The characters are dislikable, the farce is strained, and the show's mind has just one track.

Murray is more interesting here than in last season's laughable The Lone Ranger, but the writing... is junior-varsity stuff.

Oh, what a tangled web Carnivále weaves–maybe too tangled for its own good.

Nothing in the opener is especially fresh or intriguing except the relationship between Ryan and Seth.

Unfortunately, the hour-long show's formula grows old after a few viewings, and the Fab Five's frequent product plugs start to seem like a worse crime than household clutter.

Are they lovable? No. Are they watchable? Compulsively so.

Too bad there isn't more onstage action, which is when these folks are at their funniest. Instead, we get to see them being insecure, neurotic and nasty.

The personality dynamics are fun to watch even if the film turns out not to be.

The bizarre causes of death on the show—woman gets hit by falling piano, guy accidentally drills hole in his head—are indicative of its self-conscious quirkiness.

The odd-couple act is funny at times, but one episode is plenty for all but confirmed Buseyphiles.

Funny, but showing its age.

As I enjoyed this mystery series' second-season premiere, I recalled the satisfying feeling of watching Columbo in its prime.

The show moves methodically from one story line to another, progressing by inches yet holding our interest with its finely drawn characters and a rare ability to illuminate the gray areas of city life.

Like other reality shows, this one has its irritants.

Average.

It's more fun than most hidden-camera shows: Kutcher keeps his in-your-face energy from boiling over into obnoxious-ness.

The show has lost none of its manic lunacy.

Dreyfus... seems to be laboring to turn a so-so show into the I Love Lucy of the 21st century.

Dramatic comedy or comedic drama? This new half-hour series is hard to label but easy to get hooked on.

The early episodes of Season 3 abound in Six Feet Under's trademark qualities—complexity, humor and humanity.

At its best, the show is outrageous and hilarious at once.

A daring police drama whose growing moral complexity redeems its occasional excesses.

24 strains credulity here and there... and some of the season premiere's doomsday dialogue smacks of parody. But the real-time format builds tension week-to-week as well as scene-to-scene, and Sutherland keeps adding depth to his portrayal of a man staggering slightly with the weight of the world on his shoulders.

Larry David's sitcom remains an awe-inspiring (and hilarious) exercise in comedic extremes of chaos and control.

If you pay attention, the writing and direction reward the effort.

But even if the clipped dialogue sometimes suggests cop-show parody, the well-constructed mysteries give Without a Trace a strong foundation.

What do you get by combining a fairly traditional family comedy with a less barbed version of The Larry Sanders Show? This interesting, if not wholly successful, hybrid.

Taut and stylish.