While the pilot sets the series off to a rather slow start, once you warm to the unique pace and rhythms of their comic delivery, Garfunkel and Oates makes for an endearing half hour experience.

For fans craving the next dark, disturbing weekly watch in the spirit of The Walking Dead, The Strain will prove too cheeky and eye-roll inducing. Those that appreciate late '90s B-horror flicks such as The Faculty might enjoy The Strain for the kind of creepy, often goofy ride it is, even though it never gets too deep.

One has to be both in the know, as well as acclimated to the gory violence and corpses that frequently appear on camera in order to follow along. As long as Cross and Ruiz's renewed partnership seems necessary, season one fans should welcome the return of The Bridge.

There's enough intrigue driving the premise to set The Leftovers up as a promising series; whether the show can maintain its momentum or succumbs to the weight of the myriad, potentially frustrating mysteries behind it remains to be seen.

O'Quinn doesn't have nearly the command he did on Lost, even if he is in charge. Any scenes with the gang members' families are just plain cringe-worthy.

Maron is at its greatest when the comedian plays into the abrasiveness that lands him in trouble with others.

Overall, it took Once Upon a Time a season to fall flat; Penny Dreadful does that immediately.

With several seasons under their belt, they effortlessly inhabit the hundreds of characters that populate their vision of Portland. That vision is simultaneously expanding and tightening.

Mixology has sharp-witted lines that are genuinely funny--if at times highly sexist--rather than being gratuitous, clichés, or too-obvious puns.

The nutty parents in Growing Up Fisher do a good job of playing their extreme characters, instinctually making their eccentricities acceptable and funny rather than far-fetched and excessive. In contrast, the Growing Up Fisher children are so grounded and adult, but play that off with a world-weary-ness that is engaging.

With Jason Katims (Friday Night Lights, Parenthood) as creator and producer, About a Boy could very well be the next universally appealing family show.

The real heart here is the Jennings family. It's what make The Americans a better show than most, and what keeps it a show to watch heading into its second season.

Star-Crossed is a by-the-numbers, odds-against, inter-species, teenage love story.

There was a certain circuitousness to the plotlines that Archer Vice not only interrupts, but short-circuits completely.

Rake has enough varied story elements to not fall into the procedural courtroom drama. Kinnear is a natural in the starring role, effortlessly making the shambles of his character's life seem not only plausible, but also sympathetic.

Roiland and Harmon have put together a finely balanced show, with infinite possibilities that leave the door open for an exciting future.

An Adventure in Space and Time is a surprisingly moving docudrama that recounts the creation of the iconic British television series Doctor Who.

It's hard to fall in love with a world that feels...borrowed.

Meyers' Dracula is in line with the seductive, brooding bloodsuckers we've become used to lately, sipping fine whiskey as often as he does blood. The pilot moves very slowly, but the production values are outstanding.

The main storyline isn't strong enough and the incongruous peripheral elements just confuse rather than engage the viewer.

The Tomorrow People, which is a remake of a 1970s British show, is completely bogged down with rushed exposition, stale acting, and pointless action scenes that leave not much to look forward to.

The clichés are too silly and obvious.

[The actors'] experience and timing makes the writing work better than it is written, but they are working overtime to get that to happen.

It's more of a kindhearted family show--but it does need some kind of edge.

Welcome to the Family's storyline is so predictable, it doesn't warrant watching.

The problem is, it's nothing we haven't seen already in The Office, or countless other romantic comedies. It's forgivable, though, as Hello Ladies doesn't give up on the self-deprecating scenery.

Underwood always plays overconfident characters, and Ironside is no exception, but the wheelchair aspect makes it feel like he is trying too hard. None of the other characters are defined enough to balance out anything Underwood is doing. The stories are textbook cop fodder.

More risk-taking with the jokes and stepping up to the comedy from the rest of the cast and the show might eventually become something--and that's only if they can come up with enough stories for what is essentially a thin, workplace/home life crossover sitcom.

For a comedy, We Are Men is, in a word, sad.

The acting lacks conviction, but with a script this predictably sudsy, acting chops aren't at the top of the required list.

Beyond blissful laughs, Parks and Recreation offers a healthy image of political cooperation at a time when we could really use it.

This may not be the strongest first showing, but if it finds its rhythm soon, playing off of its existing strengths and shedding its weaknesses, this will be a compelling hour.

Nothing groundbreaking, but every so often a sports-themed show is de rigueur

Fox aside, the show boasts some strong performances which should hold it up through the weaker material, for a time at least.

It works in measures, but the tragedy here is that Samberg's leash is too short.

This could be a watershed moment in TV's long and inglorious history of idiocy, a drama that unintentionally almost matches Arrested Development for laughs.

With such a superior comedy cast, it's deplorable how far this badly written and directed show has dragged them down.

The concept is predictable, but not tired. The cast is relatable, and the dilemmas are thought-provoking without being heavy-handed.

Other than a few other corny ideas (the whole Presidential assassination trope is a little cliché), Hostages delivers a compelling plot with enough tension to keep viewers interested for 45 minutes.

The characters are cookie-cutter, the dialogue predictable, the jokes stale and flat, completely unexpected from a sitcom veteran.

Those two alone [Raymond "Red" Reddington (James Spader) and Liz Keen (Megan Boone)] are worth watching Blacklist, but the drama's storytelling is powerful enough to make you commit to it from the very first episode.

The Goldbergs banks on nostalgia for its charm, but needs to build on something more for us to really care about this family.

The Trophy Wife characters are well developed and the actors very natural in their roles. The kids are brilliant--particularly Tsai.

A solid cast with tangible family chemistry make Blue Blood a contender.

The Powells' snarky dialogue can be a bit annoying, but executive producer Greg Berlanti (Brothers & Sisters) cares for the family dynamics. Even the special effects are commendable. Some of the acting and line delivery can be a bit hokey, but that comes with the comic book-esque material.

It's not going too far to say Eastbound and Down holds a magnifying glass up to sports and hero workship, it's just that the magnifying glass is outrageously outsized, Charlie Chaplin, silent-movie prop huge. Sadly, as far as McBride takes Powers, the satire may never go far enough, as LeBron James and Roger Clemens and Tiger Woods and a host of others have shown.

There is absolutely no reason-other than the sheer good-lookingness of My Generation's cast-to tune into the show. Still, we are rooting for creator Noah Hawley (The Unusuals, Bones) to drag this one out of the mire.

In under 10 minutes, Outsourced manages to hit numerous offensive Indian stereotypes, borders on being racist, and not remotely funny.

The efficiency and charisma of these two, enhanced by the haute couture and clichéd exotic locales, makes watching Undercovers really fun-but not very believable as a spy drama. It is all a little too casual and humorous to be convincing.

Running Wilde exerts so much energy setting up the jokes that they end up forced. Arnett breaks off a couple of great one-liners, but Running Wilde has a lot of work to do in order to even be a good sitcom, much less a Hall of Famer like Arrested.

The rest of Detroit 1-8-7's cast is fill-in-the-blanks police fodder. The only two characteristics that separate this show is one, it is filmed wholly in Detroit (who cares, a soundstage looks just as convincing) and two, the cameras are handheld (who cares, that shakiness can become very annoying).

Despite the disappearance of his top lip when smiling, newcomer Wolk employs the same conman charm on the viewer. Rooting for both the wife and the girlfriend--maybe a little bit more for the latter, Lone Star has the makings for a sudsy tune-in.

While Hawaii Five-0 Mark II has none of its predecessor's cringe factor, the classic theme music retains its blood-rushing quality with a sharp, updated recording. And when McGarrett first utters the infamous line, "Book 'em Danno," we dare you not to let a little grin escape.

If you can tolerate the overly histrionic pilot and are curious enough to find out what "the event" actually is, of which there is no mention in the pilot, then NBC has a Lost-esque show on its hands. Count me out.

Writer Terence Winter (The Sopranos) delivers the most exciting new series in recent history with Boardwalk Empire, a sweeping Prohibition gangster saga that redefines the boundaries of television storytelling.