Not only is it funnier than its lead-in, it’s improved on its impressive (and sadly truncated) first season on ABC.

Rescue Me does everything “Lost” does. It balances character, drama, comedy and suspense while relentlessly pushing a dozen story lines forward.

Those who accept it for what it is--a funny, manipulative soap that relies on historical upheaval to frame its scarce plots--should be happy to hear that Downton’s new season is better than its last.

Compelling if not entirely satisfying. [29 Oct 2002]

I could watch Roger (ever-dapper John Slattery) fire people all day long (Sunday’s surprise firing is an epic one), but Don’s cryptic conversations with strangers can feel staid and scholarly.... And then--herein lies the addictive nature of the show--the action pauses for just a moment, the acting thrums with tension, and you feel satisfied that you have been a good student.

Behind the Candelabra isn’t a smear job, but it’s not a revelation, either.

Warburton is spot-on perfect as Tick. [8 Nov 2001, p.E1]

Flawless production design and lush cinematography make Rectify visually stunning, but its simmering mystery and artfully depicted dysfunction make every scene hum with tension.

Reaper is remarkably well-paced and hilariously well-written.

The first hour... hits you with a potent cocktail of action and intrigue.

I know there are a lot of people out there who can’t get enough of it, all the irritation and the narcissism and the racial tension and the yelling. But I’m not one of those people....Curb Your Enthusiasm leaves me just...well, a little bored.

I liked this show immediately...A delightful, well-designed show from start to finish. [5 Oct 2000, p.E1]

Justified is one of those programs where, when you get done with the three review episodes FX sends you, you're angry because you know FX could've sent more episodes if it wanted to.

Once again Simon and his producing partner, Ed Burns, plunge us deeply into the culture of foul-mouthed men, many of them barely out of their teens, who have ready access to firearms and agendas that have little to do with the American dream that you and I understood growing up. And, as before, you can’t stop watching it.

Tough, gritty, almost exhausting to watch. [16 Sep 1994]

In its second season, House of Cards is just like its main character: clever, ruthless, a bit too self-satisfied and surprisingly powerful.

Orange is scary, smart and relevant, and it will make you wonder why no one thought to give the “Oz” formula a dose of estrogen before now.

After four seasons of showing us cosmetic enhancement from every conceivable angle, Nip/Tuck is ready to take its scalpel to something else: the entertainment industry. I’m not saying that it’s going to work or that Nip/Tuck's longtime fans will appreciate the gesture, but tonight’s episode introduces us to a show-within-a-show that is simply dreadful, and that alone (to this TV critic) is worth the price of admission.

In less capable hands, the show might have turned into a far-fetched teen fantasy about life without parental restrictions...Here, it is a touching and finely crafted exploration of what it means to grow up without either the rules or the loving guidance of parents. [10 Sept 1994]

Whatever the reasons, True Blood has become stranger, more complicated and more satisfying to watch over time.

“This American Life” on TV achieves the same contemplative mood as the radio show. And it has a striking spareness of imagery, much as “Life” on radio has a spareness of sound.

'24' remains the same show, perhaps even a better show than last season. [5 Jan 2005]

It’s an ambitious and ever-shifting examination of the lack of foresight in a culture addicted to rapid change.

It's the best drama pilot I saw over the summer.

This behind-the-scenes look at the American presidency from the creator of "Sports Night" (Aaron Sorkin) gets off to a bumpy start tonight when viewers realize that the supposedly liberal chief executive played by Martin Sheen - who in real life is an actual fire-eating Hollywood liberal - has no minorities in his inner circle. (The first black face seen in the premiere episode is a traffic cop who pulls over one of the show's regulars.) [22 Sept 1999, p.F10]

The most promising new network show of the year...One part family drama, one part crime drama, one part internal metaphysical whatever, Joan of Arcadia draws us immediately into its slightly off-kilter universe. [26 Sept 2003]

With its demented story lines, idiotic characters, out-of-control banter and fantastic send-ups of a spy genre that had seemingly been overspoofed already, Archer is destined to put another feather in the cap of FX.

If this one doesn't make you laugh, it may be time to report to the cryogenics lab. [26 May 1995]