Chris Barton

Fillion’s strengths are key, because despite the show’s best efforts to drape multiple dramatic storylines around him in the one episode ABC made available to review, there’s just not a lot that stands out otherwise. ... It’s a breezy drama that doesn’t demand much from the viewer, but Fillion’s easy charm is tough to dismiss.

It's all pretty absurd, but the show is too light on its feet to begrudge for long.

The breezily funny Champions might fare better if it makes things tougher on itself. ... That said, the moving parts that make up Champions will probably win you over.

The show delivers decent enough action-movie pacing in a gruff, amoral universe that really wants to be reminiscent of "Training Day" or "The Shield," but with so many one-dimensional characters saddled with leaden dialogue, it falls well short. Some half-hearted groundwork is laid for the possibility of redemption in a few Ravens, but there's so little evidence of something deeper or surprising anywhere on-screen that it's difficult to care.

Even setting aside the show's lack of interest in the complexity of faith, it's greatest sin is simply not being funny enough. The characters are too thin and familiar to generate laughs on their own, and some jokes rely too heavily on references while others just don't make sense.

Though Katic does her best, there are better shows involving an obsessed, morally compromised cop looking for answers. But if you need an atmospheric and propulsive binge-watch and don't linger on the details, Absentia will be there for you.

With rotating casts and directors, anthology series are uneven by nature, and this season feels more so as Black Mirror occasionally struggles to capture the sense of surprise that was long its greatest strength.

As a comedy or even an action series, Happy! is far from perfect. But if you’re up for venturing down a dark path where the only one seemingly capable of the titular emotion is someone’s imaginary friend, it still might make you smile.

The backstage antics could make for a satisfying enough escape except for the show’s clunky attempts to engage the real world.

Actual wisdom in this show is in short supply.