The Last Ship would be better off developing its own new society tensions, medical nightmares and primal-survival adventures than leaning on black-hat stereotypes. Maybe it will end up heading in that direction, maybe it will succumb to more common cliches and become lost at sea. It could float either way.

Murder in the First” isn’t outright bad. It’s just an extremely derivative police procedural.

Halt is wise enough to play this out against Gordon’s stress over providing for his family, Joe’s mysterious background and Cameron’s cute pixie haircut. The ad men in “Mad Men” changed a great deal; the people who put a computer in every home changed everything. And that keeps Halt and Catch Fire interesting.

Morally and historically significant, emotionally wrenching and politically terrifying, The Normal Heart is more important than artful, and that’s just fine.

With the tension of its premise and the promise of its family-driven drama, Gang Related may eventually work the stiffness out of its joints and become interesting. Or not. It’s that kind of show.

For those who crave monsters and gore at any cost, this may do. All others beware.

No matter what, the show returns with the same sense of modern-day paranoia and urgency that fueled its best seasons, and however over-the-top it goes, its real-world geopolitical concerns are real-world geopolitical concerns.

The tone wavers here and there--a pair of teen brothers are too broadly drawn--but holds true for the most part.

Turn becomes more tense with each episode, at least through the first three, and that’s a very good sign.

At first, it seems like your typical show from the CW, overstuffed with bushy-haired teens in a sci-fi situation. But after a while the series, based on a book by Kass Morgan, reveals influences ranging from “Lord of the Flies” to “Battlestar Galactica,” with more than a few hints of “The Hunger Games,” “Lost” and “1984” tossed in.

Handled correctly, this has “Lost” potential.

Only trouble is--aside from the torture porn nature of the show--the story itself is a series of question marks that takes a plunge into the ridiculous in its climactic scene.

As a six-episode project, you’d expect precision, compactness and speed; instead it basically, at least for the first four episodes, wanders toward the inevitable.

Star-Crossed never really catches fire.

[A] captivating and undeniable classic. [26 Aug 2005, p.2E]

Alliances are made and broken, power shifts go this way and that, blood is spilled, and wenches keep wenching. It’s oddly addictive, and the cast--made up mostly of British, Australian and Canadian actors--is as sharp as you’d expect from pay cable.

Kinnear, as always, is a likable presence, and he and Summers seem like they’ll have good chemistry if the show ever calms down.

Smart without being smug, Nip/Tuck is surgically altered television perfection. [5 Sept 2006, p.5D]

Nip/Tuck isn't perfect, but with its flawed, fumbling and very human cast of characters, it's a cut above the usual TV drama. [22 July 2003, p.5E]

Relentlessly dark and slow boiling, True Detective may promise more than it can deliver. But it still delivers quite a bit.

Raylan, despite his tendency to shoot people, is something of an old-fashioned hero, complete with white cowboy hat. Here’s to the simple but effective balance, and to the complications that threaten to topple it.

Moms Mabley is a fine appreciation of a remarkable life.

This show--which mixes hints of “Lost,” “Twin Peaks” and “The X-Files”--is one of the best things to hit our airwaves this season.

There are knocks in Seduced and Abandoned, but none of them seem that hard.

The Walking Dead may be starting to walk in circles, but the scenery is still spectacular and spooky.

There’s a lot of humor here, but it’s more innocent than leering. And there’s also a great deal of understandable awkwardness that seems as pertinent to 2013 to the ’50s. You may not want to watch this with Aunt Tildy, but it is certainly worth watching.

Lopez probably has a sitcom in him, but this isn't it. And it has nothing to do with the Latino bent. "My Wife & Kids" is funny because Damon Wayans is funny and it's about a funny family. It has nothing to do with race. Same with George Lopez. It's bad because it's bad, and bad knows no color. [27 Mar 2002]

But Nicky Fallin is about as unlikable and uncomfortable a character as television audiences have ever been asked to care for. Maybe he would unfold splendidly over time. But it's doubtful he'll get that time. [25 Sept 2001, p.5B]