Depending on the subjects mocked and viewers' personal sacred cows, Root of All Evil won't appeal to everyone on a weekly basis (future episodes include Donald Trump vs. Viagra, Paris Hilton vs. Dick Cheney and Las Vegas vs. the human body), but it is a successful attempt to re-package stand-up comedy for prime time.

The Good Place offers a clever high-concept premise that’s complemented with intelligent, sometimes absurdist humor.

It's an interesting and damning film but not as engrossing as HBO's recent "The Jinx" series.

A wonderfully entertaining program, Bright Lights shows just how close the mother and daughter had become in recent years, living as neighbors on the same Beverly Hills compound that vaguely brings to mind “Grey Gardens” without the fallen-from-grace squalor.

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 “Six Feet Under” are likely to enjoy Transparent while those who find characters who make consistently poor choices frustrating and may be less enamored. “Transparent” isn’t funny all that often, but at its heart it does tell a relatively new, original story in a way that’s grounded and heartfelt without being at all saccharine.

It’s a small adventure befitting the 30-minute running time but it’s also clever in the way it ultimately puts the “Toy Story” characters in a recognizable situation, which is similar to the big-screen movies.

NBC's "Heroes" is the best pilot of fall 2006. Whether it continues to soar in future episodes remains to be seen.

Executive producers Todd Slavkin and Darren Swimmer ("Smallville") tie the show's tangle of plots and relationships together with an agile skill that makes this new Melrose Place more appealing than the show's concept suggests should be possible.

What makes "Desperate Housewives" so much fun is that as ridiculous as some of the scenarios are ... these scenes are also rooted in truth. Sure, the show offers a heightened reality, but it's not too far-fetched. [30 Sep 2004]

The series maintains its sense of creating a believable universe. Yes, a few characters are explained away without making an appearance (BBQ owner we hardly knew ye) but the show tries hard to reward long-time fans.

It's amusing and knowing and will make some viewers smile, but it probably won't provoke gales of laughter. And that's fine. It's still more clever than most single-camera comedies ABC has put on the air in recent years.

It's too soon to declare Worst Week the fall's best new sitcom, but if the show's writers can find a way to sustain its seemingly unsustainable premise, it may overcome all doubts. It's certainly off to a strong start.

If you're looking for a smart, brain-massaging sitcom, watch NBC's Thursday night lineup. If you're just seeking a few (sometimes cheap) laughs, Sherri provides.

Rescue Me is not a show for the easily offended. Profanity is rampant along with sexual innuendo and references to sex acts. It can be profane in the extreme, however, and it rings true to the characters and their situations. [19 June 2005, p.TV-5]

Much is written today about the products that come out of Hollywood, but rarely do we glimpse the drudgery that's involved in bringing movies to life. Project Greenlight offers a rare and unvarnished glimpse at the friction-filled cogs and gears that drive the Hollywood machine. [2 Dec 2001, p.TV-5]

Netflix’s Daredevil makes the case that not all superhero shows are created equal and this one improves markedly on both the previous “Daredevil” movie and the other, current Marvel universe TV series.

Meredith Baxter Birney and Michael Gross do a splendid job as modern-day parents with an attractive brood of convincingly "now" youngsters. [19 Oct 1982, p.34]

There's nothing gritty or particularly realistic about ABC's Women's Murder Club, but that's OK. The show is an entertaining, estrogen-powered hour regardless.

Dexter will probably never reach the dramatic, creative heights it did in season one, but with this new season the show's producers found a way to sustain the premise by concentrating on the show's characters and, in particular, looking at how Dexter lives with his desire-to-kill rather than dwelling on the myriad ways he might get caught.

Even as the show deals with serious issues--immigration, euthanasia--Weeds feels lighter and funnier in the new season.

There are times the whole affair feels little to similar to season one, but by the end of the second episode a new character has entered the series, promising to shake things up in a necessary way.

It’s dark, bloody and occasionally sexy, as it usually is, and Thrones fans wouldn’t want it any other way.

Fans of Mr. King's Bill Hodges Trilogy might wonder how a mostly internal cat-and-mouse game between Brady and Bill, a retired police detective with too much time (and drink) on his hands, is played out over 10 episodes. Very well, as it happens, and to chilling effect.

The premiere episode of Deutschland 83 delivers an excellent mix of coming of age character drama and espionage derring-do. For viewers not allergic to subtitles, it's well worth watching.

Funny enough and real enough, The Real O’Neals fits in well with ABC’s established Wednesday night comedies.

The pace is deliberate in “Homecoming,” but the show is rarely boring thanks to the visuals and an investment in the characters. (After episode eight, when a major reveal happens, “Homecoming” gets a little draggy, but by then invested viewers will carry through to the end.)

The body count is high in early episodes and Philip gets pulled back into spying, just not in the exact way as before. This new avenue threatens to upend his family, which, of course, lays the groundwork for one of the show’s psychologically intense Philip-Elizabeth relationship-defining scenes early in the season’s third episode.