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."

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

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

Both fun and unexpected.

A tediously bloody bore.

"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]

The mostly forgettable "Battery Park"? It's strictly DOA -- Dull On Arrival. [23 March 2000]

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.

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

A witty, sophisticated romantic drama.

That morbid premise -- in addition to the so-so storytelling, devolving badly by the second episode -- sure feels morosely overwrought for 8 o'clock.

It's greasy, it's cheesy, it's a big heapin' platter of B-movie hokum. Now if only Tremors: The Series were as much clever fun as "Tremors," the witty, wild 'n' woolly 1990 monster flick it was inspired by. But it's not. Not even close. [28 Mar 2003, p.6D]

Breezily prefabricated sitcom humor that lacks the fresh zing of anything remotely original.

"Lucky Louie" is a true original -- a pleasantly twisted variation on "The Honeymooners" or "Roseanne" for the 21st Century.

With its attractive cast and the Emmy Award-winning talent behind-the-scenes... "Related" should be a lot more fizzy, witty fun than it is.

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]

If not exactly magnificent, it's still a well-executed traditional western. [31 Dec 1997]

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.

In the transformation to animation, Clerks has seen its cutting edge go pretty dull. [31 May 2000]

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

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

Even with Walsh's star sizzle and an attractive, talented supporting cast that includes Tim Daly, Amy Brenneman, Taye Diggs and Audra McDonald, Rhimes still hasn't found her spinoff's storytelling groove

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

There's nothing remotely hip or ahead of the trendy zeitgeist curve about "Hidden Palms." But there are some of those agreeable guilty pleasures to be found, like cliffhanger twists at the close of each episode that keep the mystery bubbling.

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

A breezy summertime soap opera.

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

Lopez loses because he's caught in the middle of a ho-hum sitcom with few real laughs -- much like ABC's very similar "My Wife and Kids" and "According to Jim." Oops. [27 Mar 2002]

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

Thanks to Corddry's social misfit charisma, Ricky Blitt's affable lowbrow lunacy flashes with a sharp, dizzy wit.

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

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

Fortunately, this sci-fi rookie, which aims for the younger, testosterone-tilting Fox audience, has a playful sense of humor to go along with its visually hyper sensibility. [6 Oct 2000, p.12D]

Feresten makes a rather engaging talk show host.

Shepherd scores in a so-so docudrama.

A slick 'n' grim crime procedural piled high with deadly dull cliches

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.

Light, breezy and easy to enjoy. [20 Sept 2002]

Most of the time, Daddio keeps the amiable focus on family friendly fun and the jovial mug of Chiklis. [23 March 2000, p.5G]

Just another tediously cliched crime procedural. Whodunit? Who cares.

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

A tediously insipid show that is perilously low on wit, intelligence or imagination.

"Big Day" just doesn't deliver many big laughs.

A tepid traditional sitcom.

Lame storytelling and dialogue.

The Old Testament just shouldn't be this dull.

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]

The only thing missing is fresh, smart, unpredictable humor.

Moonlight falls somewhere in the middle of the new paranormal pack. It's neither great nor awful.

From start to finish, "Standoff" is slickly contrived, formulaic crime drama nonsense.

There are occasional funny moments amid the raging comic mediocrity.

A decent, potentially appealing cast -- one that includes Fred Goss ("Sons and Daughters"), Faith Ford and Jerry O'Connell--has to make do with ho-hum storylines and writing that lacks anything resembling real snap and imagination.

Despite the dependably daft charms of Julia Louis-Dreyfus, all the tinkering that's been done to "Watching Ellie" may leave you feeling like something funny has been lost. [15 Apr 2003]

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

A lame, uninspired faculty farce.

Disheartening proof that even the most talented producers sometimes concoct a prime-time crock.

[A] bland, formulaic family comedy.

Big Shots isn't brilliant. And despite that attractive, well-matched male ensemble, the so-so series premiere lacks sufficient creative zing.

Luis retains the creaky, cliched feel of a laugh track relic from another time. Even in the '70s, this ethnic comedy cartoon wouldn't have seemed all that funny. With manic Luis, more is less. [19 Sept 2003, p.6H]

Doesn't quite rise to the cheerful, sweetly clever quality level of WB's "Beauty and the Geek."

Even with its erratic start, "Inconceivable" still manages to deliver a fair share of escapist, bun-in-the-oven fun.

A glossy hunk of over-the-top, sleaze 'n' tease melodrama.

Some will find it appalling. Others just may find it appallingly addictive.

A raunchy, mostly forgettable female bonding sitcom.

A mediocre and predictable adventure series based on a mediocre and predictable Jean-Claude Van Damme movie. [22 Sept 1997, p.5E]

Despite Lithgow and Tambor's capabilities, the series sags badly amid the moldy excesses of generic, over-the-top slapstick.

This so-so show uses the sight gag style of "Scrubs" -- visualizing a character's thoughts and fantasies -- minus the funny medical comedy's superior wit and comic smarts. [24 Sept 2002]

[A] cheesy carnival of reality TV.

Offers only slightly more entertainment appeal than viewing a test pattern. [10 Jul 2000]

[A] trite little laugh-track factory.

A ho-hum traditional sitcom filled with formula banter and cliched cuteness.

[A] dreadful little laugh-impaired comedy.

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

In terms of intelligence, wit and quality, "Desire" is a serious cut below most prime time drama series.

The few good laughs in an otherwise so-so show are supplied by the slyly wigged-out Beth Lacke.

This laugh-track loser pretty much wastes the not inconsiderable comic talents of Jon Cryer ("The Famous Teddy Z") and David Krumholtz ("Slums of Beverly Hills"). [6 Oct 2000, p.12D]

A dopey comedy deserves a dopey assessment: Tucker sucks. Please make it go away. [2 Oct 2000, p.4E]

This is entertainment? Awful.

"Modern Men" feels anything but, well, modern. But in its own goofy, good-natured retro way, this old-school comedy... generates some lighthearted, if predictable grins.

Alternately engaging and annoying.

The producers must have been living in a cave when they wrote this inept, misfiring social satire.

Here's an early candidate for worst miniseries of the 21st Century.