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]

This stuff is good. No, superb.

It's just super, a triumph of programme-making that even Alistair Cooke himself with his famous British overstatement can't exaggerate. [28 Mar 1991]

Wonderful. ... It is a realistic drama, the sort of thing you might see occasionally on experimental "American Playhouses" on public TV. But nobody does realistic drama on commercial TV today. [1 May 1990]

A wildly funny family sitcom. ... I am in love with all of them after the first half hour. [5 Jan 2000]

"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 best unscripted show on commercial television this season, which you may correctly point out is faint praise; but in this case, it's not.

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 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]

There's a vibrancy here, and a clarity, that we haven't seen in network sitcoms in ages. The way ABC's "Lost" reconfigured dramatic storytelling, Showtime's Barbershop so invigorates the humor format that we hate to call it a sitcom. It's entirely its own animal. And that's evolution of a kind everyone can get behind. [12 Aug 2005, p.]

Sly as "The Larry Sanders Show," keener than "Fat Actress," more sympathetic than "Curb Your Enthusiasm," this new half-hour comedy hits the bull's-eye in every direction. It's funny, sad, smart and immensely appealing. [5 June 2005, p.11]

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]

My favorite new American TV sitcom of the year, a show that I want to spend every week with. [11 Apr 1989]

"Alien Nation" as a series has been a remarkable achievement in the dullest fall season in history. It is both entertaining, socially responsible, and significant. [7 May 1990]

Tonight's episode is superb, and barrels--relentlessly--toward the answers.

[A] rewardingly seasoned new drama series that's practically indistinguishable from the acclaimed feature film, except that it's better.

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

It's smartly acted, well written, funny, expertly directed and hugely entertaining. And utterly, totally, profoundly devoid of pretension.

The 10 hours of PBS' immersive miniseries Carrier are frank and intimate, hard-hitting and heart-rending, rocking (with hit songs) and rolling (when the ship pitches so sharply, planes can't land).

Be forewarned that opener is dense, quick- moving and largely absent the sort of explanatory dialogue that dramatic series typically use to ensure that we have our bearings. Even viewers who savored each installment of the original series may feel disoriented. Newcomers may feel as though they're watching a foreign-language film without subtitles. My advice is to videotape it, re-watch and have faith. The coherence quotient goes up by the hour, and patience will be rewarded. [30 May 2003]

It all flows from the heart in a way few shows do, unfolding with the ease of being surrounded by people you've known forever already.

This four-hour gem is exquisite from start to finish, rife with the texture of its place and time, rich with human understanding expressed in everyday articulation and small gestures.

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]

The result is not just a great comic book transfer but a warmly human cartoon that's goofy, clever and touching. And cool. What else do we need? [8 Nov 2001, p.B35]

A patchwork quilt of a documentary that becomes totally mesmerizing and hypnotic. [24 Sep 1990]

The writing and the story look and sound different. Even when nothing happens, it's different TV. [6 Nov 1990]

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]

What comes out of Herman's head is the most imaginative, innovative comedy on TV since "Dream On". [5 Sep 1991]