The visual style pours as much emotional juice into the boiling, moody brew that Gilligan cooks up as his actors' searing performances do.

The first three episodes of the epic fantasy's fourth season reach new heights at times, offering enough twists, shocks and action to make us forget last season's mind-blowing Red Wedding.

The Returned is far and away the most thoughtful and thought-provoking series I've watched this year.

Despite some flaws, Broadchurch is beautifully filmed, sharply directed and intensely acted.

With all its harsh realism and attention to detail it feels more authentic than a lot of the actual historical dramas on TV.

Justified continues to explode with superb writing, complex characters and rich acting.

Unlike in "Homeland," the show's main conceit grows even more complex and fascinating by including the Jennings kids.

Unlike Season 5's two-hour premiere, which easily could have been edited to half its length, every minute of Sunday's episode feels necessary, checking in with all our favorite players and dancing with Weiner's favorite theme, death.

Southland brims with plot twists that never, ever feel contrived.

These gals are at times so self-absorbed it's difficult to feel much for them when things don't go their way.

[Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey's] riveting work would be worth the admission alone, but the hauntingly beautiful True Detective excels in every way.

It's not always pretty or easy to watch, but Southland remains an outstanding hour of appointment TV.

Fargo the TV series--confident as Lorne Malvo--stands firmly on its own. You betcha it does.

[Show creator Callie Khouri] has created rich histories for each of her compelling characters. The actors give nuanced performances that make their characters more than one-dimensional cliches.

While we appear to be in for a depressing ride, fear not: Creator Matthew Weiner still has a few winks and tricks up his sleeve.

Silicon Valley is a funny, insightful, blistering satire.

It's mostly improvised, which makes the funny exchanges between Kudrow and her guest stars even more impressive.

All joking aside, Key and Peele do still have something to say.

It's a powerful, emotionally engaging character study.

Dallas is just as superbly soapy as ever, but you have to wonder whether the show can survive without its legendary star.

While Mazzara has amped up the action, he doesn't skimp on the angst.

The Borgias is back with more drama, sex, violence and betrayals than ever.

In order to fully appreciate SOA, viewers have to buy into Sutter's premise that murderers can be sympathetic and heroic, but that's not hard to do with such intelligent writing and so many mesmerizing performances.

The smartly written series throws a lot of information, historical context, beautiful sets and costumes at viewers early on to create what eventually becomes a first-rate thriller.

Hardy and the supporting cast deliver.

Cougar Town returns with its wit, silliness and good-heartedness fully intact.

The relentless bleakness would be my only quibble with the series; one doesn't often choose to feel as battered as the characters on screen. But you won't be able to turn it off.

[It's] a new season of jump-from-your-seat scares and shivery twists that will leave you breathless.

Coleman's rich performance matches Capaldi's as Clara struggles with the regeneration of her Doctor.... The Doctor may be different, but he's as entertaining as ever.

It remains one of TV's most compelling series, period.

The ambitious series finds a nice balance of slapstick and suspense. You might feel cheated if you're expecting the usual setup and joke, setup and joke format of many American sitcoms, but there are plenty of surprises and laughs.

Smash tries mightily and mostly succeeds.

Damages proves once again why it is one of the smartest thrillers on TV.

Believe it or not, that stomach-turning gore is part of this four-part gem's charm. A Young Doctor's Notebook gets the balance between tragedy and comedy just right.

The show is way more than a thriller--although it could stand tall if it were just that. It continues to subtly examine the effects their high-risk and dangerous jobs have on the brave special ops soldiers fighting evil in the world.

The former WWII code-breakers of this excellent British import don't deflect bullets with magical bracelets. They use their brains, determination, courage and pleasant demeanors like stealth weapons, covertly undermining postwar expectations to right wrongs no one else seems to notice.

History tells us what the Manhattan Project unleashed on the world, but Manhattan conjures a compelling (fictional) journey for the men and women who made it happen.

[An] exciting but frustrating spy thriller from former CIA employee and writer-executive producer Joe Weisberg, skillfully captures the anxiety of the age.

A grisly tale, feuled by West's mesmerizing performance.

While the storytelling is generally riveting, Hirst and his team occasionally drop a few stinkers in the dialogue. The exceptional cast—which also includes Katheryn Winnick as Ragner's wife, Lagertha—is able to rise above those bombs. It's their distinctive portrayals that, for me, bring this Dark Ages tale to life.

The slooowly-paced first two episodes offer enough action and intrigue to keep me riding a while longer.

It gets darker, scarier and more captivating with each episode as Luther matches wits with killers and cops alike.

If you want bold activities, high drama and laughs motivated by something other than fame, tune in for Season 2 of Shameless.

Whitechapel defies the odds, however, rising above its cliches with solid writing, taut direction, evocative cinematography and great performances by Penry-Jones, Davis and Pemberton.

Season 3 is off to a roaring good start.

Awkward's writing is sharp enough to keep even those viewers who refuse to go to their reunions laughing.

An enigmatic and engrossing whodunit that should move to the top of everyone's DVR queue.

TV's best series that few are watching hasn't lightened up, and that's mostly a good thing.

It's not easy to watch, but the Steven Soderbergh-directed period hospital drama sure is worth a look.

And we're off and running with another season of great animation, skillful voice acting and hilariously foul-mouthed fun.

Luck is a sometimes confusing yet fascinating study of the colorful characters--the jockeys, trainers, owners, gamblers and railbirds--who populate horse-racing tracks.

[Broad City] feels like a series of sketches that often hit but sometimes miss.

Please Like Me, unlike the much-praised millennial comedy "Girls," feels unpretentious and natural with fully-realized characters rooted in reality.

Where it truly excels is in showing the emotional costs paid by the super soldiers doing their jobs and by the witnesses and/or victims of all the mayhem.

The show is edited almost like a sitcom to draw out maximum humor, with cutaway interviews of cast members at just the right moments to reinforce their folksy philosophies. One could complain about the gender stereotypes at play, but the roles are so exaggerated here it seems the show and the Robertsons are mocking those biases.

Well acted and smartly written, Awake works as an intellectual puzzler, emotional family drama and case-of-the-week procedural.

He's funny and totally down to earth, which makes him an engaging host and guide for the eight-episode series.

Even though the team's first assignment—involving an ordinary guy with strange new powers (J. August Richards)--is kind of average as adventures go, the actors seem to have found a snappy groove already.

There's no doubt that The Blacklist will present a terrorist case of the week. But the marvelous action sequences and intriguing plot twists should lift it above any standard procedural.... If none of that interests you, Spader's magnetic performance alone is enough to warrant at least a couple looks.

It's the season's riskiest new series, but also one of the best.

True Blood works best when its freak flag flies--as long as its core characters are along for the ride.

Scheuring gets sidetracked by the trite redemption stories of a hooker (Conor Leslie) and a Canadian Mountie (Marton Csokas). But those are small hiccups in this entertaining, expansive tale of one man's fight to keep his humanity, which he discovers is more valuable than all the gold in the Yukon.

Game Change is less about Palin than it is about this sad state of political affairs....That message made an impression, as did two amazing performances, beginning with Julianne Moore's uncanny and nuanced portrayal of Palin.

These final episodes overflow with love, compassion and one lesson we all can take to heart: Cathy lived.

Miller is infinitely watchable as the twitchy detective, and I'm sure Liu will bring more to Watson if she's given the chance.

With its strong performances, subtle details and believable situations, Looking presents a convincing portrayal of everyday life--either gay or straight.

The Glee Project feels like an exercise in ego for the folks running the show. There's a whole lot of playing to the camera going on amongst the professionals, especially from choreographer Zach Woodlee and Murphy himself.

Arrow landed in my list of Top 5 pilots of the season, and I hope future episodes are as enthralling and well-made.

Despite fine acting from Cumberbatch and especially Hall and rare moments of comic relief, this adaptation of Ford Madox Ford's novels feels heavy and suffocating.

As Sarah makes one shocking discovery after another, Orphan Black weaves an increasingly intricate, suspenseful tale.

Despite its supporting cast of international actors who bring even thinly drawn characters to life, Outlander truly shines when Balfe shares the screen with either Heughan or Menzies.

It's an incredibly poignant look at Mia and her new family, and Sevigny is outstanding.

[A] cynical, hilarious and profane political satire.

While "Copper" took some time to get into a groove, Ripper Street is riveting from the first cry of murder.

It's a credit to Popper that the running gags seem fresh and funny every time, and that he can mine so much humor from a weekly dinner. But as long as he does, I'll have the table set.

Although the premiere is hampered by unnecessary narration and over-exposition, it's still a bewitching brew of whimsy, psychological scares, horrific atrocities and the wonderfully relentless feeling that something wicked this way comes.

The former "Dawson's Creek" hunk provides much of the charm and limited punch lines until Apartment 23 starts to find its way in later episodes.

None of this, of course, is cutting edge new. But if you buy into the show's out-there fantasy of the suburbs--and I do, because I fear them--then you'll be amply entertained.

Legit is legitimately and simultaneously raunchy, sweet and funny.

The good news is Vikings improves with each episode, slowly building its fascinating characters and discovering its ultimately absorbing tale.

Hunted is an intriguing and rewarding puzzle worth (trying) to solve.

Falling Skies, although competently directed, acted and sometimes written, goes off on more than a few tangents and paint-by-numbers subplots of the genre. It's best when it sticks to the main thread, and that's the battle for survival and to learn what the six-legged freaks are doing with the children.

An affectionate and surprisingly insightful look at Hollywood hopefuls clawing to make careers in TV, music, comedy and dance.

Live Another Day starts its 12-episode run in a typically gripping if superficial and improbable fashion, but you'll get no complaints from me.

In seriously exploring what drives people to kill, Hannibal serves up a meal too heavy to enjoy each week.

The quirky campus comedy is as clever and edgy as ever.

It's a funny, creepy, touching thriller that had me laughing one second and peeking between my fingers the next.

The Spoils of Babylon is an entertaining and spot-on spoof of the overdone potboiler miniseries of the 1970s and '80s.

The Mindy Project mostly lives up to the hype.

I'm pleased to report that creators/writers Ben Court and Caroline Ip and exec producer Sally Woodward Gentle have tweaked that gimmick ever so slightly, making Whitechapel fresh yet familiar in Season 2.

The acting remains impeccable, and the writing adds depth to characters that seemed one-dimensional the first season.

The short, 41-minute opener (I'd DVR it and fast-forward through the commercials) is slickly filmed, generally well acted and ends with an intriguing revelation. But so little feels new and fresh.

Stuffed with absurd situations and piles of bad taste, Wilfred is the strangest new show on TV. And the funniest.

While well acted and artfully shot, it suffers from message movie traps.

Hints of a deeper mythology are revealed, too, suggesting that Helix will move beyond its stop-the-virus story into something even more intriguing. In the meantime, it's a suspenseful, scary thriller.

This is history lite, to be sure, but it's probably a lot livelier than your sixth-grade history class was.

Ben & Kate is at its best when the siblings lovingly spar--usually about one of Ben's hair-brained schemes.

Copper doesn't open as confidently as I had hoped (or as its pedigree might lead one to expect), but given the classic themes, rich time period and great acting, I trust it will keep my interest.