Unlike "X-Files" and "VR.5," however, Sliders wants to be humorous while offering an exciting weekly quest. It tries to be cute while the heroes struggle to find a way "home." The cuteness quickly becomes a liability. At times, the comic element turns weak and the characters risk seeming cartoon-like. In the end, "Sliders" may appeal to a younger audience, an audience less concerned with science and fantasy than with comedic adventure. And that will be just fine with Fox. [21 March 1995]

Clearly, this is not a cookie-cutter network offering; it's bold, at times difficult, and aiming for greatness. [20 March 2000]

The resulting Scorsese film is just like its subject: often frustrating but always compelling. [25 Sep 2005, p.F1]

The cinematography is admirable, and the accounts from historians and academics are sound. But the sight of Burt Reynolds in rose-tinted glasses explaining that George Armstrong Custer “was a hell of a soldier” does little to inform the project.

The subtlety that made [The Good Wife] work is not in evidence here. Nor does this hour demonstrate the sophisticated humor of “Veep,” a better parody that doesn’t need a zombie-like subplot.

The combo platter of drama, crime, family and lots of food porn doesn’t quite gel. Everything feels predictable, the downbeat tone spreads across the plate to infect performances and, ultimately, the audience.

The level of comedy is again superlative, with Appleby and Zimmer carrying the cynicism and viciousness to new levels.

The old-school sketch comedy veterans pulled it off. They could help pass the time on a hot summer night. No rush. You could wait and catch a moment or two online.

The story is as relevant as ever, cinematically more stunning and historically more accurate than the original. The casting is again superlative--Forest Whitaker as “Fiddler,” Jonathan Rhys Meyers as villain Tom Lea, James Purefoy, Anika Noni Rose and Laurence Fishburne are just the start.

Scripture and subtle wit are sprinkled through the outrageous violence and a particularly lovely vocal accompanies a grotesquely violent massacre aboard an airplane. This one will delight a certain narrow audience.

The film brings the crude, demanding LBJ into focus along with the insecure, desperately needy man in one indelible performance. It's a beautifully rounded portrait of a complicated man at a crucial point in history, pushing for an important victory while tiptoeing toward the future that was Vietnam.

Seeso’s first original scripted comedy, written and directed by BAFTA-nominated Will Sharpe, is a head-scratcher. It does have Olivia Colman going for it.

It's more than slick. The spy tale is a great character study built on concerns about how superpowers, intelligence communities and organized crime operate and what the quest for revenge can do to decent people.

Confirmation is not nearly as nuanced as the recent O.J. Simpson trial docudrama on FX. It’s also much shorter and more reliant on news footage. But it similarly revives memories of a wild media/cultural/political flashpoint.

The key characters remain compelling although the multiplying coincidences and overlapping relationships are becoming trying.

Think “Game of Thrones” for broadcast TV, minus dragons, with over-the-top melodrama, as much skin as broadcast TV will allow and bad dialog.

Luckily the addition of a few big-name guest stars helps the series regain "the big mo," as they say in politics. Judging by the six episodes I've screened, HoC remains an addictive if not credible political potboiler, elevated by new actors.

It's a beautiful interview piece with archival photographs and clips that will inform any viewer's appreciation of the performing arts.

The thrill of rock 'n' roll as it took a turn toward modern punk, discovered disco and made way for hip-hop in 1970s Manhattan is captured in a fresh way in Vinyl, a tough-minded series.

Dreyfuss is sensational as Madoff, a twinkle in his eye as he explains his "magic."

The casting is terrific.... There are numerous surprises, including how riveting the tale is in this telling.

This experimental extended series takes its time before making any sense. Dive in, and marvel at the fact that at least it’s different.

Unfortunately the storytelling lacks subtlety. The good and evil characters are too starkly one or the other. The camera tends to flag ideas or objects in advance and make points too obviously.

London Spy, premiering Jan. 21 on BBC America, is a complex, sometimes cryptic import that is worth puzzling over.

[John] Ridley, the creator-writer-producer, has delivered a 10-episode series that is provocative not just in terms of clever scriptwriting but in what it asks of the viewer.

While it's wonderful to be reacquainted with the various charming characters for the sixth and final season, the series' essential problems remain: A lack of subtlety as plot turns are signaled and then underscored; a tendency to keep certain characters stuck in one emotional state for prolonged periods--how much more angst can Anna and Bates (Joanne Froggatt and Brendan Coyle) telegraph again and again?, and a reliance on our allegiance to certain actors.

Great casting, terrific costumes, even a worthy new original song made it a spirited night.

The hour, directed by Chris Rock, further cements her status as an all-medium power player. By turns coy, insecure, dramatic and challenging, Schumer has the flexibility to make her conversation both intimate and grandstanding.

Season 2 of Manhattan gets off to a slow start and may require catch-up work. But the high-minded story about the creators of the atom bomb soon picks up the pace.

Despite its endlessly flat landscape, FX's Fargo is elevated by the most spellbinding direction of any drama currently on TV. Season 2 achieves new heights, thanks to writer-director Noah Hawley. The music is exaggeratedly dramatic, and the split-screen device is a throwback to early TV and film's bold experimentation.

The CIA office politics are getting old, but the topical references remain gripping.

[Empire is] still addicting and with a number of hot guest stars.

If you like the idea of a murder victim texting endlessly, even ridiculously, for help mid-attack... if you enjoy the fright of horror only when undercut by laughs, Scream Queens may be for you. For many, sampling the pilot will be enough.

For those of us who thrilled to “The Jewel in the Crown,” the latest PBS “Masterpiece” saga, Indian Summers, will scratch the same itch. As the Brits enjoy high tea on the subcontinent, the colors are so vivid, the characters so rich, the period piece so faithfully depicted, you can practically smell the Punjabi spices.

The series is packed with intriguing characters and great performances in a mostly untapped period. If only we could tolerate watching through covered eyes, cringing and fast-forwarding through the goriest scenes, we'd probably be in for a rich and rough drama.

Promising aspects of opening night were the interactions with Jon Batiste and the Stay Human band, the Oreo cookie binge as a metaphor for indulging in Donald Trump jokes, the nods to both Letterman and Jimmy Fallon, and the peek at what Colbert will be without his Comedy Central blowhard conservative mask. The George Clooney “interview,” not so much.

Even if zombies aren’t your cup of TV, there is plenty to appreciate about the construction of Fear the Walking Dead.

Simon offers a challenging six-hour miniseries that contains social and political echoes of "The Wire" but that feels amazingly topical, too, given recent events in Ferguson, Mo.; Baltimore; and Charleston, S.C.

Duchovny is eminently watchable.... At times the music is more involving than the acting, and appears a useful cover for some lame dialogue. But creator John McNamara ("In Plain Sight") successfully layers sociology, crime story and period music in an involving semi-historical drama.

A beautifully affecting biopic about the tragic and glorious life of blues pioneer Bessie Smith, showcasing a gutsy, soul-and flesh-baring performance by Queen Latifah in the title role.

Wayward Pines is eerie, atmospheric and compelling. The new series on Fox is addictive--until it takes a turn toward the metaphysical.

Gorgeous, high-minded, beautifully acted and sluggish, it may be a stretch for those more accustomed to the Olivia Pope-Doug Stamper-Ray Donovan versions of fixers.

The 13 episodes are fun, not groundbreaking, but slickly produced and accented with musical comedy. Like the two stars, the series is endearing, loud and desperate for attention, but ultimately a love letter to comedy and comedy history.

An engaging work of strong storytelling.

[A] well-researched film.

If the script by Liz Feldman (“Two Broke Girls”) were less tedious, if the acting by Cuthbert were bearable, if the whole enterprise were based on more than one joke... it might’ve worked.

Netflix has previously scored with "Orange is the New Black" and "House of Cards," but this is the first true comedy it has picked up and it looks to be a winner. Unbreakable? Unassailable.

The characters interact, the camera observes. And we marvel--not only at the technique and the acting, but at the fullness of each individual point of view, detailing who these people are and how they got there.

Judging by the first handful of episodes, Battle Creek is a tad more eccentric than the usual CBS drama, a refreshing step beyond the procedural format. Not a challenging series, but a watchable one.

Sure it’s sudsy drama. But great characters make for great fun in season 3.

Graphic cruelty, not to mention violence, makes for difficult viewing in this lavishly produced miniseries. But it’s worthwhile, especially as director Clement Virgo has opened a new window on the experience of blacks in Canada.

The show will rise or fall on the chemistry of Lennon and Perry. Watching the two of them trade fastidious/sloppy, healthnut/unhealthy barbs is fun for a while. But that's the highlight. The scenes tend to stall when the boys aren't sparring, with the exception of Yvette Nicole Brown who pops as Oscar's put-upon assistant.

The cast is inviting.... But the too-prominent, overly obvious voice-over narrator is a truly awful innovation.

Although it's less than exciting and not at all a comic respite, Saul has me along for the ride.

While the hour is entertaining and moves briskly, it lacks the subtlety (not to mention violence, great opening credits and bad wigs) of The Americans.

It won’t be the hit of the year, but Fresh Off the Boat is worth a look.

12 Monkeys won't hook those who aren't already fans of the genre. The characters are mostly two-dimensional. The philosophical conundrums are secondary to the action. The dialogue is terribly earnest.

Togetherness is very L.A., and very of the moment. For some it may feel too true.

The series successfully blends super-heroics with women’s post-war fight against sexism in a fun, winking way.

The prettiest soap opera on TV continues to offer a refuge from the present while mirroring contemporary attitudes and evolutions.

Self-indulgent but packed with great cameos and kitschy production numbers, the whole affair could have been a tight 90 minutes. Instead it's flamboyantly self-referential and clocks in at four hours.

The series has great potential. The question is whether Empire should stick to being a good family drama in a vibrant contemporary setting with a topical issue woven into the story, or whether it can measure up to the pretensions to great literature.

The 10-episode dramatic comedy, dropping Tuesday on Amazon Prime, is romantic, funny and fresh--ripe for binge-viewing.

[Elf: Buddy's Musical Christmas is] clever enough for adults, sweet enough for young kids and musically inventive enough to please the worst Scrooge.

The film doesn't reinvent the Biblical fiction format but it is interesting enough to move you to read Diamant's take on ancient sisterhood.

She [Allison Williams as Peter Pan] pulled it off, but the whole was slick rather than enchanting, well rehearsed rather than goosebump-y.

If the tone of this miniseries lays it on thick, the subject is universal, the information is solid, the photography brilliant and the whole effort a sumptuous departure for NatGeo.

The thrill of the chase comes through in the film.

The best comedy you're not watching.... Laurie Metcalf ("Roseanne"), Alex Borstein ("Family Guy") and Niecy Nash ("Reno 911") simply kill it as an ensemble, doing justice to the sharp writing of Mark V. Olsen and Will Scheffer.

These four transporting hours tell a touching, funny, heartbreaking story that underscores how complex life is, how fragile human interactions are.

As the mystery unspools, Darcy withdraws from Elizabeth, and their relationship falters. Suspicions are raised, and Elizabeth must sort out the truth. Expect a dramatic trial and a surprising new suspect before it's all over. Of course, the joy isn't in reaching an answer. It's in the journey.

The film glosses over the turbulent aspects of Brown's personal life (domestic-abuse charges and an arrest record are mentioned in passing), and it isn't comprehensive (there's nothing about his four wives, six children, drug addiction or his death in 2006). But the tuneful feature-length film is packed with great vintage clips.

The series sometimes meanders, but only because Grohl's goals are lofty.

As was the case with the controversial "In Treatment," those with no patience for self-analysis or a psychologically minded view of relationships may find The Affair slow going. But the mystery element should keep even impatient viewers guessing.

The series has some work to do to extricate its characters from the hole it dug in season 3.

This one is excruciatingly unfunny, despite the good-natured young talent at the center. The show feels thrown together, the story so choppy you’d think scenes were scrambled in the editing room.

What follows is a rich, funny, touching exploration not just of transgender life, but of family, identity and sexuality in general. Tambor's genius in the role is in creating a very particular female character well beyond makeup and wardrobe, seemingly on the cellular level.

By trying to make her politically neutral, they threaten to defang the drama.

The adaptation fails spectacularly.

What could be a trite pitch for togetherness is probed for deeper meaning in an hour that has a big heart behind its hip stance.

The entire 14-hour, seven-night experience of Burns' latest opus is an engaging and at times surprising marathon.

It's tough work that may help the viewer appreciate the miracle that occurs any time an indie movie actually makes sense, let alone transports audiences.

[A] cleverly plotted, visually absorbing tale.

It's all a fairly standard spy-thriller template, but the cast and crew give Legends an edge. Trust Howard Gordon ("Homeland," "24") and company to devise a well-plotted mystery.

After a very slow start, Outlander, from the book series by Diana Gabaldon, is a bodice-ripper with a sprinkling of science fiction, a fantasy drama with a bit of action-adventure.

Overall, The Knick is a sublimely addictive ride for which viewers will want to scrub up.

When the programming strategy is more compelling than the drama itself, that's a bad sign. [4 Apr 2000]

Maximum Bob evokes a little of that quirky show ("Northern Exposure"), with a talented ensemble cast, rich characters, and a script that doesn't write down to viewers. [4 Aug 1998, p.E-01]

You may have read the transcripts over the years, but to hear the dialog, now on the eve of the 40th anniversary of his Aug. 9, 1974 resignation, is newly eye-opening.

G&O feels less serious of intent, less urban or urbane than “Broad City.” But fun.

Kelsey Grammer gives his pompous-windbag act another whirl, this time opposite Martin Lawrence on the predictably old-school comedy Partners.

Kind of hilarious. Kind of silly. Mostly a game of spot-the-cameo players and teasing about what moment a certain chainsaw will come in contact with certain bodies.

A beautifully executed 1940s period drama about the men and women involved in the top-secret Manhattan Project is at once transporting and provocative.

The first time I watched the pilot episode of FX’s Married, I found it to be crass, sad and pessimistic, a not-funny comedy about the tribulations of marriage. The second time I watched, just to make sure, I found it less appealing.

The series returns for season 2 on July 13 on Showtime, still excelling thanks to a confluence of terrific casting, great performances and smart storytelling about America in the repressed 1950s.

Neither ["Welcome to Sweden" or Working the Engels] is awful, neither will make you cancel other plans.... A few bright ideas enliven the half-hour. But how many meddling mother jokes can they pile on before we’re weary?

Neither [Welcome to Sweden or "Working the Engels"] is awful, neither will make you cancel other plans.... The execution is slick, and sister Amy has cameos, but how many times can they make the sauna jokes?

Well told, well acted, The Strain might be just the thing for fans of “The Walking Dead” feeling a little too calm this summer.