Where Ties unravels is in its other half, as it desperately tries to be a gritty police procedural.

Bergen still rattles off her lines as if she’s in a hurry to get to lunch, but the cast has chemistry to spare.

The glimmers of truthfulness in the family nucleus offset the chilly crime elements. ... The office environment is less compelling as the coterie of feds... perform their unpleasant tasks with little personality. [23 Jan 2005]

Sunday's premiere episode is one of the most cleverly outrageous half-hours of TV I've seen in a while. [28 Jan 1999]

If only Instinct had a little more going for itself, it might be worth making room on your DVR.

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]

Take Two is honest advertising. It’s the second grab at a winning premise, for the same network, no less. You deserve more.

Why is she The Protector? Why didn't Lifetime call this series "The Protectors" and give Campbell-Martin and her character equal footing? As this show proves, some mysteries aren't worth solving.

Creator/executive producer Kring hasn’t learned anything from seasons two through four. Heroes Reborn suffers from the same excesses that alienated viewers--too many characters, too many plot threads, too many snippets of scenes that serve to advance little but the time to a commercial break. Finally, the show seems old-fashioned.

Unfortunately, the pilot doesn't flesh out the premise, making the episode little more than an average "Outer Limits." With all the special-effects possibilities of a virtual realm, "Santiago City" looks like the set of "Combat" with a high-tech fence around it. [8 Oct 1999, p.S34]

Vivian's secrets are predictable. Judging from the first two episodes, Joanna is not much of a sleuth. Scene set-ups go nowhere. Minor characters are brought in, disposed of, and the show bumps along to another complication.

Nothing feels authentic about this show.

Turturro, who is credited not only as an executive producer but one of the miniseries’ four writers, gives one of the most restrained performances of his career. His cleric is soft-spoken, always watchful of every detail in a room. His efforts seem to give other performers license to overact.

Rookie Blue is set in a nondescript big city, which also serves to make the series generic. The cast, however, is spunky and promising.

Perception is a head trip not worth the journey.

Mitch just might be the stupidest attorney ever depicted on TV.

You’ll be able to spot the front-runner and eventual winner probably 10 minutes into the show.

Given the continuity gap between the cliffhanger at the end of the first episode and its resolution in the second, it’s as if the producers aren’t watching their own show. That’s understandable. Frontier proves some places aren’t worth the visit.

The pilot shot extensively in Italy and takes great advantage of the gorgeous, historic locations, including the Roman Forum and Appian Way. The dialogue, however, is often distracting and grating.

More accessible than “V” or “FlashForward,” “Happy Town” shows a sure hand with pacing and knows how to end an hour with a powerful cliffhanger.

The Gates is ultimately just another literary mashup with the undead, like Jane Austen's "Pride & Prejudice" tweaked with zombies, only here it's a stifling John Cheever story with bloodsuckers.

Spartacus fetishizes violence even more than it depicts sex and nudity, which is often. There’s a whole lot of B.C. banging going on here.

Garlin and McLendon-­Covey are believable as variations of “That ’70s Show’s” parents, and Gentile’s Jan Brady-style meltdowns are amusing. But Adam’s obsession with female breasts, encouraged by his grandfather “Pops” (George Segal), is creepy, considering the actor looks about 9.

At 60 minutes, these episodes will test even loyal fans, although some viewers will discover a new respect for Melissa, who displays patience not unlike Job in her trials. Still, Joan is her mother. Everyone else can skip the guilt trip.

What’s odd here is that even with the influx of injured, Chicago Med never builds any dramatic heat.

Fans of the original “Dynasty” know Fallon’s nastiness is just a warm-up.

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

Bad Teacher is like a comedy club on a Sunday morning. No fun.