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.