If there's hope, it lies in the original version, which after getting off to a slow start did a wonderful job of distinguishing who was who and made you want to know more about them. Hopefully, Fox and Whedon can find a happy compromise, and the cultists can start their keyboards. [20 Sept 2002]

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

With the silly, overwrought Charmed, the network of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dawson's Creek and Felicity is pushing its luck. [7 Oct 1998, p.1C]

Whether intended or not, this emphasis on serial killers and other antisocial freaks indulges a morbid fascination with sicko behavior at least as much as it celebrates smart and dedicated crime fighters. [22 Sep 2004]

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 is neither visually nor narratively compelling. Since the story didn't make sense in the first place, filming a literal (not literate) version of The Shining only makes its shortcomings stand out. [27 Apr 1997, p.1C]

[The] pilot ... is cleverly campy enough to rate a revisit. [13 Mar 1994]

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

More problematic than the dramatic license taken by creator Gary Scott Thompson (The Fast and the Furious) is the lack of a compelling story. [22 Sept 2003, p.12E]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

But as visually sleek and occasionally funny as Birds of Prey starts out, the show will have to get out from under its tangled premise if it's to divert easily wandering attentions. So far, it's difficult to tell where the series might be headed, but there are hints in the premiere. [9 Oct 2002, p.12C]

It pulls its punches and takes cheap shots. [19 June 1999, p.1C]

Occasionally hypnotic but too often implausible or incomprehensible. [9 Jan 2005]

If The Apprentice is going to succeed, there has to be more drama. Watching ambitious people do menial tasks isn't entertaining enough. [8 Jan 2004]

Plagued by pedestrian scripts and mostly nondescript characters, it slogs from night to night without nearly enough suspense or consequences. [2 Apr 2000]

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]

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

Mr. D'Onofrio is the best reason to watch Criminal Intent, particularly when he's in full metal insult mode...The show otherwise is weak from a story standpoint. Clues fall into place with remarkable, sometimes unbelievable precision. Wrongdoers are too easily broken down or duped during interrogations. The criminals' minds frankly aren't all that interesting anyway. And unlike its two fellow travelers, there are no palate-cleansing trials in Criminal Intent. Episodes instead end in abrupt arrests. [30 Sept 2001, p.3]

The macho-vigilante ethos of the show quickly grows tiresome. But with scene after scene of the Chief's righteous indignation - uttering lines such as "I don't care how much it costs, people out there are dying" - The District can be silly fun. [7 Oct 2000, p.1C]

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]

The insights, the connections to Jane Austen's Emma are lost in this watered-down version. As if! [19 Sept 1996, p.1C]