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]