By John Keegan

“The River” is the kind of series that can be polarizing. As I mentioned the last time I reviewed the show, I think it fails on the basis of its central gimmick. Certainly the first few episodes relied so much on the “found footage” approach, and the jump scares that come with it, that the story was often buried. It’s no shock that the series has lost nearly half of its original audience, and it’s lucky to still have the chance to be seeing the end of its short first season run.

By John Keegan


The biggest problem with “Alcatraz”, from my point of view, is the repetitive nature of the premise. We all know how things are going to play out: one (or more) of the 63’s will return, they will start killing people in roughly the same fashion as the methods that led to their incarceration, Rebecca and Diego will lead the hunt that eventually leads to the capture or demise of the main subject. The rest is just variations on a theme.

By John Keegan and Henry Tran

When Will took his punishment from the bar association, I was kind of expecting for him to miss the work and be one of those guys who couldn't function unless he was working. This episode makes a lot of hay out of that situation, sometimes amusingly so when it involves his two older sisters meddling into his affairs. Diane and her handling of the firm with Will out of the picture (temporarily?) then suddenly comes into sharp focus.

By John Keegan

Things continue to march along their dark little paths in this latest episode of “Being Human”, and I couldn’t be happier. What makes it work is the relatively tight continuity; everything that happens in this episode ties back into elements that were introduced earlier in the season. That makes the drama a lot more involving, to say the least.

By John Keegan and Gregg Wright

I hadn't really realized until just this episode how much of a chore it's become for me to watch "The Walking Dead". Anymore, my appreciation of the show seems to be more a matter of begrudging respect than actual enjoyment. I tried to ask myself why this was, but the answers didn't come easily. What next came to mind was the realization that this has been the case for much longer than I would previously have been able to admit. "The Walking Dead" has coasted for a long time the sheer novelty of being a well-produced TV zombie saga. But does that mean that "The Walking Dead" is bad?

By John Keegan

On the heels of the previous episode’s fiery and bloody massacre, marking the apparent mid-point of the season thus far, it makes sense to take a step back and explore the depths of the fallout. In the process, the writers remind us of the cardinal rule of the “Spartacus” franchise: underneath all the sex and violence, the strength of the series is the character development.

By John Keegan

Those familiar with the game know that new television series, especially those for traditional broadcast networks, are generally given an initial 13-episode order. Based on the strength of those initial episodes (primarily in the ratings, if we want to be honest), the network can then pick up an option for the “back nine”. While “Grimm” received that honor earlier in the season, it’s pretty clear that the producers didn’t do much to adjust the original plans for the initial order.

By John Keegan and Henry Tran

It's easy to like "Awake" for its intriguing premise: Detective Michael Britten (Jason Issacs) is experiencing two different realities following a car accident. In one, his wife survived the accident, but his son did not. In the other, the reverse is true. Such a complicated overall plot could invite confusion from the audience. Judging from the pilot, that isn't a problem.