There are lots of swings and misses amid the direct hits. And that's pretty much the way it is with Rob.

As with Castle, this one will sink or swim on the banter and appeal of the two leads. Bllson grades a bit higher on these curves while Cibrian sucks it up and regularly swallows hard. ... Take Two comes nowhere close to matching the glories of ABC’s Moonlighting or NBC’s Remington Steele, both of whose odd couple crime solvers really rocked. Castle also fell well short of those two, but did pass ABC’s endurance test.

The producers of this series, who include Ryan Seacrest, nonetheless are asking viewers to patiently sort through a lot of characters.

The NBC series deteriorates from a graphic but promising first episode to a third hour that basically falls apart from any rational credibility standpoint.

Walsh throws herself into the part but Bad Judge so far is falling apart around her. It’s not terrible, and maybe not even a misdemeanor offense. But it’s still guilty of not being all that good.

Graceland is nothing to get all shook up about.

Underwood tries hard throughout and is still a small-screen presence. But that doesn’t save Ironside from being thoroughly overcooked and stuffed with convoluted deductions on how the featured wrongdoing went down.

American Housewife so far is too busy taking offense to be much fun to watch.

Viewers choosing to go along for these rides won’t encounter anything too penetrating. Carter goes no deeper than its title character acting rather pleased with himself.

Aggressively stumbles along without leaving any lasting footprints.

Fear the Walking Dead probably is in no danger of becoming and out-and-out flop in its first season. But its opening episode is appreciably less gripping than the 2010 unveiling of the smash hit original.

Although its title is needlessly sub-juvenile, Oh Sit! does manage to be stupidly entertaining during its small handful of best moments.

Crossing Lines isn’t breezy enough for a summer diversion. Instead it’s ponderous, pretentious and too predictable.

Weird Loners instead re-shuffles the aimless singles deck before falling well short of coming up aces.

[Ricci's] performance in the first two episodes of Lizzie Borden Chronicles is more a collection of telling looks than substantive scenes. In the early going at least, Hauser makes a stronger impression as the doggedly pursuing Siringo, who otherwise has a soft spot for the abused wife of a prosperous hotel owner.

Matador is fairly jaunty and breezy in the only episode sent for review. But it also throws in some serious-minded violence as part of the mix.

A few nice turns by Brawith as Saget aren’t enough to make The Unauthorized Full House Movie more than a connect-the-dots, dish-a-little-dirt, spoon-a-little-sugar, cut-print diversion. Still, it’s nowhere near a desecration, giving fans of the series a basically harmless glimpse at how the thing came together and somehow stayed together.

Beauty and the Beast won't hurt all that much to watch, but the dialogue and plot stretches can add up to a lot of little ows.

Outlandish and thoroughly TV Land-ish, Malibu Country belongs on the network of Hot In Cleveland, Happily Divorced and other broad, blast-from-the-past sitcoms.

You might not want to have a TV relationship with these guys either. They're just not much fun on any level.

Expect nothing new under the sun from a drama set in San Antonio, filmed in New Mexico and falling flat wherever the cameras might roll.

The World According to Dick Cheney instead is nuts-and-bolts bland and overly deferential.

There’s considerable techno-talk in the premiere episode, with little of it making much sense.

This is, however, one of those shows that a viewer easily can love to hate. And in that context, Love in the Wild is very well equipped to both go the distance and even be invited back next summer.

Above all, there’s a world to be saved. But Heroes Reborn so far is anything but a world-beater when it comes to cohesive, comprehendible storytelling.

Viewers in a sense are going to another carnival freak show.

There’s ample cringe-worthy bawdiness. ... The diminutive Jordan, speaking in a deep drawl, is something of a scene-stealer, even if it’s only petty theft. And Lawrence seems to have a fairly firm handle on her boss lady character.

Its graphic and constant violence, including some very bad treatment of those two Swedish girls, is gratuitous, upsetting and prurient.... AHS: Hotel has the subtlety and texture of Gaga’s ill-considered meat dress.

This is a frothy, giggly, historically silly, pop tune-themed trifle, with mid-16th century France as its backdrop.

The bedeviled moms can be bawdy fun on occasion in this broad Fox sitcom. But their unctuous, obnoxious 14-year-olds basically ruin every scene they're in.

It's simply not coherent enough to sustain weekly interest.

A disappointing film that can’t seem to rise above room temperature.

Angel From Hell is without a laugh track or any real sense of purpose beyond letting Lynch fire away. Some of her darts can be amusing. And her delivery system remains intact. But even by Episode 2, the premise is wearing thin.

Salem is replete with scenes that make little sense. It’s mostly a jumble of decent enough special effects, less-than-decent acting, a script that also should be lashed with “10 hard ones” and lots of blood-curdling screaming.

It’s hard to discern the overall intent here. Most of the characters are either sad sacks or in Jandice’s case, demonstrably unhinged. But whatever situations they’re put in, Camping all in all is less fun than waves of dive-bombing mosquitoes.

The Crazy Ones may not be fall’s worst new comedy series, but its premiere episode easily is the biggest underachiever.

Mob Doctor is one of those classically bad concepts that somehow got green-lighted as a series.

It all ends predictably--and flatly. A grin or two may intrude amid all the bountiful bad taste. It’s certainly not enough, though, to redeem a series that false starts and then keeps stumbling. Full of grace it’s not.

Chris Carter seems to be creatively bankrupt at this point, with Episode 3 screaming out a vote of no confidence. For a while at least--early in Episode 1--it was kind of nice to see Scully tell Mulder, “I’m always happy to see you.” And for him to reply in turn, “And I’m always happy to have a reason.” But then the story went on, straining, lurching and tripping before falling flat on its face.

This is a series that CBS should have kept doing without. But 18 years after Rush Hour hit it very big, here’s a TV version that for the most part falls flatter than a thug on the receiving end of a Yan Naing Lee kick.

Kirk just doesn't click in the lead role. Nor do most of the words he's given.

Nothing really jells here.

Williams and Lopez are certainly capable of churning this stuff out and cashing in before the Hollywood sun sets on them. Just don’t expect much, if any, craftsmanship.

Laughable? Yeah. Pathetic? Even more so. Degrading? That, too. Entertaining for consulting adult viewers who pay extra for such premium cable fare? Possibly.

Some of the scenes play out OK, and Favreau has a marginally winning way with the doofus brother he plays. As the self-described scene-stealer, newcomer Totah also gets in a few good jabs. None of this seems nearly good enough, though, to make Champions more than a likely short-termer on the TV sitcom conveyor belt.

Perhaps Star will evolve and hit some higher notes in future episodes. But its premiere hour is mostly a patchwork quilt of fairly effective performance segments and threadbare storylines.

Nothing you’ll see rises to any level of must-see. Instead it’s all pretty much preachy and pedestrian, with the diversity of the cast working against itself in terms of this show’s labored approach to injustice and discrimination.

Tthe season’s slightest new sitcom on a network that has done much better by this genre in recent seasons with the likes of Young Sheldon, Mom and Life In Pieces. In this case, the premise simply has no foreseeable promise.

Koldyke isn't lacking in effort or enthusiasm when it comes to getting all dressed up. That's not nearly enough to hold this thing together, though.

Its overall implausibility and everything-but-the-kitchen-sink plotting work against what little promise Banshee has.

There's nothing to get outraged about, unless you want to rail against substandard comedy.

The dialogue and interior monologues occasionally have some snap. But Manhattan Love Story mostly is pretty thin soup in a city known for its delis. Seconds are not recommended.

Twin Peaks is rambling on anyway, providing little morsels of enjoyment amid all the numbing nonsense.

Guys with Kids is over-populated, under-funny and no match for the simple charms of Three Men and a Baby, the surprise mega-hit of 1987.

Happyish has a few genuinely imaginative moments amid its many, many excesses. But in the end, it’s too much of a one-note Hell-On-Earth “Greatest Hits” album whose principal characters have the overall appeal of vinegar-drenched cotton candy.

The deadpan deliveries of its principal characters can be very moderately amusing at times. But in the end, you probably won't want fries with this one.

Sevigny works hard at being complex, haunted, etc. while the show around her collapses into a voyeuristic mess with a denouement that makes one wonder how Catherine Jensen could possibly remain on the force beyond the opening episode.

Globe trots to and fro with a mix of banter that tends to fall flat and action scenes that sometimes play a little better. Unfortunately, cases aren’t opened and shut within a single episode.

What's supposed to be a taut and many-splendored mythical yarn in league with Heroes instead registers as a topsy turvy laughable feast complete with chapter titles.

The Fix hits too close to the bone. Whatever Marcia Clark’s disclaimers, this is all about her and a case that remains dirty to the touch.

Every one of these things needs a she-devil or two. It’s a necessary ingredient along with all the usual, clunkier nonsense.

By the end of Chapter Two, many viewers might well be in the mood to detour elsewhere rather than follow Houston’s plea to “follow me a little longer down this twisted, bloody road.”

It succeeds in being more or less stupidly watchable [than Sharknado], but unlikely to prompt anywhere near the same Twitter eruption.

Ghosted includes a few halfway decent special effects, but not much else, en route to the inevitable.

Ascension aspires to be a cautionary tale on a grand scale. But its cardboard characters and a paint-by-the-numbers script just aren’t up to the task.

Thorne's performance occasionally threatens to rise above this mess. But it's tough to overcome a narrative opening line that goes like this: "My dad used to say life is like a football game. There's winners and there's losers."

Brody’s performance is borderline capable within the constraints of an at best mediocre combination of writing and story construction. But Harry Houdini’s incredible story still awaits a master re-telling. And this one doesn’t even come close.

For now it’s pretty much something you wouldn’t wish on your best friends.

Faint praise to be sure. But Coupled rises above them all [reality dating shows such as Conveyor Belt of Love, Chains of Love, Who Wants to Marry My Dad?, Dating in the Dark, Room Raiders, The Littlest Groom and My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance] to take its rightful place as--at the very best--a guilty summertime pleasure.

[Mark Feuerstein] brings exuberance and a certain likability to the role as a good son who’s still trying to please his parents. But geez, what a grind 9JKL is. You’ll find more originality in the recipe for cream of boiled water soup.

Hits & Mrs. has the usual redundant reality filler and various contrivances.

In the end, it's all very disposable.

Allen's mere presence may keep it in business for a while. But it already seems as though it belongs on TV Land, where Home Improvement repeats already reside.

Mr. Robinson has an appealing star in Craig Robinson, but the show itself is gratingly forced and formulaic.

The Choice already is bad enough but has a few amusing moments to help keep it afloat.

Decidedly dreary for openers, Mr. Sunshine succeeds in making Cougar Town look like a lion of the prime-time jungle. That's obviously not the intent. But Perry, Janney and company will have to brighten matters in a hurry to avoid a very quick sunset.

Secret Circle, replete with The CW's usual heavy doses of sappy pop music mood-ruiners, eventually gets around to outlining its basic plot point.

None of this really clicks.

Super Fun Night isn’t entirely super-bad, but so far that’s about the good thing to be said about it.

Stuffed with stilted actor re-enactments--and repeated shots of a mock John F. Kennedy corpse with its skull blown open--Smoking Gun basically regurgitates the 1992 book Mortal Error and its conclusion that a Secret Service agent accidentally fired the third and fatal shot.

MacFarlane and Hentemann already have pumped all of these wells all but dry, which leaves Bordertown with its ramped-up topicality and little else.

There’s a lot of gibberish and meandering accompanying the visceral bloodshed. The palace intrigues aren’t all that interesting.

Messing seems to be trying hard, but in a role and a show that just don’t suit her talents.

Maybe this will prove to be a bit more interesting as the contestants dwindle. But based on Sunday night’s premiere, that seems like a long slog toward the show’s eventual payoff.

It's a thoroughly ordinary series on what's increasingly an inconsequential night in the not-so-grand broadcast network scheme of things.

A total of nine executive producers, including Heigl and her mother, Nancy. That’s too many cooks for what turns out to be a half-baked hour of ridiculosity.

Literally nothing jells in this ham-handed first half-hour, and it may already be too late for full-blown emergency surgery. Still, Carol’s Second Act could well get a decent tune-in due to Heaton’s mere presence.

On paper this seemed as though it could be a bit of fun. In execution, it’s labored and way over-cooked.

Some people take these things very seriously. But seriously, the stories told on Paranormal Witness are about as believable as an Oscar nomination for Dolph Lundgren. Although that would be scary.

Don’t expect to take any ha-ha showers. Marlon isn’t up to that task either. Instead it over-blows everything in service to a star who doesn’t know how or when to stop.

Fonda’s guest appearance is head-and-shoulders the best of the four I’ve seen. In fact, Episode 1, with David Spade featured, is so excruciatingly bad that you’re better off skipping it entirely. ... If you’re a Norm Macdonald fanatic, and there likely aren’t very many of those, it’s best to watch this show while you still can.

It shows only scant signs of life while also failing to be all that revealing about the unique profession it depicts.

101 Ways, despite some of its explosive ejections, is gratingly slow-paced and infested by commercial breaks just before host Sutphen reveals who's next to be axed.

Watching BFF leaves only a dull, but throbbing headache.

Airplane! it’s not. Not even close.

A decidedly bland and tedious weekly series in which couples attempt to mend their frayed relationships by doing it for a full week.