American Dreams will need to change and develop if it has any hope of mimicking the success of American Bandstand. But tonight's opener has a nice beat and is easy to dance to. [29 Sep 2002, p.2]

The cast is first rate, delivering sympathetic and believable performances. The writing is intelligent, providing intellectual grist to the grisly moments. And the direction is as crisp as it is clever. [20 Sept 1999, p.1E]

There is no shortage of chuckles along the way, but the hit-and-miss nature of the writing keeps the series from staying on track as it heads for moments both humorous and poignant.

The problem with The Young Pope is that it never artfully draws you in deep enough to care. Created and directed by Oscar winner Paolo Sorrentino ("The Great Beauty"), it is drearily paced, choppy and often self-consciously bizarre. It's beautiful to gaze upon, filled with sumptuous shots that look like majestic oil paintings. And the supporting cast is impressive.

Williams never makes a wrong step, but, sadly, the same can’t be said for the writing and direction.

Murder in the First is an immediately engaging crime drama boasting a deep cast and crisp direction.

Extant is a hodgepodge that serves up some creepy moments but gets bogged down by the inelegance of its copycat nature. It rumbles when it should roar. It stumbles when it should soar.

A darker, more complex reimagining of the Archie universe. Did I say dark? Let's add moody, murky and, at times, creepy. It also is surprisingly engaging, thanks in no small measure to the winning performances of KJ Apa as Archie Andrews, Camila Mendes as Veronica Lodge and Lili Reinhart as Betty Cooper.

It's familiar enough territory, to be sure, yet it's covered in lively fashion, thanks mostly to Katims' breezy script and the delightful comic chemistry between Walton and young Stockham.

At the black heart of this uneven but often-mesmerizing crime drama is Donald Sutherland's sly and spellbinding portrayal of the richest man in the world, J. Paul Getty Sr.

Checking in means checking out what's in store for the second season, and the tantalizing possibilities are gleaming like the surface of a highly-polished knife blade.

Moving uncertainly in fits and starts, the handsomely produced Victoria nonetheless gleams with first-rate performances. The overall storytelling execution is poor, but individual scenes can be quite rich in detail and nuance.

Comrade Detective does is not overstay its welcome. There's just enough here to sustain six episodes. That works. Anything more would have been a crime.

Trial & Error is more a case of hit and miss. Wildly uneven, it tries way too hard to be eccentric, often following big laughs with wearisomely forced and labored moments.

Fueled by these performances, it frequently and undeniably rises to great heights. But add up everything that When We Rise has going for it, which is considerable, and, well, the whole is somewhat less than the sum of its parts.

Like many an anthology series, it is a bit uneven, sometimes corny and clunky, sometimes wonderfully sweet and sentimental. But when on top of its game, “Modern Love” produces some magically romantic results. The touching first episode is enchanting proof of that. ... Another superb entry stars Dev Patel.

"Just Shoot Me" has some heart and smartness, and it shows a solid sense of how to build a series. [4 Mar 1997]

Comedy isn't the idea behind the "Voyager," the newest spinoff in the Federation franchise, but tonight's debut delivers campy laughs galore... That said, it's also evident that "Voyager" offers more energy and action than either of the previous spinoffs, "The Next Generation" and "Deep Space Nine," with an adventurous and distinctly less solemn spirit that more recalls the original "Star Trek." [16 Jan 1995]

This is a solid case of so far, so pretty good.

Much of this takes a by-the-numbers approach, but the cast is strong, and you get the feeling that the second episode is more indicative of where the show is heading.

Much of this sounds grim, but Breakthrough is anything but depressing in its overall tone. After putting towering problems into chilling perspective, the series humanizes the issues, keeping the focus on individual stories.

The Strain continues to rely too much on action and not enough on compelling character development. The uneven results are entertaining but hardly infectious.

The closer The Bomb gets to the present, the more frenetic and less effective it becomes. You can't expect a two-hour study to be in any way comprehensive, but some surprisingly big swaths of the historical territory get little or no mention.

It's an auspicious start for the fifth live-action "Trek" series, with less moralizing, less preaching and more action than past incarnations. [23 Sep 2001]

So many strong ingredients could have gone into this brew, but, no matter how obviously the casting tries to turn up the heat, it's still a half-empty glass of weak tea.

At this point, "Carnivale" is a frustrating blend of intriguing and annoying elements. The writers are taking chances, and you have to give them credit for that, but they haven't quite perfected this mystical mixture of metaphor and metaphysics, mystery and magic. [13 Sep 2003]

If it's time for a new military comedy, this is a good one. It marches to the beat of its own dumb drum.

A riveting, suspenseful, briskly paced drama packed with intriguing performances.