Contributor: Paul Asay

Paul Asay has been part of the Plugged In staff since 2007, watching and reviewing roughly 15 quintillion movies and television shows. He’s written for a number of other publications, too, including Time, The Washington Post and Christianity Today. The author of several books, Paul loves to find spirituality in unexpected places, including popular entertainment, and he loves all things superhero. His vices include James Bond films, Mountain Dew and terrible B-grade movies. He’s married, has two children and a neurotic dog, runs marathons on occasion and hopes to someday own his own tuxedo. Feel free to follow him on Twitter @AsayPaul.

Timeless

Timeless, NBC’s silly new swashbuckler, is all about second guesses.

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Rel

Funny moments on Fox’s new sitcom compete with crass innuendo, mean-spirited behavior and oodles of profanity.

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Switched at Birth

Really solid messages about families and disabilities sometimes get switched out for really lax ones about morality.

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Stars Earn Stripes

Eight celebrities find out what it’s like to be in the military. But it’s the SEALs, the Green Berets and the Delta Force members here who are the real stars of the show.

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Fleabag

Fleabag is bright, engaging, utterly devastating and morally impaired.

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Five Points

Five Points may be a sign of how television is changing, but I found it a bit … pointless.

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Once Upon a Time

This popular ABC series sometimes sets up strong distinctions between good and evil, but it stumbles around in the dark forest quite a lot, too.

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The Simpsons

UPDATED REVIEW: What happens when a show dedicated to satirizing Americans becomes an integral part of America—and the longest-running scripted primetime series in American history?

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Men of a Certain Age

UPDATED REVIEW: On TNT, three long-time friends run headlong into the many trials of being fortysomething. (Full disclosure for all readers under age 39: They involve a great deal of angst and the need for bifocals.)

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Bunheads

UPDATED REVIEW: The creator of the chick-hit Gilmore Girls returns to television with another show that tries very hard to be just like Gilmore Girls—only with a little less flair and a few more épaulements.

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The Goodwin Games

Benjamin Goodwin was not a good father. Now he wants to make up for that … from beyond the grave. Let the sitcom games begin!

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The Blacklist

This is a crime thriller where few people actually wear black or white hats—but there’s always plenty of Red.

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Game of Thrones

UPDATED REVIEW: Is it good to be the king? We don’t even want to be in this kingdom.

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The Spy

Sacha Baron Cohen’s latest endeavor on Netflix is about as far from Borat as it could be.

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Wisdom of the Crowd

CBS’s new drama asks provocative questions about the future of crimefighting. But like similar shows, it comes with its own content issues, too.

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