By the end of the first episode, we're already sick of Jamal and weary of Barry's complaining about being back home.

The characters are corny--Bill's a rock-and-roll lifer who's flawed but lovable, Shelli's a no-nonsense independent woman and dispenser of wisdom--but Wilson and Gugino are total pros, and they have a genuine chemistry. Which is more than can be said for the rest of the cast, despite the actors' best efforts.

Watching Masters plod around in despair, while Johnson rejects his attentions, doesn't feel suspenseful, since we know at some point these two are going to tie the knot. By this point, it's hard to care about their relationship, or the fate of their sex-research clinic.

State of Affairs is another generic Washington D.C.-set thriller drawing on current events for story points (terrorist threats, hostage-taking, global unrest) in a way that feels opportunistic and, frankly, insensitive considering the real-world tragedies that are showing up in the news.

In the first few episodes, there are enough snappy lines and funny ideas to make me wish Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll was better. But the cringe-to-laugh ratio is too high for it to really sing.

This is a sitcom so generic it should have a bar code instead of a title. You get the feeling that Ozzie Nelson could pop up and not look out of place. [23 March 2000]

Based on the first few episodes, Season 3 of The Newsroom has a few signs of life, notably a timely storyline about ACN getting spun off its parent company. The actors are, as always, doing their best with one-dimensional characters.

Unfortunately, The Brink feels like a would-be daring political comedy that's lacking in insight and light on laughs.

The brainy nerds are a stereotypical band of socially awkward types. Not helping lighten the cliché load is Katharine McPhee as the mother of a boy who's also a budding tech prodigy.

The Kennedys: After Camelot is as cheesy as an all-you-can-eat fondue buffet.

[Killing Reagan] feels rushed and incomplete, compressing this historic episode into a flat pancake of pointlessness.

So unsatisfying. ... The two [Theo James and Rose Leslie] have solid chemistry, and are charismatic. ... But based on these six episodes, I’d much rather watch Leslie and James using their talents elsewhere.

With the exception of a few highlights, mostly involving returning hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler’s opening monologue, and touching speeches by Taylor Simone Ledward, accepting a best actor in a motion picture drama award for her late husband, Chadwick Boseman, and Lee Isaac Chung (and his daughter), accepting the best foreign-language film prize for “Minari,” Sunday’s Golden Globe Awards show was a mess.

The show’s half-hearted effort to mock dating show clichés doesn’t blend too well with its half-hearted purpose, to supposedly help the good-looking narcissists achieve personal growth and build deeper relationships. ... A fairly witless excursion, with a batch of characters who seem like they were created in a reality show writers’ room.

After two episodes of Angels, the situation looks grave. Pulse is weak and thready, blood pressure already dropping. [15 Jan 2000]

It's aimless, stereotypical and runs out of juice pretty fast. [23 March 2000]

What Clerks doesn't have is a lot of laughs. In fact, the whole concept seems tired and stale. Much of the satire is dated [a "People's Court" parody?], and the jokes and situations look like recycled stuff from old movies and long-canceled series....In other words, unoriginal. [31 May 2000]

By the end of the first episode, it's clear that the series is less wicked, than wearisome. Something lousy this way comes.

Sharknado 3 is so tediously lamebrained, it makes the original, and last summer's "Sharkado 2: The Second One," look like "Jaws."