Not to quibble about issues of plausibility in a story about a boy with superhuman powers who arrives on Earth on a spaceship from an alien planet, but the star of Smallville is just too beautiful to be believed. As a geek, that is. [16 Oct 2001, p.E-3]

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]

Son of the Beach is sophomoric, off-color, tasteless, obvious, sexist and offensive to several races. It's also fairly funny, a cheeky, sunny, goofy, low-budget "Police Squad!" version of "Baywatch" produced by that nasty-talking proponent and arbiter of everything tacky in American mass media, Howard Stern. [14 March 2000, p.E8]

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]

Whether in visions of falling steel balls or in plot twists that capture the imagination without unduly stressing credulity, it's those fanciful, Kelleyish touches that make "Ally McBeal" so watchable. [8 Sep 1997]

A promising, solidly crafted comedy series. [3 Mar 1997]

It's all great fun, and the idea of putting a hard-nosed, highly competent journalist into situations where she must deal with neophytes and no-talents is rife with possibilities, especially since Bergen plays Murphy Brown as a complex, intriguing neurotic. Not everything works in the debut episode, but enough to mark this as a sitcom with possibilities. [14 Nov 1988]

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]

Begley is, as always, an agile, skilled comic actor. But William Windom steals the show any time he's near the screen, no small feat for an overweight old man surrounded by small children. [20 Aug 1990, p.E-1]

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]

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.

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

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]

Most of Rescue Me rings true. One would hope, though, that after an interval of nearly three years, real New York firefighters focus a little less on the events of Sept. 11, 2001, than is depicted here. [21 July 2004, p.F-6]

The drama itself will look and sound familiar to anyone who remembers "Twin Peaks," ABC's short-lived freakazoid hit of the early 1990s. Weird music, weirder lighting, menacing characters, dark forebodings. Perhaps the biggest mystery is the producers' choice of a hero, an IRS agent, not a figure most dramatists would pick for his sympathetic qualities. [17 Sept 2002, p.E-6]

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'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]

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.E5]

Very early on, "Christy" runs into problems of simple logic. [3 Apr 1994]

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]

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

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]

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

It looks as if "Soul Food" could, after a pallid beginning, develop into a more substantial offering. [27 Jun 2000]

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]

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

viewers need to breathe now and then, they need to smile, they need to break the tension. Wonderland, however, drags the audience into the maelstrom of Bedlam and never lets go. [28 March 2000, p.E-7]