Nip/Tuck delivers its jolts within the context of an intelligent script underscored by first-rate performances. [20 July 2003, p.3]

Much of this is likely to go to waste, though. Homicide, possibly the best police series ever, may prove to be the biggest turnoff since Cop Rock. Imagine a series in which a cop walks up to a potential mugger and tells him, "Hey, we're police. Go rob somebody else." [31 Jan 1993, p.5C]

What is most riveting about Deadwood is the way it blows the dust off the Western to tell a contemporary story. [5 Mar 2005, p.14E]

Lost so far is riveting, large-scale human drama. Get those Gilligan's Island jokes out of your system. Otherwise they might be sticking in your throat after the opening 10 minutes. [22 Sept 2004, p.12E]

The first episode is as complex, wise, questioning, darkly funny and, yes, entertaining, as television gets. It broaches life's paradoxes with hard-edged melodrama, gallows humor and bravura acting. [10 Oct 2000, p.1C]

This requires some patience at first, although getting a handle on the format is relatively painless. Once that's accomplished, it's thrilling to watch Boomtown navigate twists and turns like a topflight Grand Prix racer. [29 Sept 2002, p.3]

Joe Flaherty, the former SCTV standout, chips in as a perfectly apt one-note pop who preaches that all of his former misbehaving classmates are now - "dead!" [25 Sept 1999, p.1C]

No Direction Home is a soul-stirring Scorsese masterwork. His The Last Waltz, which documented The Band's final concert, is generally considered the big screen's best-ever rock performance film. Now he's outdone himself with a lyrical, magical film rich in both context and subtext. [26 Sep 2005, p.1G]

A smart, tart, daring comedy in a season that could really use one. Arrested Development and Mr. Bateman both deserve a long and prosperous run. What a nice, bracing development that would be. [2 Nov 2003, p.3]

Easily the best new series coming to TV...With enough rich characters to fill several series, Life could become the latest show to shake up network television. [25 Aug 1994, p.1C]

Unsettling is understating it. ABC's Wonderland, which happens to be wonderful, could be one of the toughest sells in TV history. Buy into it, though, and you'll experience a truly remarkable look at the ins, outs and intricacies of mental illness and the doctors who treat it. [30 March 2000]

Whether darkly funny, deeply moving or spookily surreal, Six Feet Under is seldom less than bracingly original. It's another landmark series for HBO. [3 June 2001, p.3]

A perceptive, powerful, five-star achievement in HBO's continuing championship season...Saluting it is a singular honor and privilege.[9 Sept 2001, p.3]

None of the fall's 41 other rookies looks capable of playing in the same league...The premiere episode is a knockout. [19 Sept 1995, p.1C]

Wow, a good-guy IRS agent in a land of loop-de-loopholes. Any show that can sell that premise is well worth your time and attention. [17 Sept 2002]

In place of the by-now clichés, House substitutes wit, taut writing and a performance by British actor Hugh Laurie that should put him immediately in the running for a best-actor Emmy. [16 Nov 2004, p.14E]

Splendidly cast and appealingly off-center, it's a genuine summertime gem. [7 July 2002, p.3]

All the president's men and women are deftly drawn and seamlessly woven through a crackerjack opening hour. Whether they'll be able to hold our interest remains to be seen. [22 Sept 1999, p.1C]

This might sound same-old, same-old, but isn't. Felicity has the look and feel of a small, bright feature film. Its ensemble cast is attractive and appealing. Most importantly, the acting is strong enough to pull off lines that on paper sound like groaners. [29 Sept 1998, p.1C]

Some of the edge is off and the buzz isn't quite what it was. [4 Mar 2001]

Along with the material, Mr. Gandolfini is so good that viewers will sympathize even as they shudder. [9 Jan 1999, p.1C]

A comedy worth telling your friends about. [20 Mar 1995]

The Larry Sanders Show is still a first-rate, one-of-a-kind walk through a talk-show looking glass. [2 Jun 1993]

If the season premiere is any sign, Arrested Development is going to be just as wacky as last season. [6 Nov 2004, p.13E]

Innovative and compelling. ... The show gets off to a great start in its first highly eventful hour, with Mr. Sutherland excelling in his first TV series role. [4 Nov 2001]

Like his other work ... Mr. Kelley's new show dares to strain reality in search of simple truths. But before you go running in the other direction, let me hasten to add that he prods and preaches with such panache, passion and emotional punch that you may not even notice that The Practice is good for you. [1 Mar 1997]

It is ambitious, evocative television with next to no hit potential. [24 Oct 1996]

Be forewarned that The Shield easily is the most graphic police series in TV history. That said, it's potentially one of the very best, too. [11 Mar 2002, p.12C]

Barbershop is inventively edited, consistently funny and decidedly not for kids. [14 Aug 2005, p.3]

Hidden Hills isn't deep, but at least it's trying to be relevant to modern domestic dilemmas. In the age of sitcom blockheads and their domineering wives, that's a major accomplishment. [24 Sept 2002, p.8C]

Not everything works, but this is a bright, imaginative show that perhaps God will smile upon. Jerry Garcia, too. [5 March 2000]

The Comeback is closest in tone to Curb Your Enthusiasm, HBO's vehicle for Mr. David, the creator of Seinfeld. Valerie is not quite as grating, but like Larry she perseveres. Ms. Kudrow makes you sympathize with Valerie, despite her blindness to the costs of fame. Not bad for a former sitcom star in her comeback role. [5 June 2005, p.8G]

If you're looking for signs of intelligent life in the new fall season, Freakylinks is one of a few blips of light in the darkness. [6 Oct 2000, p.4C]

As the episodes have continued, something unexpected happens - the action begins to take a backseat to characters. It's not so much that you begin to care about this collection of cartoonish misfits, but the depth and breadth of their weirdness becomes the show's primary source of entertainment. Reno 911! ends up being more a surreal soap opera than a Cops parody. [25 Aug 2003]

Beneath the humor, Joan is a dark, daring drama with the guts to explore what God might be thinking. [26 Sept 2003, p.1E]

Together, the writing and the sets make The Tick one of the sharpest satires of the superhero genre ever. Part of its appeal is simply that it's different. With so many yuppie comedies and cop dramas dotting the TV landscape, it's nice to see an intelligently silly parody taking a shot. [8 Nov 2001, p.1C]

The new 24 is off to a more interesting start than its sophomore edition. [27 Oct 2003]

Flexing the foolproof formula and first-rate production values of its predecessor, this spinoff quickly proves to be a turn-on. [23 Sep 2002]

Occasionally, Rescue Me hammers the viewer with facile speechifying meant to establish the series' point of view. It more than makes up for these lapses with vivid characters, a slick visual style and pop tunes that cut against the grain of what's happening on screen. [21 July 2004, p.13E]

It's an inventive, affecting and sometimes amusing hour. [20 Sept 2002, p.6C]

Think of it as My So-Called Afterlife or Nancy Drew Blood: Despite some lapses into acute self-awareness, Buffy is a biting, stylish high-school drama masquerading as a vampire-movie spinoff and cleverly combining the dark humor of Heathers, the homeroom angst of Beverly Hills, 90210 and the goofy, mystery-solving camaraderie of Scooby Doo, Where Are You? [10 Mar 1997, p.15A]

The Office, although derivative, is also bracingly fresh and funny. Not that it's likely to be a breakaway hit, or even a modest one, when paired on Tuesdays with the under-appreciated, ratings-impaired "Scrubs." [20 Mar 2005, p.3]

The season's brightest, darkest new drama. [3 Oct 2004]

Malcolm is much more than mega-jolts of Fox "attitude." It's both quirky and charming, edgy and reaffirming. [9 Jan 2000]

This self-referential approach works only because the premise is so convincing and the characters are so real. When the mumbo-jumbo kicks in, we're willing to overlook holes in the plot as frighteningly big as the langoliers themselves because we can walk in the characters' shoes. [14 May 1995, p.1C]

Ed also is graced by Molly Hudson (Lesley Boone), another of his former high school classmates. Chubby and vibrant, she's another winning character in a series that's brimming with them. [8 Oct 2000]

South Park is either the funniest new show on the air or the next sign of the apocalypse. ... When it's not in gross-out mode, and often even when it is, South Park is weaving a surrealist satire of small-town America. [11 Aug 1997]

Beyond the cursing, nudity and brutish behavior, Mr. Fontana makes the most of his opportunity by pushing TV's visual and storytelling limits.[12 July 1997, p.1C]

When the series moves away from stereotyping its main female characters into the slutty (Kim Cattrall), the savvy (Cynthia Nixon) and the sweet (Kristin Davis), and dives right into the muck of the boy-girl thing, it's laugh-out-loud funny. [6 June 1998, p.1C]

Wonderfully textured... ER has hit potential. [18 Sep 1994]

A first cabin production with superb special effects, an intelligent script and an intricate plot. [5 Jan 1993]

Chicago Hope is an affecting, involving series solidly anchored by Mr. Patinkin. [18 Sep 1994]

Deadwood is the equivalent of Roy's Trigger returning as an ill-tempered, bucking bronco that's dead-set against galloping off into the sunset. Saddle up anyway. This is going to be one helluva ride - to points unknown. [21 Mar 2004, p.3]

One could build a college sociology course around whether The Corner does more harm than good. Either side could make a strong case...At last check, though, this is still a free country. And HBO is both unbeholden to skittish advertisers and seemingly impervious to pressure groups. On broadcast networks, that combination has spurred the quick demise of provocative series such as Nothing Sacred; The PJs; God, the Devil and Bob; and Wonderland...For better or worse, television has never seen anything quite like it. [16 Apr 2000, p.1C]

Fun without being campy, poignant without being syrupy and probably too heavy on interpersonal situations to suit most of today's young male comic readers. [12 Sept 1993, p.10C]

This broad, bawdy style of humor usually doesn't work because it's hard to hit a target with silly jokes. In this case, the producers know exactly what they're doing; the jokes may be silly, but they're also sharp. [14 March 2000]

The two-part premiere of Popular is inventive, energized and brimming with promise if some of its overwrought moments can be reined in. [29 Sept 1999, p.1C]

Sean Hayes, as Jack, is the overriding reason to watch. [21 Sep 1998]

Its depiction of rap's gangsta element is laughable, at least in the first episode. And the quick-cut editing often seems more haphazard than cutting edge. Platinum otherwise is distinctive, provocative and possibly even trailblazing. [13 Apr 2003]

The story proves interesting enough, the visuals are impressive and the acting lands somewhere above average. [10 Sep 1995]

Mr. Sandler is not the problem. Undeclared just loses course. Lizzie's long-distance boyfriend (F&G veteran Jason Segel) is OK with the Sandler liaison, but when he finds out later about her night with Steven, the entire episode is given over to slapstick and lazy humor...Now it's time to send the outsiders home and let these kids find their way on their own terms. [25 Sept 2001, p.10C]

It all makes for an easy-to-take sitcom whose best moment finds Jake and Charlie singing the theme song he wrote for Maple Loops cereal. There are some funny lines at a poker game, too, where the kid turns out to be quite a bluffer. [22 Sept 2003, p.12E]

Ritter is still quite adept at broad, keep-it-simple comedy, and this one plays to his strengths. [17 Sep 2002]

Such down-to-earth humor distinguishes George Lopez, which takes off from the comedian's act. One of the smoothest comics working today, he's able to bring up uncomfortable stereotypes without reinforcing them. [27 Mar 2002, p.12C]

Your patience will only be rewarded to a point. Although capably acted and edited, Traffic doesn't hit enough green lights. Instead it stops and stalls too often, particularly during a concluding Part 3 in which you'll see a latter day bad guy a mile away, even in Seattle's fog. [26 Jan 2004]

Without a Trace ends up delivering enough twists and turns to hold up its end of the basic TV show-viewer contract. It also visits the cliche corral on occasion. [26 Sep 2002]

The cast is appealing and the freeze-frame camera tricks mostly are inventive instead of intrusive. [7 Oct 2004]

Set in snowy Colorado but filmed in serviceable Utah, it's a stick-to-your-ribs hour with mush and syrup served on the side. This might induce a few groans, but Everwood overall finds the fine line between effective sentiment and overdone melodrama. [16 Sept 2002, p.12C]

It will take an uncommon effort for most viewers to get entirely through even the first episode. Those who return for more will be rewarded in due time. [19 March 2000]

It all comes together in impressive fashion, with Mr. Bakula primed and ready to take command and keep the faith. [23 Sep 2001]

Yet for all its obviousness, Showtime's Queer as Folk is something rare: a look inside a formerly forbidden place. [3 Dec 2000, p.1C]

The Wire is by no means a worthless enterprise, and Episode 2 is an improvement over Sunday's comparatively off-putting premiere. It'll be tough to go the distance with this one, though, and far easier to look away. [1 June 2002, p.1C]

Mr. Kelley otherwise fills too much time with extraneous law cases and Ally's narrative meanderings and fantasies. ... There are sparks, though. Ms. Flockhart is an actress of considerable promise, and some of the dialogue zings home while Mr. Kelley walks his latest high wire. [7 Sep 1997]

Victims Unit also imports Mr. Belzer's sardonic John Munch character from NBC's canceled Homicide: Life on the Street. His wise-guy asides are a little forced in this first hour, as are some of the recurring sexual references. But the featured case gets more compelling by the minute. [20 Sept 1999, p.1C]

Critics keep saying that this doesn't look like a Fox show, and they mean that as a compliment. Sure, the cast is attractive enough to guest star on Beverly Hills, 90210, but with a subject ripe for overwrought treatment, Party of Five holds back just enough. [11 Sept 1994, p.11C]

Had enough? Or want more? Nip/Tuck still can be gripping, gratifying drama when it's not trying so hard to be either salacious or capital Q quirky. But it's not off to the great start of last summer despite the presence of esteemed thespian Vanessa Redgrave in the second season's initial three episodes. [20 June 2004, p.3]

Farscape is thoroughly first-rate in the special-effects department. As for the writing, it at least shows flashes of promise. [19 Mar 1999]

This one isn't bad either. Immediately more accessible and understandable than Fox's new VR.5, the network's Sliders is a meld of Back to the Future, Time Tunnel and Quantum Leap. [20 March 1995, p.1C]

Dave's World is a little flat and pretentious at times. But it's comfy enough to earn a long stay on CBS' formidable Monday-night lineup. The first episode's finale is inspired, funny, even touching. No need to spoil it, but Louie, Louie has seldom sounded or looked so good. [19 Sept 1993, p.9C]

A textured drama ... Intelligence takes precedence over "sassiness." [25 Jun 2000]

It all makes for an intriguing series that's out of the normal without being out-and-out ludicrous. [16 June 2002, p.TV-3]

The show seems sophomoric at first, but gradually graduates to an interesting look at Hollywood's fast-lane ups and downs. [18 July 2004, p.3]

The show's global scope, scenery and overall sense of adventure make it a veritable Doctor Zhivago of the [reality] genre compared with most of the swill lately in play. [2 Sep 2001]

Sometimes he's just too grating. [4 Jan 2004]

As well as The Next Generation and better than Deep Space Nine, the new series' two-hour premiere entertainingly balances action/adventure with sociology. [16 Jan 1995]

There's a thrill of discovery here that's missing from the mostly formulaic new series marching into view this fall on broadcast networks. [14 Sep 2003]

None of the six main actors is a stand-up comic, but they're appealing nonetheless...If the scripts get a little sharper, Friends may attract enough of the right demographics to become a hit. [22 Sept 1994]

Both subversively funny and sophomorically silly. [11 Apr 1999]

A reasonably inventive slice of sci-fi. ... TekWar's strengths are above-average computerized special effects and touches of winning humor. It lasts at least 15 minutes longer than it should, but no major deal. [19 Jan 1994]

The show is both derivative and distinctive, proving that standup comics can still adapt their acts to the sitcom form if it's the right comic and the right act. [20 March 2000]

An inoffensive live- action cartoon for the younger set. [28 Nov 2002]

Mr. Baker has charisma to burn. The dialogue and storytelling in The Guardian are sharp without being overly slick. [25 Sept 2001, p.10C]

That's Life encapsulates what's most frustrating about network television: lots of obviously talented people working on a fundamentally weak and/or worn-out idea. The show and its cast struggle valiantly to have genuine moments shared by real people. [1 Oct 2000, p.7C]

Sucking up to standard sitcom conventions doesn't necessarily hurt, or help, the show. It's still funnier than most of this season's newcomers but not worth running home to - or even telling a friend about. [15 Apr 2003]

The Medium pilot isn't as consistently stylish as Mr. Caron's other work, and some of the action strains credibility in scenes that have nothing to do with the supernatural. [3 Jan 2005]

Madigan Men has a talented core of actors, and the topic of how men do (or don't) get along has plenty of storytelling potential. But in the premiere, the writing falls flat and, thanks to that laugh track, you can't help but notice how many of the "jokes" aren't funny. [6 Oct 2000, p.4C]

Perhaps The Fugitive will slow its frenetic pace in future episodes. The original show had its share of narrow escapes but didn't rely on heavy-duty action every week. They instead focused on Kimble's close encounters with strangers, some kind, others sinister. [6 Oct 2000, p.1C]

Amply seasoned with treachery, lechery, debauchery, depravity, nudity and infidelity, HBO's Rome also tends to fall victim to filmmaking's cardinal sin - tedium. [28 Aug 2005, p.3]