Robert Lloyd

Oddballs abound in Fox’s two new sitcoms, but ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ plays it smart and fresh while ‘Dads’ humor gets old fast.

Craig McCracken’s alien cartoon on Disney Channel is imaginative, upbeat and sweet.

‘Fame High’ follows four students at Los Angeles County High School for the Arts for a year in moving, educational fashion.

There’s ‘Mom,’ ‘Dads,’ a ‘Trophy Wife,’ ‘The Birthday Boys,’ ‘The Capones.’ Here are quick looks at new fall TV season shows.

‘Earthflight,’ a six-part series that premieres Wednesday on PBS, is an astonishing look at the flight of birds.

In ‘The March,’ director John Akomfrah brings the historic event to life, with many key surviving participants recalling the march and what it took to make it happen.

Instruction-reader Marcus Hunt and carefree Ed Sanders put themselves to the test in AMC’s appealing, if manufactured, new reality series.

Mark Strong is excellent as a compromised Detroit cop in AMC’s promising new drama ‘Low Winter Sun,’ premiering before ‘Breaking Bad.’

A comically obsessive character finds the actor-writer on familiar, and welcome, ground in the HBO movie ‘Clear History.’

Jim Rash, hosting ‘The Writers’ Room’ on Sundance, invites the writers of ‘New Girl,’ ‘Breaking Bad,’ more to show how it’s done.

Critic’s Notebook: As CBS and Time Warner war over money — and there is no moral high ground here — you have options.

An imaginary friend, played by the ‘Family Tree’ star, figures prominently in this sweet, eccentric jaunt back to 1989 Ireland.

Intoxicated narrators replay history in Comedy Central’s delightfully twisted ‘Drunk History,’ which premieres Tuesday.

‘Endeavour’ on PBS’ ‘Masterpiece Mystery’ stars Shaun Evans as Morse and Roger Allam as his superior, Fred Thursday. It’s an overall enjoyable prequel.

In his documentary ‘Neurotypical,’ premiering on PBS’ ‘POV’ series, Adam Larsen explores how people with uniquely wired brains get along in the rarely straightforward ‘straight’ world.

Ava DuVernay’s documentary on Venus Williams’ fight for equal pay for female tennis stars is a promising start to ESPN’s ‘Nine for IX’ women-focused series.

In FX’s new drama ‘The Bridge,’ an odd couple of detectives team up to solve a murder that spans the U.S. and Mexico border.

‘Futurama’ is no stranger to final acts, but this time creator Matt Groening is set for an ending worthy of Bender, Fry and the rest of the sci-fi cartoon crew.

Fox’s new late-night cartoons include ‘Axe Cop,’ which lacks some of the magic of its Web comic inspiration, and ‘High School USA!,’ which offers an alternative version of the “Archie” comic book.

Veteran actors Jon Tenney and Rebecca Romijn star as private investigators in the TNT series that premieres Monday.

Fast-paced and entertaining, the new show lands in a variety of European locales in its pursuit of cross-border crimes.

Broadway dreams get a warm embrace in a lively telecast once again hosted by the unshakable Neil Patrick Harris.

The enlightening distillation of Pryor’s triumphs and tragedies serves to remind viewers of his memorable genius.

Jennette McCurdy of ‘iCarly’ and Ariana Grande of ‘Victorious’ team up for some fun in the at once endearing and annoying series.

Critic’s Notebook: The superhero band and its spinoff TV series “The Aquabats! Super Show!’ and ‘Yo Gabba Gabba!’ are connecting with kids of all ages.

The intense mixes with the normal drama of everyday life in this new ABC Family series about a multi-cultural family headed by two moms.

In Season 3, the AMC detective series continues to take its time, but when Mireille Enos and Joel Kinnaman are on screen together, the mood crackles.

‘72 Hours’ at least emphasizes teamwork; ‘The Hero’ makes its competitors anything but. Both are on TNT.

Director Christopher Guest sets his offbeat sights on TV with a poignantly comical series starring Chris O’Dowd on a quest to seek out his relations.

Jim and Pam’s reunion in one of the final episodes highlights how the NBC comedy has aimed for the heart through the years.

Critic’s Notebook: The convergence of TV and the Internet has been a long time coming, and though resistance is futile, you can always click off.

Critic’s Notebook: Move over cable and broadcast TV, Amazon’s release of 14 pilots online highlights how big digital players are remaking the entertainment landscape.

ABC’s new sitcom about a ne’er-do-well son who takes over his ailing dad’s home repair business gets a much-needed makeover between the pilot and first episode.

Marc Maron plays himself in this new IFC sitcom, a friend to cats but few others.

The CW’s ‘Cult’ and Fox’s ‘The Following’ are new network television shows about murderers. There’s reason to be concerned about the trend.

Amy Poehler’s Leslie Knope on ‘Parks and Recreation’ may be the least cynical character on TV. It’s easy to care about her and what she cares about.

Even with coverage that included banal commentators, a cut sequence and no live streaming, the sheer thrill of the opening ceremony shines through.

Ken Burns and Lynn Novick’s documentary is informative but overlong.

Martin Scorsese’s documentary shows a man more complex than the ‘Quiet Beatle’ label suggests.

The mix of eloquence and authority that the CBS newsman embodied is a far cry from today’s anxiety-provoking TV outlets.

The legend is fascinating, the person even more so.

As the 10th anniversary of the attacks approaches, TV specials look at Sept. 11 from every angle. The mostly elegiac programs range from the fresh to the trivial.

Showtime documentary examines the super group’s evolution.

The competition is on to crown ‘America’s next drag superstar,’ and who better to preside over the proceedings than onetime club icon RuPaul.

The documentary ‘Troubadours’ on KOCE talks to ‘60s and ‘70s artists about their time at West Hollywood’s Troubadour.

Don’t expect the ‘Lost’ finale to answer all the island’s intricacies, but that’s the beauty of a show with such complex characters and winding plotting.

Call it a cynic’s guide to surviving the ‘burbs, but it’s really an old-fashioned sitcom with Bob Saget at the helm playing a grumpy dad.

Late at night, the comic actor turned talk show host is displaying a unique way with questions, a penchant for high-quality skits and multiple other ways of charming an audience.

Inventors bring their gadgets for Billy Mays and Anthony Sullivan to certify for TV sellability in new Discovery series.

Showtime series developed by Diablo ‘Juno’ Cody starts Toni Collette as a woman with multiple personalities.

There’s fun in an unlikely place as Starz does the sitcom with ‘Party Down.’

The Nickelodeon movie features ‘iCarly’s’ Jerry Trainor and Jennette McCurdy in a fun, if obvious, bit of gaming rivalry.

A tale of the 2008 financial meltdown comes to HBO, with straightforward direction by Curtis Hanson and a sizable cast led by William Hurt.

Loser teachers populate Fox’s new animated sitcom, which is closer to ‘Family Guy’ than to ‘The Simpsons.’

NBC reality show, hosted by Marco Pierre White, is the latest in a sometimes-moving feast of cooking-centric contests.

The documentary details the brutality and the back story of the Ali-Frazier legendary bouts.

The time-bending begins anew in a continuation of the British original ‘Life on Mars’ story. What matters most: Philip Glenister’s righteous thug is back.

The sword-and-sorcery genre gets a going-over in this Comedy Central/BBC co-production.

Unlike other reality TV shows, this one delivers the goods: real designed clothes and a winner chosen based on talent.

Controversy over daughter Bristol Palin’s pregnancy gave Republicans an opportunity to rail at the media Wednesday night.

The short-lived 1982 TV series had a lot to say, in its offbeat way. Now that it’s on DVD, we can see what it helped to start.

Memorable ‘Real World’ cast member Pedro Zamora, an AIDS educator, is the subject of the film scripted by Dustin Lance Black.

Sure, the writers strike put a crimp in the season. But even so, these nominations seem stale.

The stars are attractive, but the sparks never really fly between them, leaving this version bland.

The HBO documentary follows the Hollywood madam as she tries to open a brothel for female clients.

The TLC show is real enough reality.

There’s nothing original about the MTV musical, but it has a certain appeal.