Chris Conaton

A compelling mystery, it maintains a measured pace, inviting viewers’ patience.

For all the characters’ feeble development, though, Scorpion doesn’t drag. And Lin’s action sequences at the end look great as well as ludicrous.

It is to say that this mimicking is just that, as if the creators here have watched those shows ["24" and "Homeland"], but have no original inspiration, and instead think that plot twists in and of themselves make a drama bracing.

Somehow, this ludicrous premise and uneven plot elements cohere into a fast-moving, exciting hour.

When Falling Skies is clicking, it remains a very entertaining show that fills a niche.

The mix of appealing nerds and lack of truly grating nerds is calculated for viewers' comfort, but the first episode is decidedly bland, too. Viewers looking for a new take on the reality competition genre won't find it here.

At last, Sasha is less a collection of TV teenager tropes and more convincingly a Sherman-Palladino creation.

It's a lively conversation that's nicely balanced between oral history and behind the scenes anecdotes.

American Horror Story: Asylum reintroduces the first season's nightmarish craziness but also sets it within a coherent basic history. It helps too that the new cast appears to be so tight.

Ben and Kate has the potential to be a similar sort of low-key, hangout show [like Cougar Town and Raising Hope] that's also very funny.