An intriguing behind-the-scenes drama with moments of dewy-eyed idealism. [22 Sept 1999, p.E-3]

It's not easy viewing, but this series offers smart, challenging, character-driven drama at its finest.

The pilot episode jumps all over the place without establishing characters or their relationships.... [A] failure to connect the dots is a common problem for Hemlock Grove.

Funny, insightful and seemingly realistic, Entourage will appeal to fans of character drama and behind-the-scenes voyeurs. [18 July 2004, p.TV-5]

Defiance is less gritty than Syfy's best series, "Battlestar Galactica," and the characters aren't as well drawn as on the superior "Farscape." "Defiance" lands at a slightly higher end of the murky middle ground of quality.

Veep offers uncomfortable comedy at its most sardonic.

Overall, it's a mixed bag as Nurse Jackie settles into what will surely be its latter years without its creators at the helm.

If Mr. Goyer fumbles the pilot in introducing Leonardo's world, he salvages the endeavor in episode two with a good story about da Vinci's inventions for the Medicis.

Even in its sixth season Mad Men, remains a standout, a better series than 95 percent of what's on television.

Yet another explosively compelling police drama -- not to mention a controversy that seems certain to guarantee a big audience for the program. [21 Sept 1993, p.D1]

Ultimately, Hannibal is a mixed bag. It’s a more complex show than many programs in prime-time but it’s still finding itself in early episodes, particularly with regards to plotting.

The right sitcom at the right time. Well-cast, well written and actually funny (imagine that!), this one's a keeper. [22 Sept 2003, p.D-8]

Rogue starts to become a little more intriguing [by the second episode], but the show only gets to that point after the clichéd set-up and almost two hours spent with a self-destructive lead character.

It’s got a worthy premise that’s larded up with unfunny, over-the-top characterizations.

I'm not a huge fan of Mafia stories, but after watching several episodes of The Sopranos, I'm hooked. This is not the same old drama foisted on viewers by the networks. The Sopranos, created by David Chase ("I'll Fly Away"), has depth, dark humor and even a latent charm. The characters, unavoidably stereotypical at times, are believable and honest. [10 Jan 1999, p.G-5]

In execution, Mr. Selfridge is a bit of a slog.

Orphan Black begins with a solid, well-constructed, one-hour pilot that breezily introduces the characters and the show's conceit. It does allow some questions to linger, but it won't leave viewers scratching their heads in confusion, an important distinction and a balance not all genre shows are capable of getting right.

Fans of legal dramas should be intrigued by Phil Spector, a well-paced 90-minute character-driven film.

But most importantly, Scrubs has heart. Not the forced, icky sentimentality so often found in sitcoms, but earned moments that feel genuinely poignant. [2 Oct 2001, p.D-1]

Doc Brown has his own clashes, particularly with Dr. Abbott (Tom Amandes), the town's sole general practitioner before his arrival. Abbott is a caricature, over-the-top in his arrogance. He does everything short of twirling a mustache to shout, "I'm the bad guy!" This is where "Everwood" hits a bump....With such realism in the relationship between Ephram and his father, it's a shame series creator and writer Greg Berlanti ("Dawson's Creek") went down such a conventional, only-on-TV path in creating this other adversarial relationship. [16 Sept 2002, p.B-1]

Gritty, tough, no-holds barred television that feels more real than any other police drama on the air. It makes "NYPD Blue" look like a children's show. [10 Mar 2002, p.TV-5]

HBO shows aside, visceral Boomtown is the new exemplar of quality TV dramas on Sunday night... Boomtown engrosses. It's the season's strongest new drama, not just because it takes a chance on a novel format, but because it manages to tell stand-alone stories even as it develops the characters in its large ensemble. [27 Sept 2002, p.40]

Bates Motel takes a few episodes to get going as the writers build the world of White Pine Bay, and the story appears poised to really kick into a higher gear with a revelation at the end of the third episode. Up to this point Bates Motel is an OK character drama, but in building the broader world it inhabits the show begins to come into sharper focus.

Everything about City does not spin with equal balance. The pilot's plot (the mayor stumbles into a gay rights controversy) is so hackneyed and out-of-touch, it makes you wonder if the writers have been to New York in the last decade. But the spin doctors at Spin City insist the plot's creakiness is an aberration - and so many other things in the show go well, I'm inclined to believe them. [17 Sept 1996, p.D-4]

Taken altogether--the determined detective, the drug lord, the kooky encampment, the mystery of Tui's disappearance--Top of the Lake makes for a compelling mix of moody, character-driven drama.

An animated series with an odd mix of historical figures and parodies of teen-appeal TV, advertising and music. It's a bizarre combination, to be sure, but it works. [12 Jan 2003, p.D-3]

Though there are surprises and crosses and double-crosses in the show's waning minutes, Alias fails to make me care much about its characters, their future or understanding who the good guys are and who the bad guys are. "La Femme Nikita" kept these mysteries beguiling in its early seasons; Alias can't manage to do that in its first episode. [30 Sept 2001, p.TV-5]

An engrossing new series with a fascinatingly unsympathetic character at its core. [14 Nov 2004, p.TV--5]

Preachers' Daughters is pretty much the show you expect/fear it will be but with just one girl who's really gone down a bad path.

No question, Hindenburg is a disaster--from start to finish.

L.A. Shrinks is another Bravo guilty pleasure show. When the cast members aren't saying outrageous things, it can get kind of dull, but most of the time the dialogue is crazy enough to keep viewers entertained.

Harmon brings a light touch to this schizophrenic show. He's a sensitive cowboy who does his job and then goes home to work on a boat he's building. [23 Sept 2003, p.B1]

It often plays more like an action film than a serious interpretation of a holy book.

For this one half-hour, Frasier is high-class entertainment. Grammer does scowling exasperation as well as any actor in America (it's hard to imagine an actor who could get more laughs trading looks with a dog), the fraternal relationship is wonderful, and the work-place material works perfectly (thanks to another fine supporting performance from Peri Gilpin). [16 Sept 1993, p.C7]

In short, they do what friends do, only they do more of it more often. Too often, actually. That constant comic bantering grows a little tired, just as it would if it ever actually happened in real life. [22 Sept 1994, p.C1]

Bland and toothless, this drama, about a woman who ends up working in organized crime, attempts to meld suburban mommy drama with a mob story but fails to come up with anything that’s remotely interesting to watch.

If you're not tapped out on this kind of show already, Cold Case is a sophisticated procedural drama with an engrossing mystery at its core. [27 Sept 2003, p.C-9]

The composition of the cast and presence of a grandma (Lupe Ontiveros) makes the show structurally and thematically similar to ABC's "George Lopez Show," but Tucson is more entertaining and better written. [20 Sept 2002, p.40]

Harmless fluff that won't impress its intended pre-teen audience, but they'll watch anyway. [20 Sept 2002, p.40]

Viewers who don't mind being dragged along for a ride, who are gluttons for punishment ("X-Files" faithful, perhaps), may want to join in John Doe's search. For the rest of us, Doe will remain the personification of an unsolved mystery. [20 Sept 2002, p.40]

If Firefly weren't from Joss Whedon, the talented, respected creator of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," this review would probably be a lot more dismissive. Because of his track record -- six seasons of "Buffy," five of them good; the successful and ultimately distinctive spinoff series "Angel" -- Firefly gets the benefit of the doubt despite an inauspicious debut. It's not good, it's not bad, it's just so-so. [20 Sept 2002, p.40]

As a loyal "Homicide" viewer, for me Munch is the best part of SVU, especially in tonight's scene where he explains his departure from Baltimore. [20 Sept 1999, p.B-1]

A mixed bag. Diagnosis: Some good dialogue, but it also suffers from a mild case of predictability.

So although the details aren't quite right, the concept of Cult remains intriguing. Perhaps, like Mr. O'Bannon's "Farscape," Cult will improve over time.

The best new show of the season...It's less sentimental than "The Wonder Years" and not as concerned with its period setting. Unlike "My So-Called Life," which was real in a gloomy-doesn't-life-stink way, Freaks and Geeks finds abundant humor in the absurdity of the situations the characters face. [22 Sept 1999, p.C-1]

It's all played with suitably creepy seriousness, but without the self- conscious weirdness that made the later-day "Twin Peaks" so tedious. Duchovny and Anderson anchor the story through steady performances; we're as interested in what happens to them as in what happened to the teens...It's all pretty silly stuff, but it's silliness done well. If you're willing to give yourself over to it, it should hold your attention -- which is more than one can say for most of the season's new offerings. [10 Sept 1993, p.Ent 20]

The show wants to be hip and cool, and it often is, but it makes no pretensions that it doesn't have a heart beating underneath, much like its cool but caring lead character. [22 Sept 2004, p.D-6]

Lost itself has a certain intriguing quality that makes it worth coming back for more. [19 Sept 2005, p.TV-5]

The Nat Geo movie is a thoroughly entertaining, exciting docudrama.

Southland" remains a stand-out series for its gritty, on-the-street scenes of police work and the engrossing stories of its characters.

Zero Hour is a terrible show. But for viewers who long to mock or hate-watch and for "Da Vinci Code" fans who like to be dragged along on a crazy ride to Crazytown, Zero Hour is a hoot.

Judging by three episodes sent for review, the[se] course corrections work.

A smart, astute political thriller/soap worthy of comparison to the shows that air on HBO and Showtime.

Do No Harm is a ridiculous show with plenty of lines of groaner dialogue.

If there's a downside to the Americans pilot, it's that it has some pace problems. The premiere runs long--an hour and six minutes--and spends time on flashbacks to Elizabeth in training 20 years earlier and the pair's first meeting.

Spartacus worked best when it was an ancient "Upstairs Downstairs" with the house of Battiatus as the "upstairs" component and the gladiator school as the "downstairs." With that element gone, the show has no natural home base and feels a bit unmoored.

Through the show's first four episodes, an unexpected love triangle develops among three of Carroll's devotees that's tinged with unexpected sexual politics and questions about sexual identity. It's the only aspect of 'The Following' that feels fresh. Too bad this plot only serves as a side dish; the main course is the same old reheated serial killer/crime solver hash.

Ripper Street is decent enough entertainment that's most likely to appeal to fans of procedural crime dramas, viewers who gravitate toward CBS shows but don't mind wading through sometimes thick British accents.

The animated comedy returns in stronger comedic shape in its fourth season.

Legit comes off as appalling at first but after a few episodes, you get used to how awful Jefferies is and the show even allows for a few skewed, sweet moments.

It's a cute concept but producers don't seem to have a knack for proper execution, filling time with terribly padded segments--picking teams takes an eternity--and challenges (watching people play chess in the premiere) that, try as they might, don't make for compelling TV.

It's the characters of Banshee and their labyrinth of relationships that make the show an engrossing, entertaining portrait of a fictional small town.

While some plots on Downton Abbey may be more meaningful than others, nothing in season three rings as false a note as the Patrick-has-amnesia story in season two.

When Skip is used more as a garnish and not the focus, his character is less annoying and more amusing.

Restless could benefit from a little more development of the characters Eva works with--it would make their stories more meaningful and poignant--but overall this four-hour miniseries is a strong entry.

Whatever her faults, Ms. Lohan is not the film's biggest problem. That would be the script, which fails to introduce characters or even explain plot developments.

In a sort of oral history style, a moderator leads them through the show's tumultuous birth, its low ratings, demise and resurrection as the 2005 motion picture "Serenity." But what's most interesting about Browncoats Unite is learning how what was going on behind the camera impacted what viewers saw on TV.

Not wild enough, not funny enough, Wedding Band comes off as merely OK entertainment.

All the cliches of unscripted cable drama (like "The Real Housewives..." shows) are present, including in-fighting by a few members of the clique and ridiculous displays of opulence.

Lousy writing and stale characters rule in Malibu Country.

Mockingbird Lane is funny, fanciful, a visual treat and, perhaps surprisingly, full of heart.

It's a small character study about a large man who comes off as a terrorizing buffoon.

Fans of these true crime shows may be intrigued by My Life Is a Lifetime Movie but viewers hoping for a series as irreverent as this title suggests may be disappointed.

In its first two episodes, AHS returns as a creepy, spooky jolt of unpredictable storytelling.

Underemployed is one of the most enjoyably upbeat twentysomething scripted dramas to hit prime time in ages.

If this all seems too precious, well, it is. But the show is saved by Ms. Gummer and a relentless pace.

Sunday's premiere doesn't advance the story much--shades of early season two--but there's enough zombie carnage that fans of mayhem may not care.

The CW's Beauty is laughably bad in myriad ways. There's no sense of star-crossed lovers, just a plasticized romance between a Cover Girl and a glum, anger-prone male model.

There's nothing particularly new about a superhero show, but Arrow exhibits a stylized ferocity that, in its initial hour at least, makes a positive enough impression.

It's not that the show is terrible--it's not--but it brings nothing new to the firefighter drama format.

It all blends together in an entertaining, easily digestible hour.

That producers opt to tell a different Titanic story is admirable in light of so many filmed versions of the story that already exist, including a four-hour miniseries that aired on ABC earlier this year. But the decision not to reveal the fates of the miniseries' fictional characters may feel like a cheat to anyone who invests 12 hours in this program.

The first episode offers a somewhat overwhelming dose of midwifery, to the point that some viewers may wonder how Call the Midwife won't grow tiresome with repetitive birthing stories. The addition of Chummy to the cast in episode two and a broader role for the midwives--in episode three Jenny simply spends time with an elderly man--allows the series to avoid growing stale.

What's most important is that Homeland provides a smart, thrilling hour of entertainment for the next 12 weeks.

It's just kind of meh and a TV show with a devil at the center should be more fun than that.

First impressions suggest the writers of Last Resort are waging an internal battle between grounding the show in some semblance of reality and allowing it to spin out into cheap soap opera territory.

In its first two episodes The Neighbors is an enjoyable, broad comedy that encourages co-viewing among parents and their children.

If Vegas goes the "Good Wife" route and focuses on characters and politics, it could develop into a worthwhile series.

Elementary entertains intermittently, particularly in exchanges between Holmes and Watson, but its draw will be strongest among viewers who can't get enough crime dramas in their TV diet.

Tuesday's pilot is not as consistently funny as one might hope and Mindy's flightiness could turn off some viewers, but she and the show are amusing enough to warrant watching.

Ben and Kate has its moments of inspired, gonzo idiocy but mostly it's like spending a half-hour with someone you can't stand.

This comedy is full of stock jokes, stock characters and even a stock premise.

most importantly, The Office is generally funnier than it was last season.

Fox's preposterous organized crime/medical show combo platter The Mob Doctor manages to be silly and sappy.

The pilot is a pretty solid hour of television, setting up the show's premise and in several instances defying TV norms with plot twists viewers won't see coming.

Essentially a prime-time soap, Bomb Girls is a well-plotted, smartly written soap that doesn't shy away from, shocking, even gruesome, plot turns in showing the dangers of working in a bomb-making factory.

Truly, all the actors on Guys with Kids--even the unknown children used as props--deserve better writing than what they get in this crummy, unimaginative sitcom.

The New Normal is at its funniest when it's most outrageous; other times it feels as if it might have worked better as a one-shot movie than a weekly TV series.