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]