99 Words About … The disappointment of ‘Hell on Wheels’

6269170-1-4

Fittingly for a drama centered around a 19th-century railroad, “Hell on Wheels” (10 p.m. Sunday, AMC) runs out of steam early and often.

And it suffers from the same mismanagement as the rails.

Anson Mount does what he can as the ex-Confederate soldier hunting his wife’s killers. But as a corrupt rail magnate, Colm Meaney is left to devour the scenery like it was covered in chocolate.

With “Breaking Bad” nearing its end and the debacle of “The Killing,” this is arguably AMC’s most important series yet.

Unfortunately, each poorly plotted episode seems to last all the livelong day.

— CHRISTOPHER LAWRENCE