This is one hell of a hellish slog toward a redemption that isn’t really earned, given what Ebenezer once did to Bob Cratchit’s desperate wife, a woman of color played by Vinette Robinson.

It’s not always an optimum blend of merriment and miscreants. Still, The Moodys earns its candy cane stripes as a Christmas mini-series with bite.

It smoothly goes through its paces, with Hunt and Reiser engaged and looking happy to be together again. The “plots,” such as they are, tend to be mostly thin soup.

Haggard’s performance (she’s also a co-writer) is a marvel, whether she’s exuding vulnerability or dishing the sass. Used and abused but never quite de-fused, she propels Back to Life to the top tier of this season’s newcomers, with ample help from a crackerjack ensemble.

Aniston fully takes command and registers the best “serious” performance of her career while Witherspoon and Carell also are fully and convincingly invested. It all makes for a series that is anything but sunny side up.

Visually entrancing, pointedly provocative and all over the place in time and space, Watchmen might make even David Lynch drop his jaw at times.

Despite its varying trials and travails, Modern Love strives for an overall feel-good vibe that isn’t always entirely earned. For the most part, it’s gentle on the mind and soothing to the nerves in times when The New York Times front page is a steady drumbeat of downers.

Batwoman sometimes drops the ball. It’s a brand name with several new twists. But it also can seem like another one off the assembly line.

Standout performances and what looks to be a sure-fire, durable premise give Fox’s Almost Family the key ingredients of a potentially long-running, soapy serial drama.

There’s no laugh track involved in any of this, which is heartening. And Goggins fares fairly well in this very tamped-down mode, even if a number of his previous characters clearly would want to choke Wade Felton to death.

Wednesday’s premiere episode veers back and forth story-wise almost as crazily as the show-starting wild ride. ... That’s the overall point and thrust of Stumptown, where a woman drinks, fights and has sex on her terms in the same manner numerous men did in an assembly line of earlier ABC action dramas.

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.

Investing in ABC’s Emergence looks like it could be a winning proposition. And even if the suspense and premise begin to sag, there’s always Allison Tolman to keep hope alive. ... Tolman’s performance is thoroughly grounded.

The two lead performances make me want to see more. ... Prodigal Son is more than several cuts below that Oscar-lauded classic. Still, it’s better than chopped liver, of which Dr. Martin Whitly has shown he knows a thing or two.

Smits is solid enough as the patriarch of Bluff City Law while McGee also makes her presence felt in some scenes. Overall, though, this is yet another same old, same old broadcast network drama series.

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.

Bob Hearts Abishola feels good -- and good to go -- the second Olowofoyeku enters the picture and begins riffing with Gardell. They seem to be made for one another -- at first as actors and eventually as characters whose future dating ups and downs should keep this show on a steady, agreeable course.

Whatever your thoughts about country music, expect to be immensely entertained, educated and even edified throughout this master course in pickin’, grinnin’ -- and so very much more.

Carnival Row, whether airborne or down-to-earth gritty, keeps flexing the power of its oft-breathtaking visuals. The worlds it creates are the greater sums of its whole while the messages it sends can be a little two telegraphed.

Dunst is the saving grace throughout a rollicking Season One that keeps delivering whenever she’s on screen. It may well turn out to be the TV performance of the year, with some very able assists from Pellerin, Rodriguez, Ditto and Levine.

The Righteous Gemstones is hallelujah-worthy for its performances, energy, comedy, dramedy and occasional little heart tugs.

There’s nothing technically new under the sun with BH90210. But it nonetheless feels that way via this fresh approach to what easily could have been a very wrong address.

Riveting at the start and somewhat less so as time marches on. Crowe’s portrayal of Ailes of course is the major drawing card, and he is nothing if not fully immersed. The characters around him can’t help but pale in comparison, but it would help if some of the supporting roles were more vividly acted.

The performances, particularly by Zendaya, Schaefer and Ferreira -- are not the problem. But getting “real” doesn’t have to mean diving head first into a cesspool of drugs, profanity, promiscuity and a borderline indifference to it all. That’s where Euphoria so far fails not only itself, but the many impressionable youth that likely will be the series’ core audience.

After an energetic start and a nice twist at the end of Episode 1, City on a Hill slows its pace a bit.

Deadwood’s trademark blend of literacy and crudity continues to harmoniously co-exist. ... Deadwood: The Movie ends with beautifully paired scenes featuring Bullock and Swearengen. Both are moving in their own distinctive ways, bringing one of HBO’s very best series to an end that does David Milch proud. Very proud indeed.

Good Omens continues to have its special effects moments. But there aren’t enough of them to overcome the basic tedium afflicting it.

This is basic paint-by-the-numbers storytelling despite the otherworldly premise. Both Ghost Whisperer and Medium had stronger grips and more interesting women as their center stage psychics.

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.

Clooney and company have tried their utmost to navigate the swervy Catch-22. It may well be the last such effort. And they fare better than the movie did without fully sticking the landing. Then again, who could? Bronze stars to all.

Weighing in at two hours, 40 minutes and airing in one sitting, HBO’s What’s My Name: Muhammad Ali, is as thrilling today as it was in his yesteryears. ... What’s My Name doesn’t delve into its subject’s personal life, focusing only on his career in the ring and his activism outside of it. That’s more than enough to easily fill its extended running time.

Pleasant viewing it’s not. But in terms of capturing a time and place, the five-part miniseries succeeds on every level. ... HBO’s extraordinary retelling of what went down in Pripyat and the then Soviet Union at large is its own reward for now -- and a certain multiple trophy winner during next year’s awards season.

Wyle’s lead performance is solid, although more than a little weepy. ... Red Line is a revelation, though, in terms of introducing Aliyah Royale to a national audience. Her portrayal of Jira is terrifically compelling and natural. ... Red Line force-feeds more than it should. It has some messages of true value while also failing to resonate to the degree it could have and should have.

The Code, which is both nicely produced and also thoroughly predictable, looks destined to likewise get a Season Two.

From a storytelling standpoint, the back-and-forth choreography is not without stumbles. Performance-wise, though, FX’s eight-part Fosse/Verdon is never less than all that jazz.

The show’s creative team, headed by creator Corinne Kingsbury and including Ben Stiller, so far have put together a show that’s surprisingly and bracingly watchable.

Unlike Cheers, the newcomer has inclusiveness going for it. But the writing is no match at all.

No one is really going for the jugular, though. Your funny bone is the main target, with the humor ranging from broad to subtle. .... So yes, these vampires still suck--but in a unique series that otherwise just tickles.

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.

Be assured that Shrill gains its footing en route to being something special by the end of its first season.

Manhunt’s navigations of clues and dead ends at times are enough to keep this pot simmering if not boiling. Nor is there anything wrong with Clunes’ lead performance, which unfortunately is in service to a not-so-greater whole.

Foley, Cohan and the supporting cast members need not unduly worry whether their adventures are all that plausible. What matters is whether this show is fun to watch regardless. Which it is.

Carpenter and Chestnut solidly play their roles, but Enemy Within doesn’t crackle the way The Blacklist did in early episodes. There’s nothing particularly special going on here, and it’s hard to muster the enthusiasm to say much more than that.

Kartheiser, who’s taking what he can get these days, has grown a beard for the role of the rather zany Bodie. The role is somewhat fleshed out in Episode 4, but it’s still not much to speak of. Lefevre, who co-starred in CBS’ summertime Under the Dome series, has some crackle as the head protagonist in Presumed Innocent. ... Presumed Innocent also can be transparently heavy-handed in its political leanings.

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.

The scenes from the set of Soul Train are well-captured and choreographed. But BET’s still limited production budgets are reflected in recurrent Vietnam War sequences involving the Clark kids’ father. They’re phony-looking to say the least, and really not needed at all. Walls, formerly of Starz’s Power series, is effective as Cornelius, although not to the point of blowing anyone away.

Those who get through the first several hours of this meandering mystery/morality play may well be invested to see it all the way through. It’s not terrible in the end. Nor is it spellbinding or particularly memorable.

Although Deadline Artist profiles both of them, the late Breslin (who died in 2017 at the age of 87) is the swaggering star of this time capsule. ... By the year 2015, both men looked frail and spent while seated next to one another for the purposes of this evocative film. Breslin remained pretty grouchy while the cheerier Hamill arrived in a wheelchair. It’s still something to see.

Too much of Black Monday is sounds and furious self-absorption/deception.

Deadly Class also misfires at times with this tale of disaffected, dysfunctional young outlaws being trained to lethally rage against the machine. But the first four episodes also vividly embed themselves with their blend of fierce action, relatable characters, striking visuals and a pounding, dynamic soundtrack that offsets some of the ham-fisted spoken words.

As with CW’s ongoing and likewise newly Latina-centered Charmed do-over, the story already seems played out in times when re-exploiting name brands unfortunately has become an end in itself.

The Passage, which shows considerable promise in these early episodes. Thanks to Gosselaar and Sidney, the all-important human element goes hand-in-hand with all the sci-fi ins and outs.

Ali is impressive in all three life stages, but his performance as the haunted and addled 70-year-old Hays has the most resonance.

CBS for the most part still clings to over-active laugh tracks and broadly played scenes and situations. Still, this is a nicely clicking ensemble that gets sharper as the show goes on.

There’s possibly some potential here. But the only episode of Schooled made available for review neither rings the bell--or answers it.

A prohibitive favorite for worst new TV show of the year didn’t take long to assume that position.

You might as well pencil in stars Rachel Brosnahan and Alex Borstein for return visits to the Emmy podium next year. They’re still that good in a comedy/drama series that remains peppy, snappy, musically magnificent and bursting with living colors. ... Mrs. Maisel remains loaded with special moments and deft asides.

Del Toro and Dano are both solidly believable, but the bravura performances in Dannemora come from Arquette and Lange as prison employees who get to taste freedom daily, even if it mostly tastes pretty sour.

Arkin is a cinch Emmy nominee for his contributions and Douglas may well find himself along for that ride. The scenes with the acting class students for the most part don’t work as well. ... Viewers of a certain age may well respond with knowing head nods to the age-old predicaments that Sandy and Norman find themselves in. But the series might also have some traction with advertiser-prized 18-to-49-year-olds.

Roberts and Cannavale also contribute memorable characterizations while newcomer James makes Walter much more than a guinea pig. These performances and a solidly intriguing story make Homecoming worth your down payment. Stay the course and you’ll get a nice payoff as well.

House of Cards also can be a victim of its own excesses, which are now built up into a heavy goo of previous evil and investigations of same by the sometimes ridiculously dogged Tom Hammerschmidt (Boris McGiver). ... Wright’s performance reflects all of [Francis's] cynicism, calculation and deep, unhealed wounds that powered his engine, and now hers as a President who pledges allegiance only to herself and her gender.

Dinklage excels in a very difficult role to pull off while Dornan keeps pace as his reluctant Boswell. Their love story, so to speak, is both an entertaining romp and a cautionary tale about a rocket ride to fame and the abundant excesses and afflictions that often are part and parcel.

Kids Are Alright has some fine, funny lines and also plenty of companion story lines to follow besides Timmy’s. It’s the best of the fall season’s new comedies from a network that’s become well-practiced in turning back the clock and making shows like these tick.

The Rookie’s action scenes are capably staged in a pilot episode that’s also brisk and well cast beyond the built-in marquee appeal of Fillion. But the lead character’s back story is barely touched on. And Nolan’s training to become a cop is completely omitted in the rush to get him out on the streets and imperiled.

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.

We get three long hauls that mostly test a viewer’s endurance. The performances aren’t at fault, but the stories themselves easily could be trimmed to an hour apiece or less. Left free to indulge himself, Weiner gorges too much on empty calories.

All-American has overtones of NBC’s exemplary Friday Night Lights, but so far is not in its class.

CBS has taken major steps to make its new fall series considerably more diverse than last time. The Neighborhood hits that mark, but also marches to the same-old/same-old sitcom beats.

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.

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.

The give-and-take living room scenes between Murphy and Avery so far are the best and most natural parts of this reboot. ... Murphy Brown, through these first three episodes, is aggressively polemic to the point of diminished returns.

This is an at times affecting but too often overwrought drama series.

The kids are more than all right, and the grownups aren’t bad either in the new sitcom Single Parents. So maybe ABC has something here. ... The kids so far are stealing the show--and this time it’s a pleasure watching them do so.

New Amsterdam tends to rather tidily resolve all of its patient crises in these first two episodes. It also can get treacly at times, particularly when Coldplay’s “Fix You” hovers over the closing minutes of the premiere hour. The long-term diagnosis is iffy at best, with the main characters and their cases coming off as not that special or interesting.

FBI moves swiftly and sometimes graphically through its earth-shaking opening investigation, adding and dropping suspects in a familiar pattern that nonetheless seems fresh and certainly isn’t dull.

Episode One is well-made and poses many more questions than answers. But you know the drill.

The premiere hour includes heavy lay-of-the-land narration by Magnum, perhaps in part because the character dialogue can be pretty clunky at times. ... The Hawaiian scenery remains gorgeous and crossover episodes with the Hawaii Five-0 guys are inevitable. This time around, the new Magnum also will have romantic possibilities with Higgins, who’s already sending some signals.

There’s nothing wrong in aspiring to be purely entertaining. Good Cop is quite good at that in Episode 1, but pretty much falls on its face in the second hour. Each story ends with a newspaper headline teasing the next one.

Maniac, for its part, throws down a tale that swerves to the left and swerves to the right without ever losing velocity. But seeing is believing while not believing what you’re seeing is also part of the experience.

I Feel Bad has appealing leads in the two younger parents, but is still trying to find a solid footing for itself amid some amusing moments now and then. The workplace segments take up too much of the show without rising above being a minor annoyance. And the domestic tribulations have a shopworn feel.

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.

For now, you’re advised to ride out The First, sluggishness and all. There are enough bright spots to bring it all home, with Mars very gradually getting closer to becoming more than just a talking point.

Bold, provocative and at its core heartbreakingly endearing, it borrows from the original mold--and then breaks it.

The whole thing comes off as uncomfortably clownish and insulting to viewers of any color, let alone African-Americans who have every right to cringe at such off-putting, clownish portrayals in times when FX’s immeasurably superior Atlanta has charted such bold new territory.

If you liked Sons of Anarchy, which ended up as one of FX’s most-watched drama series, then you’re very likely to roll with this one, too.

The Purge comes to television at exactly the wrong time. Not that there’s really a right time. The fact that it’s also clumsily made and rife with mediocre performances seems almost beside the point in the context of how pointless this thing is in the first place.

Jack Ryan goes above and beyond the pro forma basics of getting the job done. This is a thrilling and energetic enterprise replete with well-drawn characters and propulsive action. Binge-watchers, start your engines.

Mr. Mercedes has yet to fire on all cylinders in the early stages of Season Two. But a nice slow simmer is well-suited to Gleeson’s talents as an actor who doesn’t mind taking his time in further molding a character with a gruff exterior and an old, buttered soul. It’s a beauty of a savory performance, with the bigger chills still coming. All in due time.

The duly dreadful sixth movie in this preposterous franchise.

Get Shorty is superbly entertaining, both dramatically and comedically, and buoyed by performances that still lack official recognition from various trophy dispensers.

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.

Season Two has only just begun its twists and turns. But so far, so good, with ample possibilities still in play while Harry’s head tries to stay in the game.

Protective town officials, ostracism and an increasingly divided community serve as appendages in a multi-layered whodunit/coverup with enough pulling power to endure for the rest of this summer and early fall.

Castle Rock looks to be one of the best King things in years.

Things aren’t breezy enough here to be a jaunty sword-and-dagger fest. Talon is too serious-minded for that with her understandable determination to kill her mother’s killers in addition to avenging the attempted wiping out of an entire race. The first episode never dawdles in this respect. Future hours may calm down considerably on the action front. But even at a slower pace, The Outpost seems to promise enough mayhem, intrigue and burgeoning feminism to make for a satisfying enough summer run.

One can appreciate Adams’ performance, though, without buying into the overall endurance test required by Sharp Objects.

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 Love Is __ clearly know this terrain better than most. And they hope to make it accessible to audiences of all colors without losing the flavors that make it unique.