Initial impression: It fits. Fans of Chalke will remain fans, and everyone who long ago realized that Elizabeth Perkins was the best thing about "Weeds" will as well.

It's also one of those shows composed of such familiar ingredients, it already feels like a rerun. [22 Sept 2003, p.B02]

It's a great show, the best new series of the year. It's so - dare I say it? - original. It catches you off guard. Basically, it's everything I'm always looking for in drama. It's beautifully written, authentic, without the plastic Los Angeles look. The acting is marvelous. It's funny in a darkly comedic way, involving as a soap opera, and quirky. I never quite know what's going to happen, even though the subject matter is by no means unprecedented for television. [10 Jan 1999, p.D35]

Sunday and the next three episodes are superb while the rhythms and beats of the story are very nearly hypnotic. Nothing here feels wasteful or cheap.

A thorough whitewashing.

A head-spinning, yet deeply humane, thrill ride.

A frustrating film that leaves the questions--pretty much all of them--unanswered.

I would say give them a chance. What else are you going to do for a half-hour after "Frasier"? [2 Oct 2001, p.B27]

Series star Treat Williams ("Hair," "Prince of the City") is such a fine actor, with so much natural gravity, that he can transcend all but the hokiest writing. And as the opener develops, the writing actually starts to meet him halfway. [16 Sept 2002, p.B18]

Wallops don't get more walloping than the one that arrives at the end of the premiere of FX's adult cop show The Shield. Won't tell you what it is, and don't you dare read other reviews in case they blab it. This is one of those punch-in-the-stomach moments of TV you'll want to remember being stunned by. Although The Shield looks pretty dang good to that point - or pretty %@$#! good, as its characters would swear - the show suddenly becomes flat-out brilliant. [12 Mar 2002, p.B27]

Angel upholds Whedon's spellbinding "Buffy" mantle and expands it, taking his surprisingly mature and witty view of life among the supernatural into an adult realm. [5 Oct 1999, p.B27]

Man, is this a good show...Boomtown is so good, it single-handedly restores your faith in broadcast networks. They can compete with the "freedom" of premium cable. All it takes is creative smarts. And NBC's Boomtown has plenty of those. [27 Sept 2002, p.B02]

Felicity is the best drama of the year, a quality show of substance and intelligence, something worth watching. [28 Sept 1998, p.B23]

The acting is solid all around--just not entirely convincing.

Alias suffers from a split personality. It's half John LeCarre, half comic book. In the field, Sydney, who looks about as formidable as your average Vogue cover girl, becomes a spike-heeled super-spy who shoots and karate-kicks her way through a horde of terrorist storm troopers as if they were targets in a video game. She's preposterous, and so is half the show. But viewers who just want to see bad guys die may not mind.

Not a lot new here, but Cheney gets a fair hearing--even though a tougher one is occasionally warranted.

He's rude, sarcastic, bitter, brilliant and, delightfully, the most compelling character of the fall TV season. [14 Nov 2004, p.11]

NCIS is going to succeed first and foremost because of Harmon. His character is more or less the same quietly confident, genial guy he played when he was Allison Janney's ill-fated love interest on "The West Wing." He's essentially playing himself, and he's very good at it. [23 Sept 2003, p.B02]

This Bible probably won't offend anyone, but it's hard to imagine it will inspire anyone, either.

Vikings quickly settles into a fairly routine sword-and-sandal epic narrative that revolves around a sociopath overlord and the subjects who dare to challenge his authority. But it gets better.

Unlike "Daddy Dearest," it's a warm, compassionate, story about a human problem the baby boomer generation sooner or later will be dealing with: what to do with geriatric TV set as they get on in years. It's not a big busy ensemble sitcom like "Cheers," more a one-man show for Grammer. But it's cozy, involving, socially relevant and marvelously amusing. [16 Sept 1993, p.93]

Marta as Mob Mom is not fully believable or recognizable or (for that matter) relatable on any level. Without empathy, this "red widow" is just plain dull.

Someone must believe the allure of "CSI" lies in its "look" - Cold Case also offers time-tripping flashbacks blending the past incident into present time - along with the behavioral "cool" of its central character. But even when William Petersen plays reserved, his "CSI" cop seems to be seething at his core. That suppressed fire makes him worth watching. Morris is barely an ember.

So, what about the human intrigue of partner interaction, coordination and strategizing? That gets a bit of short shrift in favor of more blood (leaking hydraulic fluid) and guts (flying sparks and parts).

We know how this ends (he becomes commish) but there's little evidence suggesting how or why that happens, and even less reason why we should care. Meanwhile, the best stuff in Golden Boy is the little stuff--sharp, brittle dialogue, nice performances and a street cred that's a cut above average.

Greetings From Tucson tries the high-wire act of both avoiding and exploiting Mexican-American stereotypes, and falls flat on its back in the desert sand next to the tire swing and the El Camino. [20 Sept 2002]

Any smart girl would also wish for humor at a higher level than slapstick broccoli on the eyeball or a 12-year- old boy drooling, "You're kinda easy on the peepers." [20 Sept 2002]

Who is he? Who-who, who-who? I really want to know. But I don't think I want to sit through four or five episodes, let alone a season or two, to find out. [20 Sept 2002]

The only thing deep in tonight's Firefly premiere, though, is the well of cliches into which Whedon dips for what passes for plot and exposition. [20 Sept 2002, p.B02]

Seinfeld's gentle humor is easy to take. Unlike other current comedians, such as Andrew Dice Clay or Sam Kinison, Seinfeld isn't angry: He's more awed by the wonder of it all. [13 May 1990, p.13]

Smart. [23 Aug 1998, p.D10]

They [directors John Dorsey and Andrew Stephan] know how much to say, and show, to viscerally deliver the sights, sounds and even smells, without scaring us away.

Like Hugh Laurie's irascible "House" title character, star Ellen Pompeo's newly minted Dr. Grey conveys such substance that you simply can't stop watching. [25 March 2005, p.B33]

The premiere hour balances perspectives pretty well--no loopy hippies, no redneck cops, no (apparently) cutthroat gangsters.

A not-bad techno-thriller that could go interesting places.

Best show of the season? Call me crazy, but it's a loopy-twisted-serpentine whodunit revolving around a whip-smart teenage girl...So let's recap. Engaging star, cool characterizations, witty scripts, meaty backstory. What's not to like? Only that networks always cancel deliciously offbeat gems like this. Let's hope UPN doesn't actually want to be a "real" network, after all. [22 Sept 2004, p.C01]

The most intriguing thing, actually, is that Lost may not even need the hoodoo voodoo. Abrams and script creator Damon Lindelof ("Crossing Jordan") have already set up a pretty compelling cross- section of earthlings as a study of simply human behavior. [19 Sept 2004, p.11]

Engaging docudrama with lots of interesting detail. Worth watching.

Sure, it's a glossy, well-produced infomercial filled with powerful live performances, but it feels designed to make us want to buy more Beyoncé stuff.

Ambitious and intermittently entertaining, Zero Hour--and its celebrated lead--don't quite hit all their marks. But at least the mystery's a hoot.

It's not a bit hokey, as are many reality show competitions. Unlike "ANTM," the coaches don't judge. Instead, they leave that to industry experts who are authentic: smart, tough and unemotional.

You have plain old smashmouth elemental TV story devices--good guys, bad guys, evil corporations, a family unit, and a headlong rush toward the Truth, whatever that may be. Plus this special bonus: Intimations of Jack Bauer.

Still defiantly Community, still good and still uninterested in adding new viewers.

Monday Mornings is Kelleyesque in all the best and admittedly worst--melodramatic, manipulative, shocking--ways. But it's also intelligent, particularly well-written and acted, and above all interested in matters other than what's directly mounted on the screen before your eyes, most notably ethics, human nature and human fallibility.

A partially successful reboot, with less music, more story.

Above-average newcomer with a great actor in the leading role and frosty grace notes throughout.

Part Dr. Jekyll, part Mr. Hyde and all dumb.

Smart newcomer with a pair of leads that turns The Americans into a likely winner.

Monday night's return of Dallas is a joy and everything fans could ask for--the past, present and future all skillfully bound up in a high-gloss melodrama full of deceit, greed, Velveeta and (surprisingly enough) even love.

The Following is a bummer of significant proportions. Not that it's bad--it's not--but it's bleak, sordid, blood-spattered and creepy (though not necessarily always "creepy" in a good way, like "The Walking Dead").

A surprisingly revisionist take on one of the most controversial trials of the decade.

Extremely raunchy, and often quite funny.

You have a life--live it, and don't watch this.

Mostly boilerplate teen soap that lacks the (umm) zest of "Sex and the City"--a good thing, in case you're wondering.

Sharper, smarter, more richly layered, detailed (and acted), Girls has improved upon its first season.

Banshee is baloney, but viewed as pure camp, there are some good action sequences and amusing moments.

Heights almost feels like atonement for the biggest hit in MTV history. The kids don't swear (much), esteem their elders, work at their dreams and have no obvious or debilitating vices--until they drink.

Been here/seen this--a lot--but familiarity could work in favor of Deception.

Africa convincingly, emphatically, establishes that you ain't seen nothing yet.

Character--as the old saying goes--is a long-standing habit, and their habits remain very much intact. The same could be could be said of Justified.

Fans will be pleased, though they shouldn't be too surprised by the major plot development Sunday--it's obvious by half.

Cheer Perfection is numbing in its ordinariness--dull, trivial and never, ever outrageous.

Zombie Apocalypse is hilariously awful, as bad, sordid, silly and foolish as you can possibly imagine.

This is a very good cast laboring through terribly weak material.

Dim, dumb, dull, daffy and dippy, Discovery should know better.

For Mel Brooks lovers everywhere (you know who you are), but it's on the light side.

In Vogue doesn't get quite as far "in" as one might hope, but the mag and its polished crew never fail to intrigue.

Good performances, good period details, good payoff. But Restless would've worked better as a two-hour film.

There are real pleasures with "The Hour," but the hour (actually, about an hour and 15 minutes Wednesday night) ticks by far too slowly.

This beautiful and often moving film resonates even more powerfully with Sandy in our rearview mirror, while Burns' favorite theme--the American character--is drawn here with great clarity.

Liz & Dick is not a complete disaster, nor entirely is Lohan.

Though they certainly cover the heady early days, filled with screaming girls and their cultivated persona as the anti-Beatles, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards aren't afraid to keep it real. Both show some interesting insights into their success.

It's all weirdly engrossing.

It aims for epic, and sometimes hits epic--but it's a bit shallow.

Not great, not terrible--just your standard-issue TV movie about a well-known historic event.

Browncoats Unite keeps the focus on the work itself. And that's what keeps "Firefly" afloat.

Mann and HBO deserve much credit for profiling these extraordinary people. It's just too bad the execution tends to be a little long-winded or not nearly as expansive as it should be.

Malibu Country is nothing great. But its studio-shot sitcom style sure suits Reba.

Outrageous, eccentric, funny, campy--and too creepy for small kids.

A few emotional moments--most notably graveside ones--otherwise cool, self-aware and almost completely detached from the only reason this is on the air: Whitney Houston.

Apartment 23 was and absolutely remains a huge heaping helping of Acquired Taste.

Happy Endings, cast and all, has now officially jelled. The show exists on the same cosmic (and comic) TV plain as "Scrubs," "Arrested Development" and that other late bloomer, "Cougar Town."

Film lovers will--possibly against their better judgment--love Jones' Hitch.

A loving portrait of a lady--but who probably would be just as happy not to have this or any portrait at all.

The narratives here lack subtlety, historic context or--strangely enough--even drama.

Asylum has some good special effects, just not much of a story to hang them on.

We've been down this road before and all the signposts of Underemployed look the same.

At least Emily proves she's got the chops to cast a shadow of her own.

Sunday is a blast. Heads will roll, and roll well. The gore quotient is through the roof. And finally this guarantee--there is one, maybe even two, spots where you will yell out at the screen, "Oh, my God, that just didn't happen." Yes, the new season is that good.

Fans will be happy--maybe.

Absent a compelling core romance, and absent a passably beast-like beast, you're left with a sodden police procedural.

Solid start to what could--and maybe should--be a future CW franchise.

Chicago Fire definitely has familiarity going for it and familiarity going against it as well.

The hype is justified. Nashville's terrific.

The Girl is getting older, but there's still pleasure to be had on the final lap.

Still sweet and sad, but often dour and slow, too.

They almost seem to jump off the screen; they have depth and dimension, and vivid colors proliferate. This new series retains its trademark humor, and trademark violence, too