and Bonnie Hunt.

The pace is deliberate in “Homecoming,” but the show is rarely boring thanks to the visuals and an investment in the characters. (After episode eight, when a major reveal happens, “Homecoming” gets a little draggy, but by then invested viewers will carry through to the end.)

The hammy wink Mr. Spacey brought to these breaking-the-fourth-wall moments was fun in the beginning, but they grew tiresome and predictable. At this point, it’s probably better to breathe fresher air into the proceedings, which Ms. Wright does. Claire as the lead offers a different perspective, a worthy way to end a series that launched hundreds of other shows.

The show is at its best when it deals with the ways in which she is torn between two cultures--the mortal world of her high school and the witchy world of her birthright--and when it depicts how Sabrina’s avowed feminism conflicts with aspects of her religion.

To be sure, there are interesting ideas floating around in Heathers but surely too many at once.

Some of the problems that existed on “Roseanne” this past spring are still areas of concern in “The Conners,” most notably the acting by some of the show’s secondary cast members. And there are occasional groaner bits of dialogue. But reliably winning performances from stars John Goodman, Laurie Metcalf and Sara Gilbert continue to carry the series.

Mostly it looks down its nose at almost all of its strident-in-their-own-way characters. Juliette Lewis (“Cape Fear”) enlivens the series as a crunchy hippie who clashes with Kathryn, but ultimately she’s as much a caricature as all the others.

Another superhero show is overkill, but for what it is, Titans strong-arms its way into acceptance and occasionally more (the series’ depiction of a Beaver Cleaver-style family of killers, introduced in episode two, is especially clever).

[“The Violet Hour”] takes some unexpected and some predictable turns along the way, but it’s ultimately an enjoyable, charming story. ... “The Royal We” is less involving than “The Violet Hour.” Shelly’s story proves more compelling than Michael’s and the Romanoff theme is more pronounced and bizarre. ... [The third episode is] the second best of the first three episodes made available for review.

The “Charmed” redo is stronger when it goes for a laugh--at moments the style of humor brings to mind “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”--than when it goes all-in on supernatural theatrics involving its three sister lead characters.

It’s a well-made teen drama pilot that traffics (mildly) in some social issues and ends with a welcome, soapy wallop.

This new “Murphy Brown” is it at its best when the show is most topical, when Murphy is at her most outspoken as Ms. Bergen still delivers a zinger-filled rant flawlessly. ... There’s an obvious fire-in-the-belly for these scenes, but they’re surrounded by a lot of dated sitcom cliches.

Jokes about farts, falling down, hypersexualized kids and grabbing the wrong person’s rear end ensue--but they’re obvious, predictable and not funny.

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.

Fall’s funniest new comedy.

It’s a fine if unremarkable broadcast network-style series.