The snap, crackle and pop of witty dialogue well delivered. That is the consistently amusing, escapist pleasure of Back to You.

With the endearing, improbable comic chemistry shared by Cox and von Esmarch, Nikki turns out to be one of the fall season's most pleasant surprises. [6 Oct 2000, p.12D]

Arrested Development is one of those increasingly rare network comedy series that dares to assume there might be intelligent life out there watching, viewers who actually know when to laugh. Bless you, Fox. [31 Oct 2003, p.1H]

There's an engaging free spirit at the heart of "Watching Ellie." [26 Feb 2002]

As the show unfolds over three nights, the taut storytelling never falters, using the visceral oomph of handheld cameras, quick scenes and an unsentimental emotional palette. [26 Jan 2004]

[A] smart, hard-edged new crime drama.

What may appear at first glance to be a cheap reality TV gimmick... soon evolves into something quite compelling.

Dexter is... one of the most compelling new characters on TV.

"The Sarah Silverman Program" is not for everyone. But if you've chuckled along to the rascals on "South Park" -- or if you thought "Borat" was one hilarious movie -- then chances are you'll get some perverse jollies with Sarah Silverman's latest venture.

'3rd Rock from the Sun,' besides being viewed as too darn silly by some, may be slagged for being too raunchy by others. But if you're looking for a daffy acting delight, check out John Lithgow's marvelously unhinged performance as Commander Dick. [9 Jan 1996]

A breezy summertime comic joy.

The writing and comic sensibility are fresh and unpredictable. [23 Aug 1998, p.1L]

Queer as Folk is good. But it isn't shockingly good. However, it is Showtime's best original series yet. [1 Dec 2000, p.1C]

Darkly gripping.

It's actually rather funny, broadly entertaining and blessed with a sweet screwball spirit. It's a promising farce with heart.

Both fun and unexpected.

"Out of Practice" is that increasingly rare old-fashioned sitcom that delivers decent laughs.

Murder, She Wrote isn't up to Columbo class yet. But the show does display enough wit and style to make it a top-notch entertainment alternative to the noisy head-banging and mayhem on Knight Rider and Hardcastle & McCormick. [30 Sep 1984]

Despite an excellent cast, Milch's knockout writing and McShane's hypnotically toxic villain, Deadwood conjures up one very brutal wild west purgatory punctuated by misery, anger, lust, greed, violent death and all those outrageously naughty words. Happy trails. [19 Mar 2004, p.4E]

Wuhl's madcap shyster has a sublimely bent supporting crew: Jim Turner as the agent's second-in-command Kirby Carlisle, a former quarterback with a bad habit of betting on games; Sandra Oh as crackerjack office assistant Rita Woo; and Michael Boatman ("China Beach") as Stanley, the agency's dour buppie numbers cruncher. [9 Aug 1996, p.1D]

Like the frequently audacious comic strip that gave it life, "The Boondocks" doesn't mess around.

The smartly told stories of first-year coach Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler, "King Kong") and his Dillon High School Panthers are packed with gritty style and heartfelt emotion.

Rescue Me has also created wonderful, layered roles for women, including Andrea Roth ("CSI: Crime Scene Investigation") as Tommy's estranged wife, Janet, and Tatum O'Neal as temperamental sister Maggie Gavin...Plus, such impressive actresses as Susan Sarandon and Marisa Tomei have signed on for roles as recurring characters this season. [30 May 2006, p.1]

Thanks to sleek production values, a generally top-notch cast and an absorbing overall story that smartly mixes explosive action with quieter moments of sinister intrigue, The Company delivers a refreshingly solid jolt of summertime Big Event drama.

It's a fascinating, leap of faith start. [26 Sept 2003, p.8E]

Crichton ... has infused "E.R." with a contemporary, darkly humorous believability. [18 Sep 1994]

Aliens in America delivers the laughs. It's one of the most enjoyable members of this fall's freshman class.

"The West Wing" was more vivid, original and compelling than "Commander in Chief" is likely to become. But impressive Geena Davis and the Oval Office gender twist are indeed refreshing.

Despite its almost giddily provocative tone and the hanky-panky tunnel vision of its teenage protagonists, "life as we know it" displays some real promise with refreshing twists of wit, imagination and an offbeat style. [7 Oct 2004]

A richly entertaining winner, a saga that both stirs the emotions and whips up vivid outbursts of satisfying, varmint-vanquishing action.

Tell those Tinseltown pixies to go grab that big jar of cosmic stardust off the shelf. The magic show biz thing is happening again. [29 Sept 1998, p.1D]

Yeah, sounds sappy. But it's just the opposite -- a charming mix of rambunctious wit, honest emotion and interesting characters. Lots of smarts and a generous heart. A winner. [16 Sept 2002]

Besides the nifty, repressed romantic dynamic between Brennan and Booth, "Bones" has some fun with snazzy hologram visualizations of the murder victims in each case.

An instant cult classic will be born when The Tick arrives at 8:30 tonight on Fox, a rambunctiously clever human cartoon rarin' to tickle your funnybone with unhinged satiric glee. [8 Nov 2001, p.4G]

"The Nine" unfolds with an abundance of emotion-charged imagination.

Make no mistake, Dharma & Greg has been built for Elfman's coming out party as a high-voltage comic lollapalooza. And she doesn't disappoint. She's one very likable and amusing looney tune. [24 Sept 1997, p.6C]

Has some genuinely funny moments despite its laugh track and conventional sitcom framework.

The miniseries is occasionally overwhelmed by its own lavish size and sweep. ... But there are compelling moments and strong performances to be enjoyed. [3 Apr 1998, p.1D]

Welcome to Smallville. Check your cynicism at the city limits. [16 Oct 2001, p.6E]

It's styled as a sort of laid-back Gen X updating of "thirtysomething," replacing that show's neuroses-fueled, East Coast edge with a more casual, lighthearted California vibe.

Although it's not quite as much smart, trashy fun as "Rome," it is still an engaging romp that moves along at a stylish pace.

"Sleeper Cell" works as a smart, sharply styled thriller about a very serious subject.

On a simple quality drama level, it's the best network miniseries in several years.

Smart, well- written, lots of potential. [3 Mar 1997]

A terrific series pilot that gives off little echoes of everything from "GoodFellas" to "The Departed."

The gracefully gonzo result is funny and affecting, and sometimes it is downright insightful. Good grief. [1 June 2001, p.1E]

It's headed in the right direction ... fast, loose and fun.

With fun, familiar faces like Field, Flockhart and Griffiths on board, attending a family reunion with the Walkers every Sunday could be a lively, entertaining way to end the weekend.

A compelling tale of ordinary people ensnared in extraordinary circumstances.

It makes a smart, charmingly irreverent first impression, thanks to its pleasantly warped, deadpan writing and performing.

For those willing to take the plunge, a chilling, hypnotic tale awaits. [12 Sep 2003]

It's a fresh, darkly comic workplace/social life farce peppered with good laughs.

A dark, bruisingly intense medical drama. ... Delivers smart, pugnacious television that takes a real chance. [30 Mar 2000]

An ambitiously moody exploration of moral ambiguity. [27 Oct 1996]

"Family Guy" isn't for everyone. Obviously. It's also not as fully-realized or intelligent as "The Simpsons." It's extremely fast-paced and obsessed with a nonstop stream of jokes, jokes, jokes. And the humor is often hit and miss. But when it hits, look out. [29 Jan 1999]

High School Musical 2 is pretty much a total tuneful blast.

With its sharp writing, wonderful cast and wacko spirit, Reaper is one helluva good time.

Fey's humor possesses a sly, literate snap. And like NBC's recent cool comedies, "The Office" and "My Name Is Earl," her rollicking "30 Rock" has a surplus of nutty imagination.

It sure looks like '24' executive producers Joel Surnow and Robert Cochran are ready to give America more anxiety-amped razzle dazzle with one of television's most original and compelling drama series. [28 Oct 2003]

Feresten makes a rather engaging talk show host.

On first encounter, "Futurama" isn't as instantly memorable as "The Simpsons." ... Don't sell "Futurama" short, though. It has all the sly Groening hallmarks for subversively amusing, sharply written pop culture fun. [26 Mar 1999]

A witty, sophisticated romantic drama.

With wit and intelligence, they transform what might have been little more than high concept hokum into a clever, evocative mix of sci-fi, suspense and raging teenybopera hormones. [6 Oct 1999, p.1E]

Simultaneously appealing and rather sadly appalling, "Mrs. Harris" gets at the messy truth of it all in a distinctively mischievous manner.

It sets up a scenario that sends Walt, played by Bryan Cranston ("Malcolm in the Middle"), on an unpredictable, surprisingly fun-to-watch journey that frees him from his law-abiding past.

Right from the dark start, the new "Night Stalker" is a more provocative, emotionally layered thrill ride.

Television always needs smart, quality shows. And with "ER" on creative life support after 10 years, this challenging new medical drama could be good entertainment therapy. But for many viewers, "House" could be a tough pill to swallow. [15 Nov 2004, p.1C]

As '24' quickly revs up the anxiety and action on the new season, the show is still flashing its taut, characteristic strengths: distinctive real time storytelling, tighten-the-vise tension, compelling split-screen visuals and sudden, sometimes shocking, outbursts of violence. All of it pushed at a dazzling pace and built around Sutherland's grim, courageous antihero with the hair-trigger volatility. [7 Jan 2005]

Kingdom Hospital is its own, slightly crazy thing. And in a world being overrun by the sleazoid zombie gremlins of reality TV, that's not all bad.

"Desperate Housewives" has been spinning its storytelling wheels this fall. ... But we kvetch too much. Despite its slightly diminished state, most of the time "Housewives" remains a Sunday night delight. [30 Oct 2005]

Within the context of an overly familiar, murder-saturated genre, talented "Medium" creator Glenn Gordon Caron ("Moonlighting") manages to find some emotionally rich variations on the formula, assisted by Patricia Arquette's appealing performance as a suburban, crime-solving mom who sees dead people. [3 Jan 2005]

A taut new crime drama that's happily more than the sum of its generic crime procedural parts. [13 Jun 2005]

Thanks to its lively wit and playful visual style, Birds of Prey delivers a good bit of escapist entertainment. [9 Oct 2002]

The doctors of Chicago Hope Hospital, a gleaming surgical palace with all the cutting- edge gizmos, tend to pontificate. [18 Sep 1994]

A sly, witty step up from the boorish "Becker."

"Wedding Wars" tries to do a lot, with moderate success.

The opening episode is solidly done and pretty entertaining. But a fifth season of "Everwood" would have been a much better fit in the time slot following "7th Heaven."

The series rarely soars beyond the predictable. [4 Apr 2000]

Alas, most of the humor comes straight from the formula family sitcom factory. Nice cast, stale laughs. [20 Sept 2002]

[It has] just enough funny, semi-improvised moments to make you wish it was better.

There are moments of dizzy, semisweet fun to be had on the premiere. But the honeymoon could be short.

So MacLachlan's enjoyable. The supporting cast is OK. And the unconventional premise is rather promising. Now it's up to the producers to give "In Justice" a more distinctive dramatic zing.

A haphazard farce that fails to find a consistently funny groove.

A cast of eager unknowns and prime-time newcomers gleefully skewers pop-culture celebrities from Britney Spears to Regis Philbin with acid, fast-paced irreverence. And sometimes -- but only sometimes -- Hype is laugh-out-loud hilarious. [6 Oct 2000, p.12D]

A blast of blahs from the past. [27 Sept 2002]

During its opening two episodes, Popular is basically content to be just another jaunty, semi-"Clueless" spoke on WB's glossy teen entertainment wheel. Great to look at, yes, but short on emotional depth. [29 Sept 1999, p.5E]

Far, far away from the cutting edge, Life in the Wild offers a family-drama walk on the mild side.

Like Zuiker's first two installments of the series, "CSI: NY" is well made and well cast. But there's also something coldly understated and ordinary about it as well. [22 Sep 2004]

In between the sardonic wisecracks and tangled storytelling, it's easy to lose interest.

Maybe they all graduated from the Melrose Place College of Law.

[A] bland, formulaic family comedy.

A breezy summertime soap opera.

Lame storytelling and dialogue.

There's nothing remotely fresh or original about "3 Lbs." But it is well made, reasonably diverting and lucky to be on CBS.

Plays like a motley medley of the grand exalted ghost buster's greatest hits. It's a fright night festival of tepid chills and only moderate thrills, a haunted house miniseries that drags on for three nights. [27 Jan 2002, p.1F]

With too many hints of recycled stock characters and formula thriller cliches, "Drive" sputters off the starting line.

Though the glossily well-made "Vanished" may prove intermittently diverting, it lacks any of the original serial thriller zing of far better shows like "24," "Lost" or "Prison Break."

"Run's House" seems to be the reality sitcom flip side of "Being Bobby Brown."