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

One little gripe---Pioneers needed to give a tip of the space helmet to some '50s pioneers, such as "Captain Video" and "Flash Gordon." Otherwise, it's all pleasure.

The pair has recast the concept and their chemistry into a suburban setting that feels fresher and friendlier, truly finding its footing at 10:30 with Sloane (and those gnomes).

The pilot hour delivers with blood-soaked gusto. The second hour gets more amusing. And wit can be the saving grace for casual viewers of the grindhouse genre.

A watchable, engaging oddball.

The good Lord created sitcoms like The Soul Man as relaxing, relatable humor with heart, and Cedric's new creation isn't about to mess with His template.

Parents looking to share their "Star Wars" love with their children should add this to the list. It's not essential viewing for anyone else.

Cerebral, engrossing.

"Coyote" doesn't talk about the border but goes beyond it, to see people — their lives, dreams, and tragedies — up close. Politics (ours) thus become inverted and it's left to Ben to make sense of this inversion. By proxy, it's up to us as well. Binge-bait, and compelling binge-bait at that.

First impression of the third season is a good one.

Bible Challenge tries to cover all bases in America's complicated Christian field.

It's not insulting to the intelligence. The first episode is promising and mildly, if not wildly, amusing. What it has going for it more than the laugh track is good writing and performances. [21 Sep 1995]

What may bring even jaded viewers back to "Christy" is Tyne Daly's striking characterization of Alice Henderson, the kind but formidable Quaker who serves as the heroine's mentor. [3 Apr 1994]

It's hilarious, and sad, and ironic, and rich.

It's OK, but not great. [20 Sep 1993]

A compelling if clunky drama about an important figure.

Too much canvas with wild splashes of paint deployed to fill it. Compared with the first, the second is a disappointment, but far from a failure. Best experienced in small bites instead of huge indigestible chunks.

This necessary reset looks great, but if the 2nd taught us anything, just watch, don't think.

Magic City--on paper, not on screen--remains a compelling idea in search of great execution.

A sweet, gentle, good-natured trifle that is (nonetheless) surprisingly airless and only rarely funny, if that.

Overall, a meaner, harsher fashion competition, but compelling.

Lacks the hard, uncomfortable edges of [FX's also premiering] "Starved," but it's clear this show wants and intends to do a little damage, too. [4 Aug 2005]

Noah's Daily Show at once felt confident but also oddly tentative. Smoothly delivered but uneven.... Not quite a rocky start, but not an emphatically comforting one for fans either.

The opener is marred by a conventional plot. The producers--who include Steven Spielberg--show almost complete indifference to science (or sci-fi). That said, TV's most ambitious new series has some promise.

A luminous adaptation, with Hawke as one more memorable “Jo” in a long and glorious line of them.

Bored sometimes lags and drags, as if it took a few tokes, too. But when it's funny--and Bored certainly can be--it's a winner.

Good idea and better cast squandered on a slapdash premise, weak writing and South Florida cliches.

Hot in Cleveland is a by-the-numbers sitcom with a couple of laughs, an inoffensive premise and four seasoned actresses who make the material much better than it is.