The "quarterlife" series, too, offers an especially hopeful kind of exuberance, even a glowing warmth to the friendships, that shines brighter than previous Herskovitz-Zwick shows.

"Big Love" does more this year than you might expect, and more richly, more provocatively, more dramatically and amusingly, too.

This narrated comedy-drama finely observes the particulars and peculiarities of teen life, both in the family its narrator is trying to outgrow and the high school pecking order he's hoping to rise in.

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

Despite occasionally expressing Simon's concerns about journalism too pedantically, The Wire continues to deserve its accolades as the most remarkable drama series in television history.

You'll be happy to know that every second -- particularly every second with Sedgwick onscreen -- is pretty much a joy.

They've translated the radio show's aural mosaic to the visual medium so effortlessly in this first season of six half-hours, we hope Showtime orders more of this life we all can recognize.

Fans of "The Sopranos" looking for a new Sunday-night must-see may find it here - though perhaps not fans driven to fits by that HBO hit's ambiguous conclusion.

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]

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

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

The real-world intrigue is matched in dramatic flair by Chuck-world jeopardy. His store's fierce assistant-manager competition resounds as fatefully as saving the universe from evil. Which makes the dark light enough and the light dark enough to meld into a tasty escapist treat.

The show is textured like a play. The characters, as they say in the theater, are fully realized. It's incredibly well-acted. [5 Sep 1991]

Humans vs. cyborgs in a movie spin-off that's surprisingly effective for fans of both action and character drama.

The filmmakers' assurance makes this miniseries play more like bang-up drama than fact-filled documentary. Yet their facts pass informative muster, and emotional validity, too.

Human beings live on the corner, and "The Corner" makes us care about them. [16 Apr 2000, p.D15]

Giving us hope are Kapinos' brisk writing and Duchovny's agile performance, conveying smarts, savvy, self-indulgence and sad stupidity in equal amounts.

It's a warm, powerful, 90 minutes, slow and moving and wonderful as the 37 previous episodes - and a satisfying conclusion. [11 Oct 1993]

A rich character drama and riveting suspenser that makes Fox's "24" seem lackluster.

It's fabulous in every sense of the word.

A rare and almost totally unexpected triumph.

Even if we are being taken for a ride, there's so much to savor on this trip. [12 Sep 2003]

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.

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

It's all sharp and snappy.

On top of the stars' subtlety and Fuller's verbal wit, Sonnenfeld's pilot direction ladles layers of flashy frosting--theatrical camera angles, emphatic zooms, intensified color and those heavyhanded moments when the narration can't quite straddle the sap line.

Creator Vince Gilligan ("The X-Files") never loses touch with the mundane reality that so brilliantly magnifies its absurd horrors.

The writing is witty, the acting wonderful, the production values superb. It's a little cornball and musty, but, hey, that's what comes from authenticity. And "Remember WENN" above all is fun - at least for anyone who knew radio when. [10 Jan 1996]