diff --git a/pandas/core/apply.py b/pandas/core/apply.py
index b96b3c7572031..e6766a33a613b 100644
--- a/pandas/core/apply.py
+++ b/pandas/core/apply.py
@@ -199,20 +199,21 @@ def apply_empty_result(self):
             return self.obj.copy()
 
         # we may need to infer
-        reduce = self.result_type == "reduce"
+        should_reduce = self.result_type == "reduce"
 
         from pandas import Series
 
-        if not reduce:
+        if not should_reduce:
 
             EMPTY_SERIES = Series([])
             try:
                 r = self.f(EMPTY_SERIES, *self.args, **self.kwds)
-                reduce = not isinstance(r, Series)
             except Exception:
                 pass
+            else:
+                should_reduce = not isinstance(r, Series)
 
-        if reduce:
+        if should_reduce:
             return self.obj._constructor_sliced(np.nan, index=self.agg_axis)
         else:
             return self.obj.copy()
@@ -306,10 +307,11 @@ def apply_series_generator(self):
             for i, v in enumerate(series_gen):
                 try:
                     results[i] = self.f(v)
-                    keys.append(v.name)
-                    successes.append(i)
                 except Exception:
                     pass
+                else:
+                    keys.append(v.name)
+                    successes.append(i)
 
             # so will work with MultiIndex
             if len(successes) < len(res_index):
diff --git a/pandas/core/arrays/datetimes.py b/pandas/core/arrays/datetimes.py
index 732f819e743a4..5dff1f93264c3 100644
--- a/pandas/core/arrays/datetimes.py
+++ b/pandas/core/arrays/datetimes.py
@@ -2284,7 +2284,8 @@ def _infer_tz_from_endpoints(start, end, tz):
     """
     try:
         inferred_tz = timezones.infer_tzinfo(start, end)
-    except Exception:
+    except AssertionError:
+        # infer_tzinfo raises AssertionError if passed mismatched timezones
         raise TypeError(
             "Start and end cannot both be tz-aware with different timezones"
         )
diff --git a/pandas/core/dtypes/concat.py b/pandas/core/dtypes/concat.py
index 12f3fd2c75dc8..1094ab22238e9 100644
--- a/pandas/core/dtypes/concat.py
+++ b/pandas/core/dtypes/concat.py
@@ -89,10 +89,9 @@ def concat_compat(to_concat, axis=0):
     # filter empty arrays
     # 1-d dtypes always are included here
     def is_nonempty(x):
-        try:
-            return x.shape[axis] > 0
-        except Exception:
+        if x.ndim <= axis:
             return True
+        return x.shape[axis] > 0
 
     # If all arrays are empty, there's nothing to convert, just short-cut to
     # the concatenation, #3121.
diff --git a/pandas/core/indexes/accessors.py b/pandas/core/indexes/accessors.py
index 2036728e702f3..11b6cb2ca3ed4 100644
--- a/pandas/core/indexes/accessors.py
+++ b/pandas/core/indexes/accessors.py
@@ -316,7 +316,7 @@ def __new__(cls, data):
         # do all the validation here.
         from pandas import Series
 
-        if not isinstance(data, Series):
+        if not isinstance(data, ABCSeries):
             raise TypeError(
                 "cannot convert an object of type {0} to a "
                 "datetimelike index".format(type(data))
diff --git a/pandas/core/series.py b/pandas/core/series.py
index 6fb39c422de93..10d50e89ca92e 100644
--- a/pandas/core/series.py
+++ b/pandas/core/series.py
@@ -1114,9 +1114,6 @@ def __getitem__(self, key):
                     return self.__getitem__(new_key)
                 raise
 
-        except Exception:
-            raise
-
         if is_iterator(key):
             key = list(key)
 
diff --git a/pandas/plotting/_core.py b/pandas/plotting/_core.py
index d3c9e8ccfa51c..837b01974be93 100644
--- a/pandas/plotting/_core.py
+++ b/pandas/plotting/_core.py
@@ -1,22 +1,20 @@
 import importlib
-from typing import List, Type  # noqa
 import warnings
 
+from pandas._config import get_option
+
+from pandas.compat._optional import import_optional_dependency
 from pandas.util._decorators import Appender
 
 from pandas.core.dtypes.common import is_integer, is_list_like
 from pandas.core.dtypes.generic import ABCDataFrame, ABCSeries
 
-import pandas
 from pandas.core.base import PandasObject
 
 # Trigger matplotlib import, which implicitly registers our
 # converts. Implicit registration is deprecated, and when enforced
 # we can lazily import matplotlib.
-try:
-    import pandas.plotting._matplotlib  # noqa
-except ImportError:
-    pass
+import_optional_dependency("pandas.plotting._matplotlib", raise_on_missing=False)
 
 
 def hist_series(
@@ -732,7 +730,7 @@ def __call__(self, *args, **kwargs):
         # `x` parameter, and return a Series with the parameter `y` as values.
         data = self._parent.copy()
 
-        if isinstance(data, pandas.core.dtypes.generic.ABCSeries):
+        if isinstance(data, ABCSeries):
             kwargs["reuse_plot"] = True
 
         if kind in self._dataframe_kinds:
@@ -1603,7 +1601,7 @@ def _get_plot_backend(backend=None):
     The backend is imported lazily, as matplotlib is a soft dependency, and
     pandas can be used without it being installed.
     """
-    backend = backend or pandas.get_option("plotting.backend")
+    backend = backend or get_option("plotting.backend")
 
     if backend == "matplotlib":
         # Because matplotlib is an optional dependency and first-party backend,
diff --git a/pandas/plotting/_matplotlib/converter.py b/pandas/plotting/_matplotlib/converter.py
index 893854ab26e37..446350cb5d915 100644
--- a/pandas/plotting/_matplotlib/converter.py
+++ b/pandas/plotting/_matplotlib/converter.py
@@ -329,7 +329,7 @@ def __init__(self, locator, tz=None, defaultfmt="%Y-%m-%d"):
 
 class PandasAutoDateLocator(dates.AutoDateLocator):
     def get_locator(self, dmin, dmax):
-        "Pick the best locator based on a distance."
+        """Pick the best locator based on a distance."""
         _check_implicitly_registered()
         delta = relativedelta(dmax, dmin)
 
@@ -382,6 +382,7 @@ def __call__(self):
             dmax, dmin = dmin, dmax
         # We need to cap at the endpoints of valid datetime
 
+        # FIXME: dont leave commented-out
         # TODO(wesm) unused?
         # delta = relativedelta(dmax, dmin)
         # try:
@@ -448,6 +449,7 @@ def autoscale(self):
 
         # We need to cap at the endpoints of valid datetime
 
+        # FIXME: dont leave commented-out
         # TODO(wesm): unused?
 
         # delta = relativedelta(dmax, dmin)
diff --git a/pandas/plotting/_matplotlib/core.py b/pandas/plotting/_matplotlib/core.py
index 6ff3f28440303..346949cb82c4d 100644
--- a/pandas/plotting/_matplotlib/core.py
+++ b/pandas/plotting/_matplotlib/core.py
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import re
-from typing import Optional  # noqa
+from typing import Optional
 import warnings
 
 import numpy as np
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index a86527ace092b..76db96870c36a 100755
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -300,12 +300,12 @@ def run(self):
         for clean_me in self._clean_me:
             try:
                 os.unlink(clean_me)
-            except Exception:
+            except OSError:
                 pass
         for clean_tree in self._clean_trees:
             try:
                 shutil.rmtree(clean_tree)
-            except Exception:
+            except OSError:
                 pass