Lights Out does turn into a good series. A knockout? No. But sometimes, you have to be content to win on points.

As is often the nature of such programs, Skies does ask you to accept a lot of clunky dialogue and a few too many easily spotted twists. Even so, fans of the genre can embrace it as a summer-viewing diversion--one that's likely to work even better for younger viewers, who haven't seen all the films from which it borrows.

It's a well-constructed piece of popular entertainment from a dependable provider of the same, with an easy-to-like star and an easy-to-grasp premise.

Luckily for Terra Nova, fans of the genre are often at least temporarily willing to overlook bad writing and performances if the battles are exciting and special effects convincing, and they are. That should buy the show time to improve.

It has established genuine emotional bonds between its characters. There is something at stake here beyond the mechanics of the "sting," and that gives the show enough weight to keep it from dissipating in the summer heat.

Simon. He's the gold standard, the judge against whom all others are judged, and his presence is enough to make Factor a factor.

[The premiere is] another well-told story that gives us a bit more insight into the pair while the season's two interconnected running story lines spool out behind them.

Luckily, the last thing many of us need in summer is another show that demands our weekly attention. Entertainment we can dip in and out of will do. And if that's what you want, Wilfred is a good dog indeed.

This is a series where surface is substance, and surfaces don't come much dreamier than in this beautifully realized flight fantasy, from its lovely, terror-free airport to its even lovelier cast.

Max and Caroline's Odd Couple interaction is nothing you haven't seen before. But thanks to the show's two bright young stars, who deliver their shared dialogue with a nice, natural ease, their scenes together have enough charm and humor to make these struggling Girls look like winners.

Two Sarah Michelle Gellars may not be better than one, but they're certainly just as good. And thankfully, that's more than good enough to get the new TV season off to a roaring early start.

There are great performances from Gedrick and Dunn as leaders of a gambling quartet, and good work all around.

The overly blended result may be as much Dickens, Tolkien and J.K. Rowling as it is J.M. Barrie, but it's still an appealing one.

Alcatraz is easy enough to follow tonight, with twists and surprises that are enjoyable and not enervating.

As entertaining as it may be, Apt. 23 does seem like an odd tonal match for the sweeter, more realistic Modern Family. Still, it's nice to see ABC giving a great time slot to a very good show.

A strong cast and that things-that-go-bump-in-the-night shooting style so far keep the show on course.

A star-studded, fast-moving, generally entertaining film about Sarah Palin.

In total, the changes have led to a show that is much better, and is on much more solid footing, than it once was.

What works about the show outweighs what doesn't, but others will read the results differently.

Sorkin has created a funny, free-flowing comedy that more closely reflects the rhythms and look of a feature film. He may still have something to learn about the sitcom form, as witness the abrupt shift to sentimentality that ends the first two episodes. But when he's on his game, he provides moments of unexpected and acute insight that can almost leave you breathless. [22 Sept 1998, p.3D]

Friday's opener is intriguing, but shows such as Doe have a habit of collapsing quickly — usually because the rules governing the hero's behavior bend and stretch to suit the needs of the writers.