One of the peculiarities of TV-series criticism — especially the kind intended to anticipate the debut of a show — is its goal of assessing something inherently incomplete. Book critics aren’t given only the first four chapters of a new novel, and they don’t stop at page 140 and start typing away (or if they did, they wouldn’t admit it). Film reviewers can’t exit the theater halfway through a film, as much as they might like to. Same with theater critics. But if you’re writing about a single episode of a new TV show — maybe two or three if you’re lucky — you’re essentially weighing in on something that is in all likelihood still in production, a pulsating, evolving thing in the minds of its creators, and aiming for a life of perhaps many, many years, and possibly different artistic directions. The artists are still stirring the pot, in other words, and as a critic in the prelaunch phase it can sometimes feel like you only get to... More >>>