The discussion of vampire politics seems toothless at times, but True excels at setting up episode-ending cliffhangers. The episode pacing is superb.

Happy! captures the tone “Marvel’s the Punisher” should have aspired to: grisly, gross and nutty without abandon.

'The Closer' may be the first TV series to mimic ['Desperate Housewives''] ability to present women with textured, complicated lives. [12 Jun 2005]

While there are elements that might remind you of Armisen’s beloved--and so missed--“Portlandia,” “Forever” isn’t a sketch show. It takes some fanciful risks, but it remains grounded in Oscar and June’s journey, together and apart.

McBride is convincing, not surprisingly. He has a special knack for inhabiting the skin of imbeciles, and I mean that in a good way. Goggins proves he is one of the finest character actors working in television.

Forgive the salacious hook for a show that is not so much titillating as it is gripping, surprising, at times humorous and even a bit thought-provoking when it comes to exploring how sex is just as valuable as money or power.

The sets may at times look fake (is that Afghanistan or Vancouver?) and savvy viewers will spot the traitor in Mike's story line early on, but Traffic deftly puts tiny human faces on global problems. [23 Jan 2004]

The good part involves just about any scene focusing on Angie Harmon ("Law & Order") as Boston homicide detective Jane Rizzoli. The flip side? Just about every scene that isn't centered on her, especially those involving Jane's best friend, medical examiner Maura Isles (Sasha Alexander).

The cartoon is often laugh-out-loud funny, pulling off ridiculously zany sight gags, such as when Mondo decides to impress a girl by surfing and, instead, inadvertently beheads a bird, among other things.

Safe is one of those series, like HBO’s “Big Little Lies,” that focuses on the lives of the beautiful and the well-to-do. It doesn’t suggest the rich are just like us. It suggests they are even more miserable, and in the case of Safe, probably quite monstrous. That’s a story that translates just about everywhere, apparently.

The humans in Animals are idiots. But the critters often have funny things to share about how we all need our packs to survive and thrive.

Disenchantment casts a demented spell.

You want to see the robots turn on their masters. Canny series creators Jonathan Nolan (co-writer of “The Dark Knight”) and Lisa Joy know it, and they cleverly string you along with some disturbing questions about human nature.

[A] sweet yet raunchy comedy.

There may be fewer jump scares, but this could turn out to be the best Horror Story.

The story is a little too Dark Phoenix, and the series’ pacing can be maddening. But you have to love an action-packed finale that rips from a kid’s birthday party at a bowling alley (little Kenny is never getting over that one) to a concert hall on the cusp of the apocalypse. The climax is an ending and a beginning. Umbrella Academy is just getting started.

The characters have emotional issues without huge labels or teachable moments. The lack of stigma is refreshing for television.

The unscripted series is surprisingly engrossing and probably more valuable than two years of film school for would-be auteurs.

Legit is the sort of comedy that lets its heart beat once an episode.

What a dazzling bunch of jerks. Yet, somehow, they are family and you can't help but laugh at them. Arrested Development is so dopey - but slick dopey. [2 Nov 2003, p.39]

The show is polished. The acting is good, and so is the cinematography. But at its core, this is really just a nighttime soap. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

Ricci serves as an executive producer and delivers the best work of her career. ... Z is helped by an unusual format--the drama unfolds in 10 half-hour episodes, making it especially binge-worthy. More providers should try half-hour dramas. They don’t feel like endurance challenges, as many one-hour shows do.

The sense of loss, shock and mourning is still artfully conveyed. American TV rarely depicts the emotional fallout after a murder, preferring to focus on the investigation. Here, both elements are equally important. But Tennant seems tired, and you can understand why. He’s been all over this shore before.

Sinbad sets out to find his destiny on the sea, encountering menaces that would make Ray Harry­hausen proud.

Fimmel has an odd charisma as a barbarian who sees nothing wrong with butchering a group of unarmed, cowering men. But much of the supporting cast is problematic--either­ the actors just aren’t up to the work or the characters are underwritten.

The show cannily plays to teen hopes and dreams--the school, for example, is on the edge of a gorgeous beach (the kids at “90210” never had it this lush)--but there’s story for the adults as well.

Halt and Catch Fire’s operating system is solid, crafty and cunning. Boot it up.

With the suspenseful Eye Candy, we have a pretty good show, especially for teens who get a thrill out of being creeped out.

The Neighbors is the silliest show you will watch all year.

Sisto is surprisingly sweet as a befuddled dad. Everyone seems to want the next Emma Stone. Levy isn't there yet, but given time she might grow into a solid comic actress.

Blacklist doesn’t have the pulse, say, of a '24,' but it races in the right direction.

It’s too easy to think of this family as sharks. Sharks are much kinder to their young. Animal Kingdom bites hard and doesn’t let up.

Schenkkhan abridges his teleplay to two hours and 15 minutes when this project might have been better served by going in the other direction, by making, say, a two-night, four-hour mini­series. ... There’s no comparing [Cranston's] performance to anything he’s ever done. All the Way is going to lead Cranston along a familiar path--right up to the Emmy podium come fall.

Contrary to the title, you can trust the B---- for a good laugh.

Red Faction: Origins is light-years brighter than the typical Syfy Saturday dreck.

Don't look now, but Falling Skies could be a summer obsession.

In a subtle tip to the original series and its narrator, William Conrad, look for a cameo from "America's Most Wanted" John Walsh, who repeats Conrad's memorable opening to the series. Heavy hand of fate, indeed. [6 Oct 2000, p.S32]

Scoundrels is wicked fun when the Wests are being wild.

Stalker is the kind of show that will have you checking the locks on your door--and changing­ your Facebook status to “guarded­ by rabid pitbulls.”

Blood and Oil, harkens back to the best elements of “Dallas” and “Dynasty.”

The score ably amps up the foreboding, and the action sequences are gritty, scary and especially well-staged.

At a time when substance abuse of all sorts is roiling the nation, Loudermik, forgive the pun, is a sobering comedy, in every sense.

Watch and you'll want to play along, too.

Scripter Peter Straughan masterfully hits almost all the right notes in this fictionalized account of Cromwell.... The stage actor doesn’t convey the cunning with which Mantel imbues her protagonist. At times his lawyer seems a bit thick. At the close of next week, however, Cromwell--and Rylance--find their footing.

A familiar premise with fresh faces and equal doses of humor and pathos might be the right prescription for fans of the genre. [27 March 2005, p.039]

The series is fun and frothy but also often poignant.

Rest assured: The Borgias are still bad to the bone.

While these newsies may have outsized personalities, everyone shares a belief in getting the story right and serving the community.

Filmed in South Africa, Sails is awash in lush scenery, bloody expensive sets and brutal action. You’ve probably never seen a sword fight like the one that caps tonight’s episode.

A series with substance and heart that doesn’t insult the city or pander to stereotypes.

True Detective will linger with you long after the credits roll, a grim journey into night.

This is a packed episode that sets up the dynamic for a season long rivalry that New Directions will be hard-pressed to overcome.

In its best moments, this reimagined “Zone” features some of today’s most intriguing actors and swerves from fun to disturbing and back and is just as provocative as the original.

Wilson might be playing Penny with a better apartment, but she’s always a delight. Marino makes for a great sparring partner, and Williams has been off our screens far too long.

When Happy Endings is funny, it's need-to-pause-the-DVR-because-I'm-laughing-so-hard funny. And viewers should easily be able to commit to that.

Some story points, annoyingly, are dropped between the April 18 and April 25 episodes.... Even with a terrific supporting cast, Maslany is this show.

What seems like a straightforward question--Is Nick a traitor to his country?--might be the most devilishly complicated thing to answer, and definitely worth pursuing in this complex show.

Arnett isn't stretching himself here, but he's still funny as a man who can't comprehend why he can't buy the love of his life. Russell brings a fervor to the role of a woman who has yet to come across a tree she wouldn't want to hug.

With the breezy action comes some valuable knowledge about magnets and ammonias. Who knew TV could be educational? ... This reboot looks to be a pleasant way to start the [CBS Friday] lineup and the weekend.

A dramedy about an unplanned pregnancy? CW has nerve--and the creativity to carry it off.

Arrested Development is back. You’ve earned the insanity.

It’s just as audacious as ever, combining American history (the Underground Railroad) with plot swerves right out “24.”

Your love for the show depends on your tolerance for Leary and his overbearing character. [30 May 2006, p.28]

If you can accept you're watching the Kennedy saga through the prism of the "Fringe" universe, what you will find is an absorbing, addictive drama, with some authentic performances.

This adaptation from executive producers Geoff Johns and Greg Berlanti (behind all the CW superhero shows) is just as wonderful and weird as the comic.

Less silly than it sounds, Atlantis accomplishes the basic task of rejuvenating the Stargate action-adventure premise. ... Most importantly, it's Stargate without obnoxious SG-1 star Richard Dean Anderson, which instantly makes it twice as good. [16 July 2004]

The number of betrayals and reversals in the next two episodes are enough to twist any sane viewer into a pretzel.

Like Amy’s “Parks and Recreation,” the humor is never mean.

Like recent true-crime exposes NPR’s “Serial” and HBO’s “The Jinx,” Murderer is an absorbing look at a bizarre case that seems to shift with almost every new talking head. It’s an addictive, scary indictment of small-town policing and a warning to those poor or marginalized by their neighbors.

One of the smartest dumb shows, TBS’ Angie Tribeca, created by Mass. natives Steve and Nancy Carell, returns for a third season tomorrow night with the same silly sight gags, absurd jokes and a parade of guest stars coming out to play.

Mankind: The Story of All of Us is that college freshman survey course, a buffet of tasty data, a little bit about a lot. It might leave you hungry for more.

Buscemi is the only big-name actor associated with this cast, and though he seems to be having a great time strutting onscreen, most of the others aren't up to sharing the screen with him.

Do No Harm, a modern spin on Robert Louis Stevenson's "Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde," sounds lame. Yet it is so fast-paced and slickly produced, it could just be your new guilty pleasure.

Diplomacy by its nature doesn’t lend itself well to visual storytelling. Perhaps that’s why the show adds a conspiracy element.... Give props to Madam Secretary for the casting.

Sharp, slick and brimming with visual tricks, Fox’s Minority Report is a trippy sci-fi crime procedural.

Set aside the stunt casting worthy of a CW series and the detour into Lifetime territory. History’s Sons of Liberty, a three-night, six-hour scripted miniseries, crafts a compelling look at the men and the skirmishes that ignited the American Revolution.

This little sitcom reminds you how rare female friendship is on prime time TV--and just how much fun it can be.

Come for the mystery, stay for the performances.

Depending on your memories of high school, ABC's new drama... is either one of the most honest or most troubling small-screen depictions of teen angst. [7 Oct 2004]

This collection of characters - with all their quirks, quarks and nose jobs - is a winner. The women are strong. The men are sensitive. The life forms are testy. [5 Jan 1993]

The script and the pacing do not always serve her well, but [Oprah Winfrey] delivers her very best, as fans--and Winfrey herself--have come to expect.

Squeezed into a blue spandex suit with plastic chiseled muscles, the towering Warburton has done the nearly impossible. He has created a character who is ridiculously outlandish yet more than a mere caricature. [8 Nov 2001, p.50]

As Pops, the sitcom cliche of grumpy old grandpa, Laurence Fishburne (most recently on “Hannibal” and billed here a special guest star) squeezes every line until it coughs up a laugh.

With the Under­woods at war, House of Cards opens the doors on its most diabolical season yet.

There were moments when I wanted to give up on Penny Dreadful. Then there is the ending of the second episode--a horrific jolt that changes everything you thought you knew about one character--and, well, I can’t wait to see what happens next.

The Astronauts Wives Club orbits thisclose to camp--yet never plunges into a black hole of idiocy.

Superstore is a product of “The Office” co-executive producer Justin Spitzer, and like that already classic show, it digs into the mundane indignities of the work experience for its laughs, right down to the company magazine that blasts “Minimum Wage is Maximum Fun.”

Dreyfuss somehow refrains from chewing the scenery, though the script at times would have him leaving only flecks of drywall. Scolari has heartbreaking moments as he flounders with guilt. More focus on the personalities of Ruth and Mark, who killed himself on the second anniversary of his father’s arrest, would have fleshed out this story.

Abrams and co-creator Damon Lindelof infuse the opener with horror, poignancy, mystery and pitch-perfect humor...If Abrams and company can sustain the pace and intrigue of the pilot, then Lost will be a great place for viewers to lose themselves every week. [22 Sept 2004, p.EDGE 47]

Williams is magnificent. ... It’s a small miracle that “Fosse/Verdon” never loses sight of its goal — capturing the love and frustrations of two talented people who could never let each other go. “Fosse/Verdon” is “Scenes from a Marriage” — with none of that jazz.

McHale, as he proved on “Community,” has great timing, and he’s aided by his office colleagues, especially the delightfully deadpan Ko and Fry, who combines sweet and weird. With its office-as-asylum atmosphere, Great Indoors echoes “NewsRadio,” not a bad influence.

This hourlong drama is peopled with actors who have long deserved a rich showcase for their talents, and each rises spectacularly to the occasion. [4 Nov 2004, p.77]

[The Night Manager] makes the most of some gorgeous spots. Viewers, however, may find themselves anticipating the plot. Hiddleston is the draw and the catch. With a less capable lead, this story would only be mildly interesting. ... He proves here he’s ready to serve her majesty’s secret service and then some.

Buoyed by A-list star power, The Normal Heart beats erratically for more than two hours, yet delivers a gut punch in its climax.

'24' is exciting and intriguing. The cast is appealing. Using a split-screen technique to further propel the interlocking story lines, the drama has an edgy, hip style, enveloping you in suspense and danger. [6 Nov 2001]

Simm is very much the thinking man here, an academic thriving on his wits. Leung is affecting as a young woman whose quest rocks the core of her identity and her own chance for love. ... The miniseries almost sticks its landing. Its final scene can’t resist a bit of mawkish sentimentality to wrap the story. It’s not earned or needed.

While the documentary sometimes feel hurried, Pelosi has written a superior companion book of the same title that allows the newcomers to better share their stories.

Of the two series [Web Therapy and Episodes], Episodes is the most consistent and polished. It's also the one show that finds a groove and is happy to patter around its middling course.