If you watch only one new show this season, watch Ed...It's a dry-witted, hourlong comedy with dramatic undertones. It's sweet, funny, earnest, endearing and entirely charming. It's got a great cast -- particularly the perfectly cast Tom Cavanagh in the title role -- and even better writing. [6 Oct 2000, p.C08]

By getting the details so right on something so peculiar and particular as this, The Sopranos actually opens a clear window onto modern incarnations of family and mortality and ambition. [9 Jan 1999, p.E05]

All all indications are that the new version of Murder One will be just as well done, just as riveting as last year's. In the second episode, there are several unexpected twists and turns that will keep you engrossed in the story. [10 Oct 1996, p.5]

You may not find a better executed show on television this fall. [29 Sept 2000, p.C07]

In addition to fresh, sharp writing, the casting in Freaks and Geeks is exceptional. [25 Sept 1999, p.E05]

Football is the framework for what remains a gritty, family drama with enormous heart.

Quite simply, marvelous television. It's touching, charming and believable...The actors are as good as the writing. And Keri Russell, who has the title role, is going to be the break-out star of the season. [27 Sept 1998, p.S03]

Rescue Me isn't your run-of-the-mill TV drama. It's astonishing in its ability to mix tremendous tragedy with genuinely hilarious comedy. [30 May 2006]

It's amazing stuff. Totally engaging. And completely worth watching.

The best thing to hit TV this season. [1 Apr 1998, p.C1]

A wonderful hour that's fresh and funny. [4 Oct 2000, p.C08]

And what makes Yost's script even more amazing is that this is not just a show about crime, but it's a show about the characters as well. In the hourlong pilot, we get glimpses into each of their lives and begin to see how who they are affects what they do. [27 Sept 2002, p.C08]

Crossing is excellent drama, strongly written and well-acted. The big question, however, is whether it will remain as unremittingly serious as tonight's pilot episode -- which might make it a bit heavy for weekly viewing. [10 Oct 2000, p.C07]

However, I can't give The Shield an unqualified recommendation given its placement on a basic cable network. There are scenes that make "NYPD Blue" look tame, including nudity, sex scenes, horrific violence and everything short of the f-word in terms of language. It looks like something you'd expect from HBO or a pay-cable channel that you specifically pay for and expect to include adult content. Not a basic cable channel that's next to Nickelodeon and the Disney Channel. [12 Mar 2002, p.C08]

Whether Cryer is all of that in real life, I don't know. But I do know that both he and Sheen seem to have found the perfect sitcom roles in "Men." The show is a hoot. [22 Sept 2003, p.C08]

There isn't another half hour like it on network television right now. It's a 30-minute show, but it isn't a sitcom. As a matter of fact, it's at least as much a drama as it is a comedy. It's also one of the best new shows of the season. [22 Sept 1998, p.TV]

Bateman is a revelation -- the ex-child star is great in this show. The rest of the cast is also very good, the writing is sharp, the humor level is high and it succeeds in creating a different comedy look and style. [31 Oct 2003, p.C08]

One of the most promising new shows of the season...This is not all heavy drama, however. There's a lot of humor and a lot of great characters. Everwood is not unlike Cicely, Alaska, in "Northern Exposure" -- it's a place where the characters are, well, characters. [14 Sept 2002, p.E08]

Sunday's Alias premiere plays out as a high-energy adventure wrapped in a mystery -- and it's better than a lot of theatrical films of the genre. Whether the series holds up is open to question. But the premiere is a gas. And the show could well turn out to be a good one. [28 Sept 2001, p.C08]

For the first time in a long time, NBC has a new sitcom that really is must-see TV. [2 Oct 2001, p.C08]

It's deliciously dumb. [8 Nov 2001, p.C02]

The best so-called "reality" series since "Survivor." ... "Race" is not only exciting but fascinating to look at. [4 Sep 2001]

The new series Nip/Tuck is gross, disgusting and vile. And I like it. A lot...If you can get past the ick factor, Nip/Tuck is really a character drama that recalls "Six Feet Under" or "The Shield" -- powerful stuff that's not just gross, it's engrossing. [21 July 2003, p.C08]

The first hour of Smallville looks fabulous. Now it's up to the producers and writers to tell good stories and mount the show as handsomely as the pilot and maintain a bit of mystery around one of the world's most recognizable characters. [15 Oct 2001, p.C06]

It doesn't even look like a TV miniseries -- it's more like 10 theatrical films that do an amazing job re-creating battles. [7 Sept 2001, p.W01]

Good weird. [3 Aug 1998]

But he has created a creepy tale that anyone who enjoys being scared — without being totally grossed out — will enjoy.

Rescue Me remains a crazy mix of drama and comedy that's heart-wrenching and hilarious. Can't wait to see how it ends.

Not only are the stories engrossing in and of themselves, but they seem certain to spark interest in genealogy among viewers.

Rescue Me is by no stretch of the imagination a documentary, but a lot of what happens in this series comes from the real lives of real New York firefighters, which is sort of a mixed blessing, given that the behavior of the fictional FDNYers includes drinking, smoking, swearing, womanizing, bigotry and even the occasional bit of thievery. [21 June 2005]

The show rings so true, in a hyper-reality sort of way. [28 Sept 1999, p.C09]

It looks like one of the better original offerings on any of the broadcast networks this summer.

There are the sort of soapy goings-on you might expect, but it's done with style and -- most importantly -- wit. This is one very funny show. [1 Oct 2004]

Suffice it to say that Breaking Bad is an enthralling narrative, for all that it remains tough to watch.

With a show like this--a show about a super-smart, super smart-alecky police detective--it's not about the concept, it's about the execution. The characters. The actors. And The Glades looks like a winner on those counts.

The show is a laugh-out-loud funny, skewed look at the American family that rings surprisingly true. But the pilot goes more than a bit over the top at times. [6 Jan 2000]

Cherry delivers on his promise to make the show funnier this season. [23 Sep 2006]

Hot in Cleveland is bright, funny and witty. And, yes, it's a purely traditional sitcom, filmed in front of a studio audience, which clearly appreciates the jokes.

What emerges is an engaging investigation that viewers will find themselves caught up in. [26 Sep 2002]

Treme features the kind of indelible characters we've come to expect from Simon and Overmyer in "Homicide" and "The Wire."

There's a lot of good writing and acting here. [1 Dec 2000, p.C10]

It'll bring a smile to your face and, yes, warm your heart a bit.

Falcone, while not perfect, is an engaging series that CBS is running as a miniseries

It's entertainment. And, as entertainment, it clearly fulfills its function.

Certainly one of the more intriguing new shows of the year. [26 Sept 2003, p.C08]

Without Jenna Elfman, Dharma & Greg wouldn't work at all. But with the goofy charm of Elfman to build around, Dharma & Greg is one of the better new comedies on network television this fall. [24 Sept 1997, p.C01]

The first four hours are good. Very good. Certainly, 24 fans will enjoy them.

'The Practice,' while not perfect, is the kind of quality drama that will not only entertain you but make you think - a rare and winning combination. [3 Mar 1997]

The Beat is certainly a leap up from most of what UPN airs. [20 March 2000]

Great drama is great drama. And Caprica shows all the signs of turning into another great drama.

The two-hour pilot is very good and sets up what would appear to be a good premise for what will inevitably be a long-running series. The show looks good, the supporting cast is attractive and the characters are interesting, and "Enterprise" really does manage to spin what has become a science-fiction staple over the past 35 years in a new, exciting way. [25 Sep 2001]

The best animated series to hit prime-time television since "The Simpsons". [26 Mar 1999]

Even allowing that "Ally McBeal" is sort of a gimmick show, its characters still ring true; much truer than most of the characters on television. [8 Sep 1997]

It's witty - even laugh-out-loud funny in spots - with a good cast and a good premise. [3 Mar 1997]

Has moments of brilliance. [11 Aug 2005]

It's a slam-bang action adventure with comedy and a little bit of personal drama. And it doesn't aspire to be anything more than that.

It's not bad. It's actually sort of promising.

Nip/Tuck could be equally effective as a drama without being anywhere near as graphic as it is. [22 June 2004]

It's funny, it's cute, it's different ... This is a surprisingly good little show that kids and parents can both enjoy. [27 Sep 1997]

The pilot is good; Episodes 2 and 3 aren't as good. But it has potential.

The Magnificent Seven is sort of an odd mixture of 1990s political correctness and every cliche that's ever been played out in Western movies and TV shows. But, odder still, it all comes together in a rather enjoyable way. [2 Jan 1998]

This is a drama about a family — the Pryors of Philadelphia — that's actually interesting for viewers' entire families.

With a little bit of effort on your part--The Pillars of the Earth is pretty good viewing. It's the sort of expansive miniseries that we never see on network television anymore.

If Stephen King had written "The Twilight Zone," it would have looked like this. This eight-part anthology — two hourlong episodes each Wednesday for four weeks — adapts eight King stories for TV with pretty good results.

It's tough for anything to succeed on Saturday night, and this show may be too uneven to hold up for long. But it has possibilities, so let's hope ABC sticks with it for a while.

The events of that Season 3 finale have rebounded to the good of the Season 4 premiere. And Season 4 gets off to a very promising start on Sunday.

It's all nicely done, if you like this sort of thing. And there are a lot of people who like this sort of thing, judging by the ratings of both "JAG" and "CSI." [23 Sept 2003, p.C08]

Whether The Others turns out to be a great series remains to be seen. It is, at least, an intriguing one with possibilities.

Both intriguing and very iffy. It's all going to depend on how good a job the writers do in making this mystery work over the long haul. If they follow the "X-Files" example of one-step-forward, one-step-back, this could get old quickly. [20 Sept 2002, p.C08]

Criminal Intent is yet another watchable Law & Order, which has become TV's most popular cop/lawyer show. But does three Law & Orders constitute too many Law & Orders? Maybe. [29 Sept 2001, p.E08]

It's pretty much exactly the same as a slew of shows that have gone before.

The cast, on the whole, creates believable characters in an unbelievable situation. (Pinchot is the exception - too much of his comic persona leaks through and undermines the maniac he's trying to create.)

If you watched the show with the sound turned down, you might well be blown away. But, as has been an unfortunate trend in non-Muppet Henson productions, most of the effort seems to have gone into making the series look great while giving short shrift to the writing. [12 Mar 1999]

Some of the comedy--which arises from the situations, not jokes--is good. So is the drama. Whether they'll work together as the show moves forward remains to be seen.

It's relatively entertaining, but the content is more than a bit rough for its 7 p.m. time slot.

If all teenage boys think about is sex, sex and more sex, then the producers and writers of "life as we know it" have captured the teenage boy perfectly.

A silly bit of fluff, complete with low-tech special effects and silly sight gags. But that's exactly what it's intended to be. [27 Sept 1996, p.3]

It has a very good cast, and Katims has a great track record. But he doesn't seem to have quite figured this one out yet.

"Family Guy" is occasionally quite funny -- but only occasionally. And it's often rather crude -- quite often. ... "Family Guy" does have possibilities. But the writing needs to improve -- it's nowhere near as clever as its producers think it is. [29 Jan 1999]

After watching the first three episodes, I'm not sure if "Happy Town" will deliver on its promise. Let's just say that I'm cautiously optimistic.

George Lopez is a show you can't help but root for because its star is so likeable. And, yes, it would be great to see more ethnic diversity on TV...But while the pilot isn't bad, it isn't all that good. But being likeable and mildly amusing is a start. [22 Mar 2002, p.C08]

There isn't that much to distinguish it from umpteen shows that have gone before. [15 Nov 2004]

Not that The O.C. is a bad show. It actually shows some promise of being a decent drama that will appeal to Fox's young-skewing audience. [4 Aug 2003, p.C06]

If you sit through it, you're not going to be counting the hours until next week's episode.

The premiere is heavy on set-up and light on action. It's more about mood than plot. Whether that will hold up over 13 hours is questionable.

Ritter and Segal are better than their material, but this is the sort of show (like "Home Improvement" or "Full House") that ABC used to do so well. [13 Sep 2002]

Ultimately, "Storm of the Century" becomes rather predictable. [14 Feb 1999]

While it's not a great show, it does do for lawyers what "Grey's Anatomy" did for doctors--create what could be a watchable soap opera on top of cases that involve real issues and real drama.

The Tommyknockers' biggest problem is that it's just too long. This would have been a much better movie if it had been cut by at least a quarter - and perhaps as much as a half.

It's certainly intriguing. It sets a mood that we rarely see in a weekly TV series. Whether it can sustain that mood and keep people interested is the huge task Bromell & Co. have undertaken. Maybe too huge a task.

It's actually rather confusing and only marginally interesting. [5 Oct 2000, p.C06]

To be perfectly honest, it's a little easier to be forgiving of a series that's airing original episodes in the summer. Maybe it will settle down a bit and turn into something a little better. I'll give it a couple more episodes.

The show could turn out to be one of those guilty pleasures like the early years of Dynasty or Melrose Place — a show that's fun because it is so melodramatic and dumb.

Except for the setting, there really isn't much to distinguish Memphis Beat from hundreds of cop shows past and present. As a matter of fact, it's far more like them than it is different.

None of this will bother viewers who haven't seen "The Witches of Eastwick." And given that the movie was released in 1987 -- and that the WB's programming is aimed directly at teenagers -- chances are that the lack of originality in Charmed won't hurt the show's chances. [7 Oct 1998]

"The Chronicle" is more a goof than a scare. [12 Jul 2001]

Frankly, the first episode of "Six" is not impressive. Discomfiting, certainly, and with sparks of promise, but not exactly compelling. But, somewhat surprisingly, after watching two and three and four more episodes, the show grows on you...Six Feet Under is going to be an acquired taste that some will never acquire.[1 June 2001, p.C08]

It's standard, low-grade, blue-collar sitcom. [7 Oct 2000, p.E08]