Ashes to Ashes has a cheekier energy that the original "Life on Mars," one that carries the show even when the police procedural stories are relatively bland.

If the world that Simon, Burns, Wright and company drop us into can be confusing at first (mirroring, as they intended, the confusion that Wright felt at the time), it's a fully-realized one that's both thousands of miles away (literally and figuratively) from the Baltimore of "The Wire" and one that will feel very familiar to anyone who spent a lot of time watching McNulty and Bunk drink at the train tracks.

The Ex List has the kind of silly romantic comedy premise that makes you feel dumber just for hearing it, but the show itself is actually fairly smart and funny--for the time being, at least.

The Middleman is at once retro and post-modern, the sort of result you'd get if you threw "The Tick" and the '50s black-and-white "Superman" TV show into a blender. And it's quite a lot of fun.

Tonally, Privileged is an amalgam of the CW's other shows in this genre: more contemporary and (at times) funnier than the new "90210" but not as nihilistic as "Gossip Girl." And Garcia's both charming and a promising light comedienne.

The journey from Point A to Point B is both surprising and funny in spots, thanks to Bornheimer's likable doofus vibe and the usual waves of contempt coming from Kurtwood Smith (last seen as Red on "That '70s Show") as his prospective father-in-law.

Sutter has some interesting characters and ideas here, but the intensity isn't there yet.

The world of the warehouse, and the interplay with the characters as they deal with it, are amusing enough to mark Warehouse 13 as a very promising summer series--regardless of the name of the channel it's on.

The two-hour pilot episode was engaging and fun in a way that NBC's other throwback dramas ("Knight Rider," "My Own Worst Enemy") have failed to be.

I want to see another episode or two before I can tell if The Philanthropist has the potential to be anything more than a summer trifle. But thanks to Purefoy, it's at least an entertaining trifle.

What The Unusuals lacks in cinematic sheen, it compensates with humor and a more interesting group of characters.

If you can get past the blatant attempts to sell an ABC News production to fans of ABC dramas--prepare yourself for a lot of going-into-commercial cliffhangers where the surgical patients don't seem to be waking up--Hopkins is a rewarding, and often surprising, experience.

As wonderfully played by Kenneth Branagh, Wallander is a fine addition to the tradition of PBS' "Mystery!"

Royal Pains can't help but suffer in comparison, but it's not a bad summer diversion--which, frankly, is all that "Burn Notice" was in its first season.

It's not a finished product yet, and Poehler and the writers need to find more ways to distinguish Leslie from Michael Scott, but funny forgives an awful lot.

While HBO’s new "How to Make It in America" is light on plot, characterization and humor, it’s got atmosphere to spare. And for a few episodes, that may be enough.

Jackie remains watchable because of Falco's no-nonsense, weary performance, and because of the off-kilter comic brilliance of Merritt Wever as Jackie's bubbly, spastic protégé Zoey.

Like the movie that inspired it, Parenthood isn’t an instant classic, but it’s smart and warm and knowing, and it casts its net so wide that at least part of it should connect with you.

It’s a solid meat-and-potatoes family comedy; next to "Hank," it’s the next "Malcolm in the Middle."

The jokes that do hit on "Life and Times of Tim" suggest that Dildarian might be onto something really good if given time to fix the slow spots.

For the seven of you who remember "Andy Richter," Better Off Ted isn't quite as good--in part because star Jay Harrington isn't as innately funny as Richter (and he's mainly used as a straight man), and also because Fresco ditched the fantasy scenes that were often the most memorable part of the earlier series--but it's still a breath of fresh air in the present stale environment for TV comedy, as well as an accidentally timely show.

With this cast, and the writing of Fresco and company, I expect Ted season two to again hit the heights of that first season. But these two episodes are a reminder of how hard it is to pull that off.

So long as Elba's on the screen, I'm interested, and even more when he and Wilson are sharing it. But ultimately, Luther turned out to be more average than I thought at first, regardless of its country of origin.

The pilot, in which Yost liberally borrows Leonard’s trademark lean dialogue from "Fire in the Hole," has a swagger to it, and also a sly sense of humor....Without Leonard’s writing to directly adapt, the later episodes are a mixed bag.

Nikita is good, but it's not transcendent.

There are so many lies in so many places, so many people on the verge of finding out and/or being hurt, that it feels like Lone Star might become very frustrating and repetitive by episode 3 or 4. I would watch a movie version of Lone Star, and I will stick with the series hoping it proves me wrong, but it doesn't feel like this premise has legs.

I was encouraged that the character-driven third episode was stronger than the zombie action-heavy second, and perhaps the producers will be proven right--that the longer this saga goes on past these initial six episodes, the more it will set itself apart from the zombie canon.

The show is less profound and novel than it seems to think it is. But the performances are strong enough that I want to stick around for Cathy Jamison's final journey, even if the path feels particularly well-trod.