[It] could be the best TV series of our times. Not for everyone, no. But for what it is, The Sopranos is near magical. [16 Jan 2000]

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

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]

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]

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]

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

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]

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]

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]

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

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

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]

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]

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

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

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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

The corny, almost maudlin conclusions, coupled with the show's we-are-family, us-against-the-network motif, is too sincere to swallow. [22 Sept 1998, p.4C]

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]

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]

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]