Flak Magazine

What sets "Clone High" above other superficially similar shows is that it knows it is ripping off its television forebears — both animated and live action — and it knows that you know too. Every storyline has been done to death, so "Clone High" appropriates these well-worn, over-done topics with a wink and a nod and then proceeds to mercilessly shred them. The end result is subversive, not formulaic.

For the most part, the special continues with the show's distinctive brand of brutal, punchline-free, squirm-inducing humor. Ultimately, though, it gives us what the first and second seasons did not, a happy ending. This optimistic conclusion could be seen as a loss of nerve. I prefer to see it as chance for release.

The entertaining "Andy Richter Controls the Universe" continues Fox's successful steps at building quality by integrating geekiness.

"Home Movies" isn't a typical cartoon; slapstick makes up a small percentage of its humor, and dry wit makes up more of its content than farcical antics, which are by no means absent. Fans of "The Simpsons" or "The Family Guy" will want to give "Home Movies" a look; it's less barbed, considerably more thoughtful and brilliantly... timed.

Like Trump himself, "The Apprentice" is straight out of 1987. It is brash, loud and tacky.

The show has lost focus and flavor, delivering nothing but — sigh — leftovers. What's changed? Not much — and that's the problem. With a large, adoring fan base and powerhouse ratings, it may have seemed wise not to mess with what was working. But relying on formula has done nothing but let the show grow stale.

Unlike its prequel, "That '70s Show," which uses the '70s as a contextual backdrop to its characters lives (and also manages to be funny), "That '80s Show" uses its characters merely as vehicles to display what we now remember as "'80s things."

"Everybody Hates Chris" is family-friendly, but it doesn't detract considerably from Rock's usual profanity-drenched style of (brutally) honest comedy. Rather, the scope of the show's humor is broadened, and allows the coming-of-age tale to speak to the general experiences of growing up.

The acting is strong, the music is good, and the show's not likely to leave many viewers lacking an opinion.

If only more time had been spent finding compatible pairs instead of piling adjectives into the show's cheesy publicity language. If only some time had been spent finding actual iconoclasts.