A pleasant, inoffensive, forgettable way to spend a half-hour. Did I say it's mediocre? Well, maybe so. [20 Sept 1993, p.E-8]

It's not your father's "Cheers." [3 Aug 2005]

Titus deftly carries off the delicate trick of creating comedy out of a background of tragedy and chaos, and for that it deserves a look. [20 March 2000, p.E-7]

It's all a lot of fun, if not terribly consequential, but if you've ever moved into a college dorm with a bunch of strangers, you've been there. [21 May 1992]

TV comedy at its most conventional and least interesting. [17 Sep 1991]

The question that needs to be asked of The L Word is this: Absent the novelty of seeing a cast of lesbian characters on TV, would the lives of these people make for fascinating drama?...The answer, I'm afraid, is -- probably not. [18 Jan 2004, p.TV-6]

Unlike most series based on movies, this one has a great advantage. It's written and produced by the people who made the original, the husband-wife team of Charles Shyer and Nancy Meyers...So the writing and the pacing are crisp and quick, reflecting the confidence and experience of the creators. [10 Sept 1998, p.D-1]

Every situation, every character is a cliché, whether from the Western story shelf or the discount sci-fi stock. Judging from the dusty, rocky scenery, it might have been shot on the planet Borrego.

The new "Family Guy" is much like the first, an animated family sitcom that tries too hard to be quirky and is only sporadically funny. [29 Apr 2005]

The Office has its moments, but it's just too loud and too clumsy...Like the original, the American The Office tries to pull off the most difficult comedy stunt of them all: getting laughs at the expense of a fellow who thinks he's funny but is pathetically, awkwardly, embarrassingly unfunny...The execution is less confident and less successful, more Spike Jones than Mozart. [21 Mar 2005]

MOONLIGHTING IS a quirky comedy, offbeat and free-floating and rather beguiling and very, very talky, which by the way I find refreshing. [26 Mar 1985, p.E9]

In the air, it's a case of "Top Gun" meets "Star Wars," with all the cool, high-tech trappings. Aboard ship, however, it's a low-brow melodrama. [23 Sep 1995]

The only thing for sure about Quantum Leap is that it's a difficult show to explain to anybody, and that the more difficult it is to explain a show, the less likely it is to succeed. [25 Mar 1989, p.C-7]

You get the absorbing pleasure of watching celebrities try a demanding art form that could leave their toes blistered and their egos bruised. It also has the potential to make them look like dorks. [9 Jun 2005]

It's that tongue-in-cheek, lighthearted mood that elevates "Charmed" from the dreary, self-important solemnity that hangs like a pall over so much so-called fantasy and science fiction. [6 Oct 1998, p.E-1]

It worked for the Monkees. Maybe it'll work for O-Town. The concept is almost the same. [24 March 2000, p.E-11]

By delving into a principal character so deeply from the get-go, the newest "CSI" brilliantly one-ups its predecessors. [21 Sep 2004]

So many scenes work so wonderfully well in the first episode of Picket Fences. Trouble is, the show has nearly as many sappy, melodramatic scenes, the kind of cloddy clunkers that ultimately weigh down the entire affair. [13 Sept 1992, p.TV-16]

Certain scenes are powerful, even exhilarating. Others don't work at all. [23 Sep 1990]

Cheeky but likable. [7 Oct 2004]

It could turn out to be one of the fall's most enjoyable new series, a nice mix of family drama and light comedy, if the faint air of smug self-righteousness that emanates from tonight's pilot can be extinguished. [16 Sept 2002, p.D-6]

"The Shining" (King wrote the teleplay) can be ghoulishly, gruesomely delightful. But the final hour disintegrates into a mess of violence that'll repulse most viewers. A warning: A 7-year-old may be a central character in "The Shining," but this is not -- repeat NOT -- for young children.

The Net provides a whole lot more fun, thanks to the sprightly Brooke Langton, cast in Bullock's role as Angela Bennett, a free-lance computer fixer who one day receives a mystifying bit of electronic mail. [17 July 1998, p.E-12]

The Brits just love Ali G, but they have a considerable appetite for rude, politically incorrect satire...Americans may just find him rather peculiar. [21 Feb 2003, p.E-5]

Thumb-sucking scripts, actors without direction and forgettable emotional clout. [6 Mar 1986, p.E-8]

There is much good to be found in "The Outsiders," which marks still another example of the Fox network's willingness to take chances on unconventional stories told in unconventional ways. The actors' performances are unfailingly excellent, the production polished and stylish. More than that, despite the surplus of violence in the pilot film, it is refreshing to see a television drama about young people in which the protagonists are doing something besides drugs, in which their concerns run deeper than clothes and dates...It could get terrific. [24 Mar 1990, p.D-9]

Shooting a comedy in real time may be an interesting exercise for the producer, but it doesn't make the story more interesting, or add to the laugh ratio. In fact, that little timer is downright distracting. [26 Feb 2002]

I lost interest in tonight's pilot when attention turned to a card-counter with an outside confederate. OK, they're cheating. [22 Sept 2003, p.D-5]

Tonight's new NBC sitcom from the producers of HBO's "Dream On" hands us still one more batch of self-consciously quirky, single, more-or-less charming twentysomething characters and lets them hang for a half-hour reading faux Woody Allen lines. [22 Sept 1994, p.36]

The script often just doesn't make sense. [3 Jan 2005]

Both stars are capable, the setup a reliable one, but tonight's pilot staggers under an overload of plot. [6 Oct 2000, p.E-1]

Fresh, sharp and witty...It certainly offers a brisk antidote to the syrupy sentimentality that has lately taken over "The Cosby Show." It's "The Honeymooners" with an '80s spin, a sardonic look at a couple who love each other -- except for when they don't. [5 Apr 1987, p.TV-6]

Sharply funny without being painful to watch. [3 June 2005, p.E-1]

The guess is that it will have staying power, primarily because of the presence of Will Smith, a rapper who does, indeed, go by the name of "Fresh Prince." Smith, half of the rap duo of D.J. Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, is a natural, so likable and charismatic that he already has drawn parallels to Eddie Murphy from NBC's Brandon Tartikoff. [10 Sept 1990, p.C-1]

Ominously dark, loaded with splashy visual special effects and soundtrack whooshes and vrooms, with costumes by the Frederick's of Hollywood Martial Arts Division, Birds of Prey bogs down early in lengthy and tedious exposition, the sort of back-story explanation that scriptwriters call "laying pipe." [8 Oct 2002, p.E-6]

If you watched "The Larry Sanders Show," you'll find that Beggars and Choosers is weak tea. [18 June 1999, p.E-10]

So far there's little else to recommend Wings. [15 Apr 1990, p.TV-8]

It will take more than good intentions and warm feelings to make City of Angels a success. [14 Jan 2000, p.E-1]

Leaving aside the question of whether Burnett, Trump and NBC are just oblivious to the growing gap between the rich and the not-so-rich in America, or whether they're intentionally rubbing it in, "The Apprentice" brings up another issue. With all his billions, why can't Donald Trump find a decent barber? [6 Jan 2004]

"Ghost Train" was an auspicious start...Spielberg has been working with movies of two or three hours length for a long time, but he can still tell a powerful story in the 25-or-less minutes allowed in a half-hour of commercial television. [30 Sept 1985, p.C-7]

The cliches just keep on coming, from crooked cops to a mobster's innocent daughter in law school (at UCLA, no less) to those great, great lines: "Come on, Sonny, let's go. [16 Sept 1987, p.F-9]

Flimsy. [6 Oct 2000, p.E-10]

"American Idol" boasts two new wrinkles. First, the performances are so tightly edited that each singer gets barely a minute onstage. ... The second innovation: The contest is rigged. [21 Jun 2002]

If The Guardian becomes a hit, credit [Baker's] cool smugness. [25 Sept 2001, p.E-3]

Criminal Intent should make the bird's tail-feathers droop with embarrassment. [29 Sept 2001, p.E-6]

It's hard not to believe Craig T. Nelson. He's one of the most versatile actors anywhere, equally at home as the perpetually flummoxed Hayden Fox in the ABC sitcom "Coach," or in any number of dramatic roles in made-for-TV and theatrical films. [7 Oct 2000, p.E-8]

It will inevitably be compared with "The Golden Girls," NBC's hit from last year about four older women sharing a house in Miami...But this entry from CBS is considerably different and, for my money, funnier and better...It is the best new show CBS is offering this season. [28 Sept 1986, p.TV-6]

Much of Popular is just silly, but much of it is also poignant and true. Consider Carmen (Sara Rue), who wants desperately to be a cheerleader. Carmen's a heavy girl, but a terrific dancer. [28 Sept 1999, p.E-1]

If you are over 12, you can look at it one of two ways: You can regard it as hopelessly silly or, if you're in a silly mood, just go along and enjoy it. [29 Sep 1985]

Clueless is meant to be a spoof of spoiled and petulant teen-age girls. But even at that, Clueless comes up, like, seriously shallow. [20 Sept 1996, p.E-6]

Though somewhat rough around the edges, "Nikki" hilariously spoofs cheesy, tasteless Vegas showroom extravaganzas and idiotic professional wrestling matches whose outcomes are scripted. [7 Oct 2000, p.E-9]

Graham and Pierpoint do a nice job of playing off each other, and Michele Scarabelli and Lauren Woodland as Pierpoint's wife and daughter work well, too. Still, the premise is limiting and the guess is this show is much more likely to become a curiosity than a hit. [18 Sept 1989, p.D-6]

If "Spenser" has a problem, it is that the detective's sensitivity is not treated very sensitively. As in most TV series, "subtlety" seems to be a foreign word. ... But the car chases and gunfights are staged pretty well, and some good stories and continued strong characterizations could help the show's appeal. [20 Sep 1985]

The premise of "Numb3rs" is as gimmicky as its typographically tricky title. [23 Jan 2005]

A mean, miserable, nasty-minded excuse for a comedy. [29 Jan 1999]

"Sleepwalkers," a short-lived NBC series from two seasons back, also asked viewers to care about characters who only dreamed that they were in peril. The sleepwalkers only drew a yawn from viewers, and it turned out that NBC programmers who thought the audience might actually care about such a situation were the ones who believed in fantasy. Fox may be repeating the delusion. [8 Oct 1999, p.E-10]

The results of this ploy are predictable. But the end of the episode delivers a satisfying double kick that neatly caps off Woodward's generally understated performance. It needs better scripts, but Woodward makes The Equalizer worth watching. [18 Sept 1985, p.C7]

The humor of "3rd Rock" is of I-can't-believe-how-bad-this-is quality. [9 Jan 1996]

There are delicious slices of French Quarter partyin' and plot twists that don't seem too contrived. [9 Aug 1996, p.E-8]

Boy Meets World starts out surprisingly fresh and funny...And surprise -- it pretty much stays that way. [19 Sept 1993, p.TV-8]

Lame, trite. [21 Sept 1998, p.E-1]

"Brewster Place" is dominated by a feeling of softness. A sweet gentleness pervades the air and issues are avoided, rather than confronted head-on. The characters that gave the original drama its sharpest bite, including the desperate welfare mother and the lesbian couple, have been dropped entirely. [1 May 1990]

Demons is quite unlike another recent variation on the vampirical theme, the CW's "Vampire Diaries," in which teen-age vampires struggle with their wickedly bloody proclivities toward fanging people in the neck. And it's not like those all-American, Great Northwest vampires of the "Twilight" tales. Demons is also genuinely scary.

And the evidence is plain: Millions of Americans sense that terrorism is in their midst, and CBS doesn't mind kicking up that fear a notch for the sake of gaining a rating point or two. [23 Sept 2003, p.E-6]

Spielberg appears to be suffering from movie-industry arrogance, the belief that any old piece of tripe will sell on TV. He certainly would not have tried to film a script like this for one of his mega-movies. Where's Jules Verne when we need him? [12 Sept 1993, p.TV16]

It has captured much of the original magic. Right off the launching pad, Roddenberry has sent his crew into a dandy, suspenseful story with an original and satisfying ending and even some romance. [29 Sep 1987]

The story told in tonight's pilot is more of the same old TV stuff. [17 Sept 1995, p.TV6]

Shot in an impressively glossy style, and in wide-screen, Wolf Lake at least looks good, in spite of a lack of the visual effects one might expect in a series like this one. [09 Sep 2001]

ABC really has done a fabulous job in the special effects department, though, particularly as the story reaches its messy, apocalyptic climax, complete with decapitations, oozing blood, stranglings and exploding monsters. Oh. Did I mention that there's quite a bit of violence? But the whole project, photographed in New Zealand (apparently the real Maine doesn't look enough like Maine), is gorgeous to look at and offers some excellent performances, particularly by Marg Helgenberger as Bobbi, the writer who uncovers the strange force, and Jimmy Smits as Gard, a poet and her live-in companion. [9 May 1993]

The usually reliable producer Gary David Goldberg ("Spin City," "Brooklyn Bridge," "Family Ties") has imitated the props, plot devices and characters from the original ("Barney Miller"), but duplicating wit, mood and casting chemistry have proven more elusive.[23 March 2000, p.E-5]

It makes for irresistible, cooler-than-cool TV. [9 Jul 1996]

Family Matters is a spinoff from "Perfect Strangers," but not nearly as good. [22 Sept 1989, p.C-16]

A good-humored, good-natured adventure in monsteriana. [28 Mar 2003, p.E-5]

Dozens of off-the-shelf cowboy cliches ... make this brand-new film seem so, so old. [3 Jan 1998]

Not that That Was Then is poorly done. The production is polished, and performances are excellent throughout, particularly those of Jeffrey Tambor as the self-absorbed father and Tyler Labine as Pinkus, Travis' manic pal...But the atmosphere is awfully heavy, self-consciously sober. [27 Sept 2002, p.E-7]

It is based on the assumption, so common among show-biz people who meet each other for lunch at the Beverly Hills Hotel, that they are not only the cultural center of the Western world, but the envy of everybody who is not part of their glittery ZIP code. The whole production just reeks of L.A. smugness. [4 Oct 1990, p.C-11]

The most dominating cast member of this attractive show is Corbin -- the delightfully rigid Maurice Minnifield on "Northern Exposure." But coming down court fast for a slam-dunk is Sheffer, who makes an outstanding impression as the only male role model who gives Lucas the love and support he needs in the tough game of life. Daddy Dan is an expletive deleted. [23 Sept 2003, p.E-6]

Previously icy, menacing, aloof and fascinating, [Hawk] is now mostly noise and bluster, a swaggering, gun-toting pontificator, as ready with an aphorism as with a bullet, a "Shaft" rehash. ... Within the context of "Spenser," there was already a cartoonish aspect to the figure of Hawk. Now all restraint has been dropped, and Hawk has become a parody of himself. Brooks has done better work. [27 Jan 1989]

As for story, Tarzan will remain trapped in monotony unless the writers can get him out of the city sometime (at least to the Catskills or Poconos), or bring in wild and bizarre comic book characters like the Batman series did. [5 Oct 2003, p.TV6]

Like TV teachers back to the time of "Room 222" and beyond, Mr. Rhodes is depicted as the one teacher in the school who really knows what kids need and want, who will constantly have to buck an unfeeling, insensitive bureaucracy and a staff of stodgy, disapproving older teachers. [23 Sep 1996, p.E1]

George Lopez is refreshing, especially when you consider that Latinos make up almost 13 percent of the U.S. population. And besides all that, Lopez himself is muy simpatico. [24 Mar 2002, p.TV-6]

Too gimmicky for my taste. [22 Sept 1986, p.D-1]

"TekWar" is a blur of techno images, whirring noises and idiotic sci-fi speak. [18 Jan 1994]

A hokey, befuddling science fiction drama series from Fox. [6 Oct 2000, p.E-11]

A likable, even enjoyable, but hazily defined series with no clear sense of where it wants to go. [28 Sept 2001, p.E-12]

"Dad" is even spottier than "Family Guy," a nearly random collection of blackouts in search of a story. [29 Apr 2005]

The situation seems hackneyed from the start, and so do the characters. [23 March 2000, p.E-5]

Ferris Bueller, at least, confronts its source up close and personal in the opening scene and gets it out of the way. [22 Aug 1990, p.D-9]

Hewett projects the right blend of acid wit and sympathy, but he gets little help from the rest of the project. [15 Mar 1985]

"Dinotopia" still has computer-generated dinosaurs hardly on a par with the creatures in the "Jurassic Park" movies; an annoying continuous faux classical music score; big, absurd sets; bizarre costumes; and an overall washed-out pastel look. [24 Nov 2002]

Overlaying Working Girl is a subtle, cynical atmosphere of class snobbery...The writers' assumption seems to be that their viewers share their elitist values and viewpoint. [15 Apr 1990, p.TV-8]

As TV shows go, it may have the most convoluted, tortured premise on record. A new title could resolve its identity crisis: "The Fugitive From Outer Space." It is not so much based on the 1984 film which starred Jeff Bridges as a sequel to it...Even if you saw the movie, you may find the TV show confusing...If you didn't, you may be utterly bewildered.[19 Sept 1986, p.E-1]

Where the film began on a distinctly glum note, then built toward a spirit of renewal, the pilot episode of the sitcom starts out noisy and stays that way. In other words, a bewitching and intriguing movie has been trashed once again in the making of a har-de-har sitcom. [30 Mar 1990, p.E-17]

Conspiracy and backbiting are the only constant themes, and the overwhelming sense of claustrophobia and the unremitting nastiness of many of contestants make the show nearly unwatchable. [17 Jul 2001]

Miserable excuse for comedy. [19 Sept 2003, p.E-11]

It's not a laughing matter. [22 Sept 1987, p.E-7]

Baby Talk plays like "Look Who's Talking XII," as if the producers just skipped right over the inevitable decline in quality to be expected in a long series of sequels and dove straight for the dregs at the bottom of the barrel. [8 Mar 1991, p.E-19]

As time-travel stories go, Timecop is strictly by-the-numbers. [22 Sept 1997, p.E1]