Mostly lame, but also good-natured, with an amusing finale.

Fun, congenial and lighthearted but also smart and--when least expected--a little bit profound.

"Mrs. Harris" unfolds with a basic playfulness that keeps the mood light even as the story becomes dark indeed.

Get beyond that preposterous premise outlined above, and you've got a solid piece of prime-time entertainment. This show knows what it is, and knows exactly what the core audience expects.

The writers have great ears for "real" dialogue, and, in fact, not a single line here feels like a dead ball. The characters, too, arrive fully formed and believable. First impressions are absolutely vital in TV, and The Middle makes an excellent one.

Every screen shot locks you comfortably into the familiar "Star Wars" canon, but somehow it all feels fresh and new. ... "The Mandalorian" feels like a trip worth taking with them.

Aside from the snappier editing and Sisco's greater sexual aggressiveness - like "Sex and the City's" Samantha, she gets the men on her most-wanted list - this could almost be a "Police Woman" episode from 30 years ago. [1 Oct 2003, p.B23]

I've watched tonight's show, the pilot, three times already - and not because I'm searching for the clues that Affleck and Bailey have embedded in the film. I love hearing nerdy IRS agent Jim Prufrock's improbably forceful declaration of why he loathes tax cheats. I love the way the Push residents talk about their local "slow-dance bar" as if it were as commonplace as a KFC outlet. I'm curious why all the couples in Push make love every other night at precisely the same time. I admire the creative visual presentation, which rivals that of a good commercial or music video. [17 Sept 2002, p.B03]

The creators of this "High Fidelity" TV series fail to expand on the material to the point where 10 episodes can be sustained.

[Chopra's] attractive, all right, and so is the rest of the telegenic crowd surrounding her. What's missing is much of a reason to care about her (or them). That's the fault of a pilot which spins a wild-eyed premise.

Hannibal isn't quite the sum of its admittedly evocative parts. The story is often strained, or like that poor synth operator, overextended; the shocks tend to be operatic--oversold as opposed to a deft sudden jolt to emotional solar plexus.

Sometimes you have to take what you get in a series, and what you get in this one is a Capote you may not want all that much of. .... A beautifully acted, directed and written bummer.

Murphy's concept in its basics is already beautiful. But he pushes the show to be a breathtaking knockout. Like some plastic surgery patients, Nip/Tuck initially gets such a pleasing result that it doesn't seem to know when to stop.

Noble intentions meet nice people.

It's somewhere between a small and a big bust. [24 Sep 1997]

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

Well-written, directed and acted, Billions is still badly in need of a more human touch.

With two shopping trips in each half-hour, TLC's latest hit is so fast-paced--and such giddy consumerism--that it's fairly irresistible. Also educational.

Holmes commands the screen as if it belongs to her. She surely must have known all along that it would. Much of the footage here is of the dog-and-pony variety, once commissioned by Theranos and designed to sell the con. But it's so high-gloss--so weirdly hypnotic--that neither Gibney nor "The Inventor" can get to the real human behind the image. A shortcoming of the film? Sure, but the only one. Must watch.

The new Roseanne looks like it wants to fight the 2016 election all over again. That could be a miscalculation because viewers--along with the rest of the electorate--are exhausted.

Often profane and occasionally offensive, Louie won't be to every viewer's taste, but it's a more interesting show than many with a definitive point of view.

The episodes’ hectic “action” often lands perfunctory or incongruous, and character development languishes in favor of sex scenes and left-field encounters “to be explained later.”

Good, compelling, creepy start.

Colorfully drawn. But all inside the lines.

[An] entertaining, engaging start.

'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]

Stalter's fun — no surprise there — but we've seen this show before (a few times).

You can't help realizing that just by the act of taping a reality show, the Bruces--all nine of them--are already employed in a job, albeit a temporary one.

Community can be fresh, funny, smart and extremely aware of its own cleverness; it also can be terrifically odd--odd good, or odd bad, or sometimes odd-good-bad-strange all at once.

Rubicon unfolds at a languid pace, dispensing information at the rate a not-quite-broken kitchen faucet dispenses drops. You want it to speed up. You want some urgency. You want a few more thrills in this thriller. At least this average TV viewer does.

The first two episodes prove as tiresomely pleased-with-themselves as my run-on sentences. A half-hour is too much of not enough.

Target is pure, utter, ridiculous, over-the-top-into-the-ravine entertainment.

Kaling's good (and always is), but the pilot is just not all that funny.

Morals is raw, interesting, intelligent, sometimes funny (sometimes not), violent (but not overly violent) and unlike anything on TV at the moment.

Hip deep in all the chicken droppings about the movie, you would hardly know that it's a damn good movie. [9 Sept 1993, p.109]

The performance tends to be monochromatic, and in the end, so is Mildred Pierce. What's especially enjoyable here are the minor performances--especially Pearce as the louche Monty--and the many almost imperceptibly small details, right down to the crockery in a restaurant.

Brilliant as ever, Pacino is the master trickster who manages to both demonize and humanize Paterno.

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]

"Paradise" is what TV executives used to call "high concept," except that any Fogelman show (or movie, like "Crazy, Stupid, Love") usually gets around to what he's really interested in — human relationships, romantic entanglements, tragic loss. There's a lot going on in "Paradise," but if this big swing of a series connects — a medium-size if — it'll be for that reason.

Shatner has never been funnier - on purpose or inadvertently. [1 Oct 2004]

Well written, well produced and well acted. [02 Jan 1995, p.B41]

Fans who hated the fifth season should mostly love the sixth, which is a return to normal, or as "normal" as "OITNB" ever gets. But the end does feel a little bit closer.

There's greatness begging to be grasped here, and nobody has a handle on it.

It's as if Empire had too many antecedents, and--failing to decide upon one--embraced them all. The result is an interesting idea that can't quite figure out what that idea actually is--or where it should go from here.

What you will certainly see is how finely tuned both the marital observations and comic timing are.... This summer's must-see comedy smash.

Solid thriller, good twists, too violent.

Whom to vote for--Dot or Bette? Or will Paulson end up splitting the vote? The special effects are so seamless and Paulson's performance so memorable that it's not a completely incidental question. Then, of course, there's Lange.

The cast has major potential, but Life Unexpected still needs to find an original and compelling voice.

Few divorces are pleasant, but the sharp, nasty scenes between Abby and Jake are the only emotionally honest moments over the first two episodes. Not surprisingly, they're the best ones, too. A shame the antagonists are so unlikable.

Could... become a very pleasant surprise.

If only I were 12 again. The tween in me would have loved the scruff and the cute and the “wild” antics.

"Emergence" is a "Stranger Things" thing. There's nothing wrong, necessarily, with being a "Stranger Things" thing, because "Stranger Things" was itself once the thing of a half-dozen '80s landmarks, like "The Goonies." But the tangents, or less kindly appropriations, here are inescapable. ... What's best about "Emergence," however, is the cast, including Faison. ... Decent "Stranger Things"-loving pilot.

Knox is neither absolved nor condemned, and you'll end up with more questions that you began with. But pay close attention: There are many telling little details throughout.

These folks know how to hit a note, and hold it, which means "Burn Notice" doesn't wobble around wondering how serious/silly to be. Its pitch is perfect.

The Detour is ruthlessly adult stuff--surely too frank and out-there for some viewers--but it’s intrinsically honest, convulsively hilarious and oddly endearing.

Guirgis’s language is authentic and raw, and tethers Luhrman’s gauzy-romanticized world of the South Bronx to the ground. Best of all, the cast--mostly young and mostly newcomers--has figured out how to make this visual and stylistic gumbo gel.

Pitch is doggedly inspirational. And despite its hackneyed moments, the pilot introduces enough meaty stuff to warrant a wait-and-see response. It’s a fresh concept amid TV’s sea of cookie-cutter franchises.

The pursuit of answers feels both rewarding and enjoyable.

We ultimately get to spend time with Henson's judges hashing it out. That brings insight into what makes things work, into creature logic, proportions, movement, performance facilitation, and letting the creation "emote through its environment." We don't just watch art being made, we come to understand the process.

"House" often does work well as straight history. It's that fantasy part that's missing. Other than dragons, there's little magic or mystery in this corner of Westeros — or that epic sense of wonder that made "Thrones" so thrilling through the first seven seasons. At least those dragons are fun.

Something's amiss here. The new "CSI" is a little stilted, a little obvious. [23 Sep 2002]

Wilmore’s approach was pointed (as pointed as a sharp stick) and often funny. Most of all, he brought a perspective to late-night TV--as the basis for entire nightly comedy show--that's been missing from late-night TV for just about as long as late-night TV has been around.

This series boasts some reasonably high production values, certainly for Comedy Central, with lots of energy, and a sense that it knows where it's going and how to get there. But the tone is so relentlessly mean-spirited, the guys so unlikable, their predicament so pathetic that Big Time deflates before your very eyes.

For this series to wear well, the forces of evil have to locate some clear motivation. Revolutionary ideology, world domination, pure greed - almost anything would be better than the explanation offered by next week's chief villain, who clings to her missile launcher and declares, "This is what I am." [12 Jan 1997, p.03]

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]

Leverage's pilot is particularly entertaining. The cast is fine, direction is expert, writing above average, and Hutton's Ford is almost convincing. But the payoff feels laden with cheese of another sort.

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

Props for a diverse cast and first-rate performances, but "4" does sprawl, occasionally sag.

Super set-up seems to punch every teen ticket there is, with plenty to admit adults, too. Future execution will be key--in more ways than nine.

Lugubrious, also highly watchable.

As a viewing experience, Greenleaf is absorbing, hardly pulse-quickening.

In blunt and at times salty language, Bush gets to say exactly what 9/11 meant to him; it's visceral but only occasionally revelatory. We all know this story very well. Maybe too well.

Yes, there have been some valid questions about TV's recent embrace of the serial. (Too many? Will people stay tuned?) "Kidnapped" feels so fresh that viewers won't even care.

A grabber from the start, quickly moving beyond the sci-fi label to uncharted drama territory. Its tale - executive produced by Francis Ford Coppola - takes place on Earth and in the present day, which should help attract sci-fi-resistant viewers. Even better, its situations are viscerally relatable, hardly as removed from our daily lives as so many other out-there allegories. [11 July 2004, p.11]

The first two episodes promise a contemplative sixth as opposed to a shock-and-awe one.

Fans will love every minute--especially Roman's fate.

Trade press has labeled this "'Easy Rider' Meets 'The Sopranos,'" which seems apt. Show comes from Kurt Sutter, longtime co-executive producer of "The Shield" (and married to Sagal) so that should give you a sense of tone and texture - violent, taut, well written.

Initially sullen and bitter, Kidding improves as it goes along. At the very least, you get used to Jim Carrey as an ersatz Fred Rogers.

Violent and dull.

Dinklage turns in a fine performance, but his passion project is otherwise a standard-issue biopic.

Fans will love Tuesday night's supersized launch. I'm just limp and weary from it all.

Baskets builds into a character-study treasure, much like FX precursor “Louie.”

The new series' production values are impeccable, its cast is solid, and there are occasional moments of fresh, specific detail that suggest the show could transcend the overstuffed pilot episode. [27 Sep 2002]

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

It's still the Meredere (or Deremere) show, and Cristina's right. It's just ... so ... over.

Come for that view, and this cast, and Fellowes' peerless talent for world-building — or at least a to-the-manor-born world. Don't come for any fresh insights into the American character. This is mostly fantasy, not a history lesson.

Exhaustive without ever being quite comprehensive, "Death" is still a solid, sane overview.

The rigid adherence to the recurring segments means Animal, Fozzie Bear and many other staples barely show up, while a lot of attention is paid to the rather unsettling "Okey Dokey Kookin," in which the turkey host gobbles excitedly over dishes featuring chicken and pork and the Swedish Chef wraps a Muppet mole (yes, the mammal) in a tortilla.

A mostly promising start, with some unpromising distractions.

A dull slog through L.A. noir.

The pilot is ingenious but at moments maybe a little too smart for its own good.

Like all anthologies, some hours are better than others (but most of these are good), and what Dreams lacks in razzle-dazzle, it makes up for in brains.

Because Kominsky is so blue and so tin-eared, when it tries to draw close to anything resembling real human emotion, it emotionally founders then sinks without a trace. ... Creaky and leaky.

"Flight of the Conchords" isn't brilliant, but it isn't awful, either, just familiar, with two likable stars who seem to be channeling the deadpan dry wit of an old Beatles movie.

The show ambles along without getting viewers to particularly care about Alex or Pete. Without that requisite electricity, they're hollow, or just sad.

Amusing, odd, fascinating, indulgent and not quite as funny as you might expect, or hope.

There's substance in Jill with hubby Andy and with her doctor best friend (comic KK Glick, a Huntington native), all proving levelheaded and likable. That helps leaven the snooty stereotypes of our initial path into Jill's world.