The main action is pretty much standard soap fare.

Californication in Season 2 seems like its indulging a certain person's condition rather than illuminating the human condition, if you know what I mean - and I think you do.

It allows McKidd to shine as Mr. Fix-It, even though he never wanted the task. Some of the subtext needs more episodes to provide breathing room.

Three sitcom veterans can elevate comfortable mediocrity only so high. There's probably not one setup, premise or joke that you haven't seen before (or will see coming) in the entirety of your sitcom-watching life.

Ryan seems too inert, not nearly aggressive enough for the role.

Even though In the Motherhood may have universal appeal, overly familiar premises can lead to lameness, so ABC better hope the rest of the episodes play more like the one on Thursday and less like the one a week later.

The spy story, wartime bullets and intrigue carry The Company, though the writing and story are unnecessarily obvious.

But this is an epic drama on HBO, correct? So is it Giamatti or Adams himself who will make viewers wish for a swifter and less pedantic version on the History Channel?

Although the cases in Raising the Bar are apparently influenced by real-life cases, they tend to be either predictable or predictably unpredictable, however you want to look at it. In combination with the characters, this makes Raising the Bar about an average law series. That's pretty good for TNT, but less than expected from Bochco - fair or not.

There's an old-school feel to the storytelling (shades of "Columbo") that makes it feel comfortable--perhaps too comfortable, or at least too easy.

Joss Whedon is one of television's most talented visionaries, but his latest series--the highly anticipated midseason drama Dollhouse--is a major disappointment.

Unfortunately, The Goode Family isn't distinct enough or, ultimately, funny enough in the few episodes ABC screened to really worry about a future.

Ultimately, everybody's affable in this series. There are no sharp right angles, no emotional elbows.

Not nearly as ambitious as "Life on Mars" but entertaining nonetheless.

Though there are plenty of hard-earned (some might say forced) laughs here and Bornheimer is a real find, you can't help but wonder how they'll keep up the pace.

It's visually engrossing. Then it goes oddly flat in parts, only to kick-start itself with another clash of tones.

Bad, then decent, then confusing. That's not exactly the trajectory you're looking for in a pilot.

It's solid for what it is, despite the worrisome gimmick and sometimes obvious story.

There are funny moments here, mostly coming from Mohr's agitated rantings. But the laugh track is mighty intrusive, which detracts from the average jokes by throwing them in your face (or down your ear, as it were).

Some of it works, much of it doesn't.

In FX's Testees, viewers get a good premise gone sophomorically sideways.

CBS can turn a lot of tired fluff into sitcom hits, so who knows about Accidentally on Purpose? There are laughs here and there, but mostly it's all so very familiar and not remotely as funny as "Modern Family" or "Cougar Town."

If you're a fan of "Family Guy," this is an easy sell....The guess here is that if you don't know anything about "Family Guy," you'll be watching another network anyway.

The pilot is not especially funny. But it has potential.

A slightly older version of "Charmed"? Um, yes. Into all of this potential mediocrity (fully realized, by the way), comes the masterstroke of casting the phenomenal Paul Gross as the devil.

The Prisoner is not compelling. It rambles too much. Its vagaries are not interesting, its unorthodox storytelling not special enough.

What NCIS: Los Angeles does well is what all CBS procedurals do well--bring mostly believable, semi-pulse-pounding justice to bad guys by the end of the hour with some action, a dose of humor and the weekly, methodical unpeeling of each character's private onion skin.

It's beige on beige, people.