The best new show of the year. [28 Dec 1994]

Excellent you-are-there film that takes viewers — and Baltimore — from despair to hope.

The beats here are familiar and comfortable. Perhaps best of all, they are actually moving.

While this is the In Memoriam tribute that Williams so richly deserves and fans need, the title is misleading because that mind remains out of reach.

[These women make] instant impact, of course, with their stories but also through sheer personality.

What makes this series effective is that not-too-distant horizon. It doesn't play out 50 years from now, but next year, then a few years after that, and then a few beyond that. Viewers can see the roadmap, and by always keeping them within the realm of the plausible, the ambient anger and confusion feels plausible, or familiar. ... A compelling — and timely — new series.

As real as real gets, invaluably adding human understanding to a hot-button topic.

The Closer may be the most comfortable old shoe on all of television; slip it on and be assured of no blisters. In fact, the cast (and not just Sedgwick) is so competent, the characters' tics so familiar; and the format and formula so firmly etched in "ceeement" (as Brenda might say) that it all feels almost too comfy.

All very much and happily remains the same--and unless you are an absolute die-hard insane fan who will find something to complain about here ... there really isn't all that much to complain about whatsoever.

Other than the discovery of a murder victim and a major reveal in the closing seconds of the seventh episode, almost nothing happens in Sharp Objects. ... The narrative creep notwithstanding, there are pleasures in Objects. Adams' performance is one of them.

With his 2000 show, HBO’s “Killing Them Softly,” as another baseline for the best of Chappelle’s TV standup, this one’s right up there, too--not quite its equal, but close.

This is an intelligent overview, with the consistent and important theme that medical "paradigms" shift and change.

While a bit deliberately paced, a good start, with (as always) an excellent guest-star roster.

At turns it's sad, poignant, bitter and funny (yes, more than enough turns in that direction).

Bigger, bolder, in some ways better--and some ways not--2 avoids a sophomore slump by sticking with what worked so well.

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.

Thurgood feels more "important" than dramatic. Part of it is Stevens' then-I-did-this structure, more focused on biographical bullet points than the flesh-and-blood human behind them. And part of it is Fishburne, who despite coiled power--his Ike Turner in "What's Love Got to Do With It" was Oscar-nominated--resonates here as a cool character rather than a fiery one.

After the first season's packed finale, Sunday's episode settles down, takes a breath, and slowwwwws down. That's absolutely an auspicious and necessary development.

In short, "Sweet Tooth" exemplifies the best of what fantasy storytelling can be, creating a whole world without ever forgetting that the most important one of all is our own.

It's less the Plot Events that ring true here than the well-played little side moments and background squabbles, the simmering resentments and recriminations, the emotional tugs-of-war.

A well-crafted, well-intentioned documentary series that excels when it offers rare concrete examples of the amorphous role producers play in the musical process, while also shining a spotlight on a who’s who of great producers.

The season's premiere represents pig-in-the-python storytelling--there's so much to work through, so many details, stories, characters and time dimensions to attend to, that after a while this all starts to feel like a very full meal.

Wild, fun ride.

Fun, colorful, lively--but is there a real show here, or just a good joke?

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

No matter where you stand on the death-penalty debate, this is must-watch revelation--and, thanks to Herzog, tense and suspenseful drama.

All the Way gets a couple of electrifying performances that catalyze the drama--not to mention the forward momentum of history. They’re brief, but they do the job. ... Magnificent, often stirring performance by Cranston that no one else comes close to matching.

McKinley and its denizens feel just a little too cliched, the emerging romantic entanglements a little too forced, the female characters--notably Terri and Sue Sylvester--just a little too mean-spirited. Still, it's a great cast.