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.

Netflix might be the dominant streaming service player when it comes to original series, but quantity never trumps quality, as Man proves. The detail in imagining New York City as a Nazi stronghold remains extraordinary, from the skyscrapers bearing the flag of the Third Reich down to the swastika ice sculpture dripping at a fancy party.

Yes, this reality cooking show is like those that have come before it, but--at least in this episode--it stands out for what it doesn’t have. There’s no yelling and there’s no long bleeps to cover up cursing.

Possibly the best comic-book-to-TV-series ever made. It is a show that respects its source material without exaggerating the visceral bombast. It's a show that will entertain you in a single bound. [16 Oct 2001, p.44]

The good news is the characters created here are so interesting that we want to know more about them. Whedon continues to slay viewers. [19 Sept 2002, p.48]

Comer’s performance--as a 26-year-old stunted as a 13-year-old--is beautiful. She can be endearing, mystifying and aggravating, sometimes in the same moment. She’ll keep you coming back to a mystery that grows darker with every revelation.

The destination to this journey doesn’t sound all that compelling, but Better boasts a caliber of actors other shows can only dream about.

A loopy, likable new NBC comedy.

The premiere drops enough intriguing hints about the players' pasts without distracting from the main plot. You can't have a team without conflict, and every character seems to carry a quirk that rubs the others the wrong way.

In this truncated season (only eight episodes as opposed to the usual 13), Wright remains outstanding. But “House” suffers from the same problem as HBO’s “Veep.” Both started as daring satires of the highest office in our land and both have been surpassed by our current reality in which every day brings a new tweet storm of chaos.

Lifetime's latest ripped-from-the-headlines biopic, about alleged wife-killer Drew Peterson, is salacious, sinister and downright sleazy. It's also as irresistible as a piping hot box of Dunkin' Donuts munchkins.

"The Chronicle" seems to want to have as much fun with its stories as its viewers. [12 Jul 2001]

Bell, who started out as a child actor, has matured into a compelling leading man and he seems capable of conveying Abraham’s troubling journey into the underbelly of the war effort.

Less perverse than ``I, Claudius,'' more entertaining than ABC's toga twister ``Empire,'' Rome gets off to an uneven start. [25 Aug 2005, p.47]

If this truly is the last season of The X-Files--and star Gillian Anderson has said it is, at least for her--the Fox sci-fi conspiracy thriller is going out giving what fans want. Mostly. In this, its 11th season, the show brings back familiar faces, opens some new mysteries, solves others and gives plenty of reasons to ship FBI agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Anderson)’s quirky relationship to the stars and back.

Their characters--Welfare Queen, Fortune Cookie and the Old Biddies, to name a few--are wildly over the top, borderline offensive and true to the era. The crowd has no choice and falls in love. It’s no tilt-a-whirl crossbody, but GLOW gets close.

Hudgens is delightful as a young woman determined to show she can make a difference in the world even without superpowers. Pierson is only listed as recurring, and she needs to be upgraded pronto for her heroic, hilarious meanness. Pudi can do great things — he proved that on “Community”--one can only hope the scripts will give him a chance to soar.

Born spends a lot of time following the group as they socialize but is at its most compelling when it tracks the compli­cated bonds tethering these young people to their parents.

But this is certainly a flat beginning, appropriately titled ``Scattered,'' with its multiple plotlines stretched awfully thin. [15 July 2005, p.e24]

The Beat resonates with a quirky, dark pulse. [21 March 2000]

Not much is different for the fourth season of FX’s most popular comedy, except possibly an uptick in the production budget and guests.