The Tudors

(Showtime, Sunday, March 30, 10 p.m.)

The Rundown: Saga returns with Catherine of Aragon (Maria Doyle Kennedy) out, and Anne Boleyn in as queen.

Pros: Natalie Dormer has stretched Anne from a coquette to a royal with misgivings about the station she conspired to reach.

Cons: Through the first three episodes, too little of Peter O’Toole as Pope Paul III.

The Score: This season, more action is transferred from bed chamber to the court.

— Mike Reynolds

Battlestar Galactica

(Sci Fi Channel, Friday, April 4, 10 p.m)

The Rundown: Admiral Adama (Edward James Olmos) and the crew of Battlestar Galactica return for its final season.

Pros: The show smoothly picks up from last season’s dramatic finale in which four crew members discover they’re Cylons.

Cons: Heavy action and slow plot-setting scenes make the first episode a bit uneven.

The Score:Battlestar fans will enjoy the bittersweet start of the show’s final voyage.

— R. Thomas Umstead