Sohrab Ahmari

The action sequences that ensue are intriguing enough. The trouble is that the show doesn't trust the viewer's capacity to infer. Nor does it tolerate the slightest ambiguity. Thus we get long, dull passages of dialogue.

The performances by the likes of Mr. Biggs, Ms. Mulgrew and, especially, Ms. Schilling are so convincing, and the dialogue so sharp, that none of this feels like prurience for its own sake.

Downton has returned with all its powers intact, not least its power to mesmerize its armies of devoted fans.

Portlandia is bellyachingly funny.

Deception scores a point or two higher than the estimable "Revenge" in some regards. The atmosphere is darker, the story less outlandish, if only slightly, and Ms. Good's heroine boasts an attractively firm moral center.