"Molly Dodd" may not make me laugh 42 times in a 23-minute period, but it never made me wince, either. And it's even funnier this second season, starting tonight. [24 Mar 1988]

The most fantastic program I've seen in my 18 years as a TV critic. [21 Jan 1988]

Edgier, more sharply drawn, while that Sorkian chatter remains at a very high boil.

The show is fast-paced, crackling, choreographed like a comedy ballet. [20 Sep 1992]

Every character bursts with life here, in what may be the most fully realized show on TV. [13 Aug 2007]

No doubt ABC has a hit here. The show's funny, and this is something you rarely get to say about a sitcom. [16 Oct 1988]

Orange" is a slog, where minutes seem to stretch into hours, hours into days ... and the drip, drip, drip of prison time becomes its own reality.

Determinedly irreverent and politically incorrect, but so obvious in its targets and so unoriginal in its barbs that it ends up being mostly an ode to its own crudity. [29 Apr 2005]

The characters in "Hope" are slightly more interesting [than those in "ER"]. Even though they are working in a high-powered hospital and have God-like powers, you can see what's going on behind their masks beyond their eyes. [18 Sep 1994]

It's like "M*A*S*H" with just the helicopters showing up and no laughs. "E.R." is all trauma; you never get to know enough about the patients or get involved with them. It's just treat, release and move on. [18 Sep 1994]

It's all a bit much in Monday's opener, and yet I suspect that, like the $400 shirts and luxury ride of Dennis Farina's "Law & Order" character, which initially came across as contrast run amok, Deputy Chief Johnson's contrived personality excesses will fade with time. And what will be left is a compelling character in a solid show - not a tradition-buster like FX's "The Shield" but probably a broader-based hit. [12 Jun 2005]

L.D. is back, and - based on viewing the first three episodes - his genius remains intact. [7 Sep 2007]

I haven't enjoyed a new cable comedy so much since the first episode of "Larry Sanders." [15 Oct 2000]

"Without a Trace" is about the work, about the puzzle. If you want the untidy cop stuff, stick with "NYPD Blue." [26 Sep 2002]

The characters, scripts and performances are surprisingly smart--almost, dare I say, deep. And you still get the comic humiliations, nasty rivalries and teeny bikinis.

The Bridge is highly absorbing.

The opening episode sometimes feels like a "Mad TV" sketch that's going on too long, and that doesn't bode well for the long haul. But that's not to say there's not plenty to laugh at - and even admire - in Wednesday's deadpan debut. [20 Jul 2003]

Just as people either drink or don't, you'll get it or you won't.

We aren't just viewing this "Real World" from an objective point of view - watching people behave - but participating in a fresh way. Sorting through all those first-hand viewpoints, we're coming to understand where these diverse people are coming from and why they act the way they do. [19 May 1992]

Watching Charlie stare into space and compute somehow isn't as persuasive as watching Gil Grissom or one of his "CSI" cohorts peer into a microscope. [23 Jan 2005]

But no one from this new group makes the kind of nails-on-blackboard impression that Omarosa or know-it-all Sam immediately did last year. Initially, they don't seem as interesting as the originals. [9 Sep 2004]

As derivative as it is in many respects, "The Apprentice" could turn out to be one of the more interesting variations on the format. [4 Jan 2004]

The show feels lived-in, making it all the more inviting to dwell there ourselves. [23 Sept 2003, p.B23]

In the end, don't much like Ray Donovan.... [But] Donovan ultimately succeeds on the little things--some very good performances by some very good actors and sharp dialogue by Biderman, who knows how to write Tough Guy talk with the best of them.

Sit back, don't think, and expect some good performances--especially by Jennifer Carpenter.

This playful hour gets under your skin with its quirky personality humor, at the same time it's spinning a pretty fair murder yarn. [12 July 2002, p.B51]

Rick Berman and Brannon Braga have assembled an attractive cast and found a tone -colloquial, humorous, slyly sexy -that probably will make questions about the science in this fiction moot. [26 Sep 2001]

It's not as good as "Star Trek: The Next Generation." The premiere strikes me as a "Star Trek: The De-generation." It doesn't seem to go beyond where no "Star Trek" has gone before, or even where the other one had been creatively. [7 Jan 1993]

The important thing about "South Park" is not what it looks like or the way the characters talk, but what they say. It's a writer-driven vehicle, like most of the better twisted adult cartoons. [13 Aug 1997]

Looks like a summer winner.

The show is well-conceived, well-written and very funny. [16 Sep 1991]

A sentimental new series whose flaws are fairly easy to forgive. [26 Sept 2003, p.B03]

But what makes this show different is Jerry Stiller. George Costanza's father is now Doug Heffernan's father-in-law. And what a riot he is. [21 Sept 1998, p.B23]

While we've got to be grateful that last season's tone-deaf Applewhite saga has seen its end, this year's "DH" still is sounding the occasional flat note, sometimes by repeating its past and other times by ignoring it altogether. [22 Sep 2006]

Airing five nights a week and featuring 10 strangers - not to mention insufferable hosts Julie Chen and Ian O'Malley - this will fill our screens for the next three months. Unless we happen to leave the set turned off. Which, judging from last night, might be advisable. [6 Jul 2000]

Yikes, this is calculating. Ouch, is it way too self-aware (even for teens). There's a caste system in high school? Are you shocked to learn this? [29 Sept 1999, p.B03]

I'm ashamed to admit it in front of my more serious colleagues, but I think the show can be very funny. Of course, like everything else on TV, some of it hits, a lot of it misses. But in the midst of the pain, cruelty, ridicule and abuse, not to mention boredom, somebody falls into a manhole and I find myself bursting out laughing. [29 Mar 1990]

The Latina female leads are--to put this in a way that's both politically correct and blandly inoffensive--vivacious.... That trademark Cherry wit, written in acid, is evident here. too.... But the biggest problem here is the sprawl--lots of stories, lots of characters, lots of colors--and not one them going anywhere in a hurry.

For every instance of contestants behaving in a transcendent manner, there are half a dozen demonstrations of pettiness, impatience, anger and jealousy. [5 Sep 2001]

While not the most stupid thing on the air, it borders on stupidity. [8 Jan 1996]

So far no amnesia bouts or cougar attacks. And no Kim! [9 Jan 2005]

Intriguing cop show in Civil War New York--though neither the cop part nor Civil War part are entirely convincing.

This is just an action fairy tale, a modern Saturday afternoon serial or contemporary penny dreadful, designed to keep us hanging on its every outlandish turn by exasperating us, if necessary, with characters we love to hate and contrivances we delight in dissing. ... It's insulting to our intelligence. And we can't stop watching. [28 Oct 2003]

The producers' storytelling bravura grabs your guts from the first tense second and doesn't let go. [29 Oct 2002]

The writing is crisp, the performances nuanced and believable, the gradually quickening pace addictive. It's hard to imagine anyone who watches tonight's first episode not wanting to to see the second installment next week. [6 Nov 2001]

Shannen Doherty as a witch. Perfect. [6 Oct 1998, p.03]

Arli$$ is character comedy. The humor comes out of the characters, the relationships and their work. It rings true all the time. [7 Aug 1996, p.B65]

The Divine One's "Bette" is still good enough to win a Marvy for the best TV comedy of the year. [11 Oct 2000, p.B35]

While True Blood remains wildly and bloodily inventive--and will certainly remain a huge HBO hit--there's still an overwhelming sense that deja-vu-all-over-again has set in.

Magic City--on paper, not on screen--remains a compelling idea in search of great execution.

Many viewers will find its satire way over the line, but they're not the ones The WB is aiming for. [6 Oct 2000, p.B51]

Who'da thunk this one'd be so adorable? Cox gets to cook comedically in this smart souffli, with great support from von Esmarch and company. Big bonus: elaborate weekly production numbers spoofing Godzilla, the penitentiary and, of course, the French Revolution. Love those decapitated dancers! [6 Oct 2000, p.B51]

Whoa, pardner. Calm down. There's too much struttin' and puffin' in the pilot for our taste. Rich casting and drama possibilities get mired in improbable events. And the basic premise -white father rides in to save black city? -is asking for trouble. [6 Oct 2000, p.B51]

We're happy to see a multigenerational sitcom, and the pilot has some nice writing. But the effort feels somehow strained. Though stage veteran Byrne has charisma, he's hardly a sitcom natural. So maybe that's the point. A sitcom that doesn't behave like one. Hope springs eternal. [6 Oct 2000, p.B51]

These folks wouldn't be paranoid if they thought critics loathed their forced and annoying show and widely predicted it would be the season's first to tank. [6 Oct 2000, p.B51]

The multi-ethnic cast is appealing and their cyber notions are nice, but it's hard to tell where this curious concoction is headed. They're certainly loading the dice with paranormal possibilities. [6 Oct 2000, p.B51]

This eccentric assemblage truly captures the distinct feel of Vegas-the night, the gallows humor of grisly work and the people who thrive on it. Sure, it's seedy, surreal and supremely specific. That's why we're hooked. [6 Oct 2000, p.B51]

TV fave Daly is more personally accessible than Janssen and Harrison Ford. And his show is beautifully produced. But we've seen it all before. CBS must figure this old-style genre-single- lead hero, chase drama, closed-end action-is primed for a comeback, though it's hard to imagine younger viewers sitting still for this Diagnosis Pursuit. [6 Oct 2000, p.B51]

Originally a half-hour sitcom, redeveloped into a light hour, this latter-day "Northern Exposure" creates its own eccentric, cantankerous, sweet and silly world. Can this wacky enchantment last? [6 Oct 2000, p.B51]

Get past the languor and absence of urgency of any kind and you quickly realize what Royal Pains is all about--TV's version of a nice easy beach read. The fifth season promises more of the same.

Hip, clever and hilarious...A sparkling little character study, quirky comedy, relationship drama and all-around delight. [5 Oct 2000, p.B43]

Thin, flavorless high school gruel, but the lead bad boy is intriguing.

'Flying Blind' is the one gem that stands out in the Fox lineup. The first show takes off like a jet. And the second show is even better. If it's against your religion to watch Fox, this one is worth straying for. [10 Sep 1992]

The dialogue's preposterous, the plot ludicrous, and the premise as fresh as a wrung-out old mop.

At first, the pace is slow--make that glacial--but [the] pilot episode (and especially Sunjata) are good-natured enough to make you want to stick around to see if this gels into anything approaching an FX drama (it does not).

The first couple of episodes are on the tedious side. Bad guys still die, things still get blown up.

Princesses is not nearly as offensive as "Jersey Shore." The bad: It's still pretty dumb.

Good, compelling, creepy start.

But my ultimate test for any comedy is - what else? - "Does it make me laugh?" Arrested Development seldom does. Not loudly, anyway...It has neither the liberating audacity of HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm" nor the delirious, anything-for-a-laugh energy of NBC's "Scrubs," the two contemporary comedies that consistently crack me up. It's reminiscent of the taboo- breaking 1970s comedy serial "Soap," but drier, more deadpan, and with less endearing characters. Does it deserve a wider audience than it has gotten? Sure. But I can't imagine it becoming a mainstream hit for Fox like "The Simpsons" or "Malcolm in the Middle."

Nobody tries to be funny here, so they're more hysterical than the folks falling all over themselves elsewhere. They're simply hopeless specimens of spoiled humanity who haven't a clue how to operate in the real world. [2 Nov 2003, p.04]

Interesting, engaging, worthwhile.

It could easily be mean and cynical, but manages to avoid both fatal pitfalls because the finalists are so genuinely enthusiastic and so blissfully uncomprehending of their shortcomings.

"Lord of the Flies"-meets-a-telephone book, and just about as entertaining.

Everything is pushed right to the edge, and that it doesn't topple over in a flaming heap is tribute to a pair of brilliant performances--though Damon's is first among equals--and an absorbing production that is morbidly fascinating from start to finish.

The Save Me pilot saves itself artistically. But debuting in a summertime double dose makes series salvation improbable.

There's humor, there's heart, you'll laugh when you don't expect to.

Lehman is good, most everything's OK, but nothing is especially fresh or compelling.

Carell's Scott may emerge as one of those characters viewers dearly love to hate, but the guess here is that he's too over the top - much more so than Gervais' character was - to be appreciated in doses this large. He'd be more effective as a secondary character - think Danny DeVito's immortally despicable Louie DePalma in "Taxi." [24 Mar 2005, p.B33]

We're talking major-league adult content here - from unblinking strip searches, to human branding, to brutal violence and language that the broadcast networks have never even thought about airing. But that's only an alert, not a warning, because this drama series from tube auteur Tom Fontana ("Homicide," "St. Elsewhere") packs a dramatic wallop as potent as its frankness. [11 July 1997, p.B47]

I love the characters, the actors, the spell they weave, the way of telling a story. By the second episode, I didn't want them to solve the case so it would go on and on. Homicide: Life on the Street is another stroll down heartbreak alley. [31 Jan 1993, p.21]

Don't miss the pilot. It's the best new crime series of the year, whatever you call it, tabloid TV, exciting TV, real TV. [6 Jan 1989]

It's the anti-talk show, the talk show that isn't a talk show, the talk show from another planet--that would be Staten Island--talk show. And yet, in a weirdly unexpected way, it almost works--and potentially could work.

This is almost too clever, funny and ironic for MTV.

Manhunt isn't out to settle scores, but explain the laborious process of intelligence gathering. No one here is looking for a citation, but understanding, and that's what "Manhunt" does best, as well as--yes--connect some dots.

With Tools, there is no discernible style, or point of view, or voice, or humor that ever rises to the level of originality.

A pleasant but routine sitcom that uses that decade of significant social change as a hook...The Wonder Years handles its period details - clothing, hairstyles - well. The look of the '60s is rendered with an authentic, evocative feel. Like virtually every sitcom, it has its banal moments, and here and there the gags fizzle. [30 Jan 1988, p.11]

Her shrewd, straightforward perspective and her semisweet, offhand attitude make her reflections fresh and relatable.

There's real thought behind The West Wing, a blessed exhilaration in this increasingly apolitical medium. For those who remember when '70s TV comedy took on the world, this is a welcome arrival. True, the pilot takes some fish-in-a-barrel potshots at sanctimonious evangelists, in Sorkin's speechifying manner from "Sports Night." But it also delivers that series' satisfying depth of reflection and rich characterization. Eventually. Once we know who these people are. [21 Sept 1999, p.B27]

Takes time to get into, but once in, you're in.

While the story is briskly and engagingly told, with some key players debriefed, there's not a lot new here. It's a very good beginner's history.

Can be charming one moment, insufferable the next. [16 July 2004, p.C01]

A messy newcomer with a "Twilight" saga vibe and "Twin Peaks" DNA.

The problem I have with the show, aside from the death business, is that the Fishers are not a likable family. It doesn't have a James Gandolfini character. [3 June 2001, p.D39]

The pilot is so busy establishing its new world, performances are afterthought generic. But Defiance gets more distinctive, and dramatic, through its next two hour episodes.

The intrigue continues and The Borgias remains one of TV's more reliable potboilers.

Veep is the single most improved series on television.

Falco--as always--remains one of TV's bright shining lights, but her Nurse Jackie suddenly feels like a work in progress.

Leonardo may not like what Starz has turned him into, but you probably won't mind this joy ride.