With its pulsing green glows, glowing green ooze, barking dogs, demented stares, terrors in the Maine woods, kids in peril and unseen powers that take over minds, it's less a journey into the Twilight Zone than a trudge down memory lane - even if you've only seen King's work on television in "It" and "Golden Years." More disappointing, it fails to live up to the foreboding and sense of dread it deftly establishes in a succession of early scenes. [9 May 1993, p.1H]

This isn’t a parody. It’s deadly serious. And deadly is a description that also fits the direction and writing. ... Drearily paced, clunkily written “Christmas Carol.” Everything seems to take forever as we move awkwardly and clumsily from scene to scene.

This sometimes talky and often preposterous Legacy effort has all of the annoying flaws of Kiefer Sutherland's long-running "24" and none of its considerable strengths.

Although terribly familiar in design and execution, Battery Park does manage stretches when it amiably spins along in a Big Appleish "Spin City" sort of way. Goldberg's touch hasn't completely deserted him. [23 March 2000, p.6E]

There's plenty of room in the graveyard for Salem, although it's way too early to tell if it can effectively build on the scary and sensual elements introduced in Sunday's premiere.

Give it some style points, no doubt, because there are several very cool moments. But you get the feeling that Spotnitz knows where the problems are, and he's trying to fix them.

The cast, which includes Jennifer Finnigan as Pentagon public-relations honcho Grace Barrows, is extremely likable, and the first two episodes roll along at a breezy clip. So, by all means, don't ask too many questions and don't expect too much.

The truly scary thing about Stephen King's Rose Red is its running time. Spectral chains aren't the only things dragging in this rambling haunted-house miniseries from the horrormeister, whose best-written best sellers move at a frighteningly crisp pace. There are times when "Rose Red" seems to hardly move at all. With its sluggish six hours stretched over three nights, the ABC miniseries is a case of way too little story occupying way too much prime-time space. [26 Jan 2002, p.E1]

Nothing on this futuristic landscape stands out: the performances, the dialogue, the direction, the special effects. The premise is solid enough. Yet everything constructed on this foundation seems to have been fashioned from nothing more substantial than cardboard.

It substitutes mocking attitude (or lack of attitude) for wit, has no sense of story and has no discernible jokes - just a lot of ostensibly "out there" ideas it is unable to develop. It isn't as memorable or smart as the "bad sitcom" conventions it spoofs. [31 May 2000, p.3E]

The real strain is in trying to turn Tarzan into a crime fighter like Spider-Man, complete with the gravity-defying leaps and whoosh-wham special effects. [4 Oct 2003, p.E6]

Coercion might be the only way to get an audience for this incredibly labored legal drama.

This funny fellow is trapped in a series that isn't even remotely funny. [27 Mar 2002, p.E1]

The odd thing about "Conviction" is the awkward way it lurches between the legal maneuverings and the personal issues of the central characters. While the courtroom scenes are entertaining, if frequently obvious, the up-close-and-personal stuff is what proves to be a real trial.

This incredibly trite and preposterous series are serious about all the hackneyed twaddle lumbering and stumbling into view Monday night. Just when you think it can't get more laughably bad, it does.

It's energetic, good-looking and kind of scary - just don't try to make sense of it. [6 Oct 2000, p.5E]

Chiklis is saddled with a series that would need months of polishing just to be mediocre. The subtitle could be, "When Bad Shows Happen to Good People." [23 March 2000, p.6E]

Has little to offer but formula storytelling and conventional crime-drama techniques.

The problem with "Training Day" as a series is that it wants to be reassuringly safe and disturbingly dangerous at the same time, and this duality proves its undoing. The strain of this balancing act is felt in the unconvincing, sometimes cartoonish dialogue, direction and performances.

Plenty of fascinating medical material here for a series. And yet, Heartbeat botches the job, because the dialogue, direction and supporting characters are wearisomely artificial.

The best aspect of "Freddie" is that it makes an earnest attempt to depict a loving, supportive Latino family. You want to spend time with them, but only if the writers put as much sizzle into the scripts as Freddie does in his beloved recipes.

This is a leading contender for the title of worst new show of the season.

While it might sound like fun, the premise is so flat-out dopey that it's impossible to care about any of the characters or alleged story, and the leaden dialogue discourages any attention that the occasional cool gadgetry might attract. [22 Sept 1997, p.5E]

The problem with "Ghost Whisperer" is its lack of focus.

It's like watching "Big Brother" with a less nutty and less interesting cast, or the old "Bob Newhart Show" without Bob - or laughs. [6 Oct 2000, p.5E]

The odious Tucker is a crude and blatant rip-off of Fox's brilliant January starter, "Malcolm in the Middle." The producers have gone to the absurd extreme of citing "My So-Called Life" as their inspiration, a pathetic ploy to avoid the obvious charge of "Malcolm" marauding. [2 Oct 2000, p.9D]

Mr. Selfridge has some enticing items to tempt those shopping for a quality viewing experience. At the top of this list is the gift that keeps on giving: Jeremy Piven's wonderfully textured portrayal of Harry Gordon Selfridge.