The new version bears less of a resemblance to “ER”-styled medical drama of the 2000 “Hopkins” than it does to “The Hills,” the MTV sensation that introduced a whole new visual vocabulary to unscripted TV. The stories still involve people being treated at Hopkins, of course, but what’s striking is how much time is spent outside the hospital with the docs and their families.

When Lost returns Wednesday with a thoroughly entertaining two-hour barnburner, you will want to be there.

I can’t say enough about how "Friday Night Lights" defied my expectations for what a TV show about football would be.

[A] smart espionage drama.

The Bridge will no doubt tie all these threads together in 13 well-executed episodes, after a lot of red herrings, victims killed in horrific ways and one final twist. It’s guaranteed to be a depressing journey, and it’s starting to feel like one we’ve been on before.

Elevate[s] the state of TV drama with fine writing, convincing acting and compelling stories. [16 Sep 1994]

Taxi has all kinds of possibilities and tons of potential. All that Brooks, Daniels, Weinberger and David Davis have to do is measure up to their pasts long enough to pull it off. Las night they failed to measure up. [13 Sep 1978, p.18C]

A lightly subversive sitcom set in modern-day Wisconsin.

I'm happy to report that, much like the disembodied head of Richard Nixon (who shows up in the second episode), it's the same barrel of laughs it always was.

Somehow it works, thanks in part to a tangled intrigue that pulls this lowly matriculator into a conspiracy of the highest order. [29 Sept 2001, p.E1]

The people who create Eureka always seem to know how to add a few dabs of paint that no previous TV show covering time travel and electronic body transport had thought of.

Smallville roped me in. The most intriguing premise is that young Clark is only starting to grasp the enormity of his arriving on Earth a dozen years earlier. [16 Oct 2001, p.E1]

I like the serious, gimmick-free approach of the show.

Like “True Detective,” The Knick benefits from a consistent vision and stellar cinematography. Its turn-of-the-century sets and costuming will transport viewers into the past more vividly than any stuffy sitting room in “Downton Abbey.” But it requires dedication to stick around with The Knick until the action gets going a few episodes in.

Daredevil stands alone as an artful, gritty ensemble drama that could elevate the superhero origin story like HBO’s “True Detective” did for the crime procedural.

Hugh Laurie is simply brilliant as the sarcastic, Vicodin-popping, cane-clutching healer in House. You want to see a heroic doctor? Go watch Matthew Fox save an island on "Lost." Want to see a terrific performance by a comedic actor who may singlehandedly save the medical drama? Here's your guy. [16 Nov 2004, p.E3]

If [Sorkin] intends to preach off-key sermons every week, “Studio 60” is going to get old fast.

Ray Donovan is undeniably derivative, but it sure is fun. Liev Schreiber leads a stellar cast as Ray Donovan.

It’s not near HBO quality but certainly better than that “Sleeper Cell” tripe that Showtime put on last year.

The freshest take on the single-camera mockumentary since “Curb Your Enthusiasm.”

Every minute of "The Practice" is imbued with urgency, but it is a contrived, almost comical urgency. [2 Mar 1997]

Paired with the endearing self-awareness and cerebral nods to pop culture Whedon brings to his best projects, it’s the perfect setup for fall’s most promising new TV show.

Spellbinding ... Blends intelligent writing, seamless special effects and more wonderful creations from Jim Henson's Creature Shop. [19 Mar 1999]

Because "Traffic" is filmed like "24," you can experience the excitement of a whole season of Fox in just three nights. [25 Jan 2004]

The results aren't much different from a video game, for the violence on Chuck is pretty cartoony, but after watching two episodes I’m hooked. This is a fun escapist show.

Alongside Roth, Shepard and talented character actor Tim Blake Nelson, Madden pulls off the sometimes treacly dialogue, but the insistent no-duh musings (“the die has been cast”) wear thin quickly.

While I prefer the British Mars, the show's premise is so strong that this decent execution of it is hard not to recommend.

Torchwood is so much more tricked-out with talent and visual wizardry, moves at such breakneck speed and makes such demands on its viewers that it leaves most American TV shows in its dust.