Valor

Valor in no way resembles the generic bang-bang of CBS' SEAL Team or NBC's The Brave. It's an intriguing conspiracy thriller with some painful observations on modern warfare that may take much of the The CW's youthful audience by surprise.

This all probably sounds ridiculous, and pretty much is. Even so, Valor is more entertaining and accessible in its own way than network TV’s two other hard-charging combat hours. Ochoa and Barr blast off in their lead roles and also play well together.

Every line of dialogue might have been cut and pasted directly from another similar show, like newspaper letters in a ransom note. The characters are no more than the sums of their clichés.

Valor quickly becomes about secrets and lies, guilt and bravery, and hot bodies and awful banter. It’s not the best mix, and not mixed the best way.

It ricochets between Homeland-like sequences of POW interrogations, pop-music-scored sex scenes and bureaucratic squabbles. None of it fits together, and none of it is particularly compelling on its own.

It's just a show prioritizing checking out hot actors to telling a story in a meaningful way. ... Valor is a big swing for the network and also a big miss.

The CW probably should have--and likely will--cancel this mission. Valor doesn’t have the same level of quality on almost any level as its competitors, which is a shame. But it does have a unique point of view and a more focused story to tell.