The good news is that Sunday's two-hour opener answers several key questions in relatively rapid fashion and in ways that don't seem totally unreasonable. The bad news is that it also puts Sarah back at square one, and therein lies the problem.

That Thrones remains so utterly unpredictable makes it even more mesmerizing.

The top-notch acting is still intact, as is the attention to aesthetic detail.

While these [butt-kicking] scenes contain a certain intensity and exhilaration, you can't help but think that, had the writers of Missing devoted as much time to plot and character as they did to the fighting, they might have wound up with a much more enjoyable show.

It's a scattershot approach that ultimately undermines what is admirable about Luck, including some gorgeous photography.

Some of the characters are so simplistically drawn that it's laughable. On the other hand, we love these characters so much and we're having such a jolly good time that we just can't resist Downton Abbey.

So far, though, it has mostly kept its ambition in check, preferring to follow the playbook of a typical crime procedural, with a little more darkness and a little less energy.

We're left with a shrill sitcom that's hard not to hate.

The boys are at their best when mocking the absurdities of what they find on television.

It's captivating, and also poignant.

Based on the first two installments of a 13-episode season, it will continue to have viewers perched on the edge of their sofas.

Based on first impressions, it's certainly not fall-down funny, but the cast is appealing and the premise promising.

Very little of it feels fresh or funny. Nor does Allen's character strike me as someone viewers would want to spend a great deal of time with.

Although the show features strong performances and is piercing in its emotional honesty, it also get bogged down in its own existential angst.

The lively script by Geoffrey Ward covers a lot of ground and offers keen insights via interviews, not only with experts but regular folk who lived through the era.

Most TV shows, after all, quickly fade from memory. This one will haunt your dreams.

Homeland has a chance to be a much tighter--and smarter--endeavor with more nuance than "24" ever had. But if a cougar suddenly appears, and/or if someone comes back from the dead, all bets are off.

Unfortunately, no one pops off the screen the way Farrah once did.

The Playboy Club isn't in the same league, or even the same galaxy, as the critically adored "Mad Men." While the latter offers nuance and depth and keen insights into its era, the former settles for stock characters, cliches and superficiality, punctuated by a lot of come-hither looks.

What Up All Night has over other baby-rearing shows is a refreshing irreverence.

Ringer may not be able to match the Master of Suspense at the top of his game, but it does a great job of creating a constant state of queasy tension.

It manages to remain faithful to the tone and lively style of the original. Newcomers really don't have to be well-versed in Torchwood lore or "Doctor Who," the series that spawned it, to get a kick out of sci-fi craziness of it all.

Despite all the implausibilities and irritations, Switched manages to make a positive impression, thanks to some sturdy writing and solid performances that adequately sell the premise.

Some viewers will delight in the edgy humor, while others undoubtedly will want to slap an extra-tight muzzle on Wilfred.

For now, though, Delany is enough to hold our attention. With a deft touch, she blends just enough warmth and vulnerability with the sass and smarts to make it all palatable.

Breakout Kings manages to compensate for its lack of creative ambition with some lively writing, good pacing and an off-kilter sense of humor. It is also blessed with a colorful cast of characters.

Viewers turned off by the bitterly boisterous, superficial and often one-sided confrontations on the cable news channels might find The Sunset Limited to be refreshing in some ways.

Unfortunately, things just never really gel in a pilot episode that falls flat and is only intermittently funny....In fact, only Janney, whose gleefully oblivious character spews un-PC zingers and keeps a huge self-portrait in her office, makes a truly fresh impression.