It’s all very complicated, but at the same time easy to follow and terribly mesmerizing and haunting.

Raimi shows he hasn’t lost his horror chops in directing the first episode, particularly with a spinning flashlight tension-builder. And the bloody roots of “Evil Dead” are fully honored as well.

As always, this is a scattered story with multiple moving parts.... Fargo revels in presenting ordinary folk with extraordinary problems, in stripping away their everyday guises and peering long and hard at their dark potential. That it can do this through adaptations of true stories makes it all the more jaw-dropping.

As the season progresses, Mapleton re-emerges and it becomes a tale of two deeply weird cities. It may all be a tease, but give The Leftovers this: It is the strangest show on television.

So, basically, this is a drug-fueled Sherlock Holmes situation, although Brian does something so monumentally stupid while supposedly in his smart state at the show’s beginning that it comes close to undermining the show’s premise. Luckily McDorman, who appeared in “American Sniper” with Cooper, has an easygoing charm that helps right the boat.

Instead of being seriously macabre, it goes for broad satire, although it certainly has its gory moments. It’s an odd mash-up that leaves little room for real connection to the characters, having faith instead in laughs and blood. Then again, laughs and blood have a good track record.

As harrowing, dark and bloody as the premiere episodes are, and as open as the show’s direction seems to be, the comparisons [to Game of Thrones,” “Sons,” “Deadwood,” “Breaking Bad,” “The Sopranos,” and “The Walking Dead”] seem apt. This Bastard rocks.

Marienthal is an appealing kid and it's nice to see Sagal back at work, but this show is just a little too sex crazy and far too predictable. [2 Oct 2000, p.5F]

This show was originally called "American Wreck", until somebody at CBS realized that could be a self-fulfilling prophecy. It's not a wreck, really, it just never gets rolling in any direction that looks interesting enough to follow.

The slow burn approach actually works nicely, assuming you can calm your appetite for immediate destruction.

This is, of course, the stuff of all serial dramas, but we usually see baby steps in some direction. That Was Then promises only chaos. [27 Sept 2002, p.1C]

Just about everything that made the first season of True Detective entrancing is missing from the second, wholly re-imagined second season. In truth, only the worst, most clichéd parts remain. And yet.... If you make it to the third episode, chances are you'll keep going.

Relentlessly silly from beginning to end, if this show doesn't make you laugh out loud, or at least shake your head in constant bemusement, you're a member of the wrong species. [8 Nov 2001, p.5C]

It’s not going anywhere you’d likely suspect, and the big reveal episodes have a lot of explaining to do, but this hyper-paranoid, time-twisting and addictive show is actually laying a foundation for something. How that something eventually plays out remains a question, but the ride there is an undeniable kick.

What next? An unholy alliance between Aquaman's niece and the Thing's second cousin? "Birds of Prey" is for the birds. [9 Oct 2002, p.1D]

Not strange enough to be scary, but probably strange enough to be fun. [17 Sept 2002]

The Messengers seems far-fetched, even by [The CW's] standards.

Thrones exults in the unexpected.

Occasionally gory and suffused with black humor, there’s still a sunny sincerity to the show. Simply put, iZombie is death done cute.

There are a lot of characters and talent involved here--Mary Elizabeth Winstead notably plays the bride who was left behind--but The Returned is very much a show propelled forward by its story and the questions it raises.

This show fits perfectly into the network's mystery/cop-heavy schedule and audiences should be able to blur right through it comfortably. As comfortable blurs go, Battle Creek is indeed a success.

As actors, Stanford and Schull have to convince TV audiences that they are not dishing out reheated versions of the performances Bruce Willis and Madeleine Stowe did in the original. Thankfully, that's not the case and these two actors are quite compelling as a couple of lost souls trying desperately to make things right.

The show's two opening episodes, showing Sunday and Monday night, are really a small movie cut in half--Sunday is the somewhat puzzling set-up, Monday puts Jimmy in motion and opens his eyes.

Backstrom is dicey indeed. Every time he makes a move, it's got to be part of an intricate puzzle that will be solved. More often, it's just an obnoxious guy staggering off in a direction that turns out to be conveniently right.

One Child spends too much time running in place--which may reflect China’s inert bureaucracy, but falls short of riveting viewing.

The eight-part miniseries, a BBC co-production that begins Saturday on Starz, is handicapped a bit by its overly hotheaded protagonist, played by James Nesbitt. But if his access as a grieving father to crime scenes and witnesses often seems a bit preposterous, the story's many side alleys and turnabouts serve as ample distraction.

Near flawless in execution while filled with rarely seen intelligence and complexity, the HBO miniseries Olive Kitteridge plumbs the depths of the seemingly mundane and finds cruelty, resentment, dogged insecurity and finally, if not hope, then some level of honesty about life’s attraction.

Cliches bounce off one another in a slick combination of gallows humor, inspirational bonding, deep thoughts and maudlin moments.

This series reflects the way wealthy, neurotic, overly busy and sex-obsessed TV executives and producers think America lives, in other words, the way they live. They're wrong. Most of us are not TV executives. Please let Hidden Hills be hidden for good as soon as possible. [24 Sept 2002]

Braugher is the rare actor who banks on control instead of pyrotechnics. And Ruben Blades gives him strong support as the hospital's administrator, Dr. Max Cabranes. [10 Oct 2000]

A period piece with serious punch, The Knick isn’t for the faint of heart.

Truth is, Johnny's predicament has a mix of emotional trauma, supernatural hoodoo and old-fashioned conniving that just might work. Or not, depending on how often the writers beat the same drum -- saving a small kid every week will get old quick. For now, let's give the show the benefit of the doubt. [14 June 2002]

The Middle East lends itself to intrigues, backstabbings, frontstabbings and long-term vendettas like few other places, and writer-director Hugo Blick lets his puzzle pieces assemble with slow, deliberate power and more than a few surprises.

If "Dinotopia" doesn't come up with something else for our heroes to do other than rescue gentle folk from mean dinosaurs, the show is going to get repetitious fast. [28 Nov 2002]

This is a solid, risky show with loads of potential. Keep it coming.

At times the somewhat corny diversions distract from the slow-moving main attraction. Still, true-believer horror fans will likely bite into The Strain, even if nonconverts find themselves able to resist.

Although the first episodes of the new season lack the snap and sizzle of the first season’s sexual discoveries, the air of indecision that haunts the show feels both accurate and unique.

Watching dad fend off guys while the girls strut around in thongs is going to get old fast. [17 Sep 2002]

For now, though, The Leftovers is properly mesmerizing.

Whether viewers will feel too challenged by Ellie to smile along remains to be seen. Hopefully they won't; TV needs crazy-vain-brave risk-takers badly. [26 Feb 2002]

The Last Ship would be better off developing its own new society tensions, medical nightmares and primal-survival adventures than leaning on black-hat stereotypes. Maybe it will end up heading in that direction, maybe it will succumb to more common cliches and become lost at sea. It could float either way.

Murder in the First” isn’t outright bad. It’s just an extremely derivative police procedural.

Halt is wise enough to play this out against Gordon’s stress over providing for his family, Joe’s mysterious background and Cameron’s cute pixie haircut. The ad men in “Mad Men” changed a great deal; the people who put a computer in every home changed everything. And that keeps Halt and Catch Fire interesting.

Morally and historically significant, emotionally wrenching and politically terrifying, The Normal Heart is more important than artful, and that’s just fine.

With the tension of its premise and the promise of its family-driven drama, Gang Related may eventually work the stiffness out of its joints and become interesting. Or not. It’s that kind of show.

For those who crave monsters and gore at any cost, this may do. All others beware.

No matter what, the show returns with the same sense of modern-day paranoia and urgency that fueled its best seasons, and however over-the-top it goes, its real-world geopolitical concerns are real-world geopolitical concerns.

The tone wavers here and there--a pair of teen brothers are too broadly drawn--but holds true for the most part.

Turn becomes more tense with each episode, at least through the first three, and that’s a very good sign.

At first, it seems like your typical show from the CW, overstuffed with bushy-haired teens in a sci-fi situation. But after a while the series, based on a book by Kass Morgan, reveals influences ranging from “Lord of the Flies” to “Battlestar Galactica,” with more than a few hints of “The Hunger Games,” “Lost” and “1984” tossed in.

Handled correctly, this has “Lost” potential.

Only trouble is--aside from the torture porn nature of the show--the story itself is a series of question marks that takes a plunge into the ridiculous in its climactic scene.

As a six-episode project, you’d expect precision, compactness and speed; instead it basically, at least for the first four episodes, wanders toward the inevitable.

Star-Crossed never really catches fire.

[A] captivating and undeniable classic. [26 Aug 2005, p.2E]

Alliances are made and broken, power shifts go this way and that, blood is spilled, and wenches keep wenching. It’s oddly addictive, and the cast--made up mostly of British, Australian and Canadian actors--is as sharp as you’d expect from pay cable.

Kinnear, as always, is a likable presence, and he and Summers seem like they’ll have good chemistry if the show ever calms down.

Smart without being smug, Nip/Tuck is surgically altered television perfection. [5 Sept 2006, p.5D]

Nip/Tuck isn't perfect, but with its flawed, fumbling and very human cast of characters, it's a cut above the usual TV drama. [22 July 2003, p.5E]

Relentlessly dark and slow boiling, True Detective may promise more than it can deliver. But it still delivers quite a bit.

Raylan, despite his tendency to shoot people, is something of an old-fashioned hero, complete with white cowboy hat. Here’s to the simple but effective balance, and to the complications that threaten to topple it.

Moms Mabley is a fine appreciation of a remarkable life.

This show--which mixes hints of “Lost,” “Twin Peaks” and “The X-Files”--is one of the best things to hit our airwaves this season.

There are knocks in Seduced and Abandoned, but none of them seem that hard.

The Walking Dead may be starting to walk in circles, but the scenery is still spectacular and spooky.

There’s a lot of humor here, but it’s more innocent than leering. And there’s also a great deal of understandable awkwardness that seems as pertinent to 2013 to the ’50s. You may not want to watch this with Aunt Tildy, but it is certainly worth watching.

Lopez probably has a sitcom in him, but this isn't it. And it has nothing to do with the Latino bent. "My Wife & Kids" is funny because Damon Wayans is funny and it's about a funny family. It has nothing to do with race. Same with George Lopez. It's bad because it's bad, and bad knows no color. [27 Mar 2002]

But Nicky Fallin is about as unlikable and uncomfortable a character as television audiences have ever been asked to care for. Maybe he would unfold splendidly over time. But it's doubtful he'll get that time. [25 Sept 2001, p.5B]

[A] promising mix of urban decay, moral corruption and brutal betrayal that’s likely to fuel Sun.

Simply put, Smallville is super. A new spin on the modern myth of Superman, it's part action series, part teen romance and part high school drama, done with superior production values and featuring an array of new faces that could quickly become familiar. [16 Oct 2001]

While it's certainly not the most innovative new show this season, it knows exactly what it wants to be, which isn't a full-on copy of "CSI" but close enough to seem familiar. And it delivers the same slick, well-produced, well-acted sort of analytical whodunit as the original. [23 Sep 2002]

What The Newsroom lacks in vampires, serial killers and terrorist love affairs, it makes up for with topicality, intelligence and messy romances.

Smarter and more creative than ABC's "Desperate Housewives," that other show about superficial suburbia, "Weeds" has edgier and wittier writing. [6 Aug 2005]

Yes, there are a few stereotypes--a guard nicknamed Pornstache is exactly the sleazeball you expect in a women’s prison series. But, for the most part, the show strikes a fresh tone, allowing for real tenderness, social commentary and lots of anxiety in a classic fish-out-of-water scenario.

The first four episodes contain more solid laughs than most sitcoms manage in a year. [13 Oct 2000]

The potential for cop burnout exists with all the new crime shows this season, but "Trace" is among the most promising entries. [26 Sep 2002]

It’s hard to say where The Bridge is going, but so far it looks like a trip worth taking.

There’s just enough crazy in Ray Donovan to keep things interesting.

Showtime’s favorite psychopath is watching his life unravel. Again. Which is tough for Dexter but probably good for the audience.... Last year, the ship was righted as Deb disintegrated and Dexter found true love. Will this season bring justice, cheap thrills or a violent conclusion? Hopefully, all of the above.

The series looks promising, if puzzling.

It's clear that this program is a compendium of every irritating cliche ever to assault a defenseless TV viewer. [7 Jul 2000]

As well-engineered, demographically balanced and ethnically diverse as this show is, it’s still pretty daffy how it cuts back and forth between sun and fun and drug wastoids and gangstas.

None of which is new, all of which is interesting. But looking at any one aspect of his life--his marriages, a single concert, his childhood, one incident--in depth might have provided more insight than this typical overview.

Behind the Candelabra doesn't really get behind anything; it just rolls around in tacky history.

Family Tree is addictively silly stuff.

The suits are louder, the sideburns are longer; aside from that, the season-six premiere proves to be classic Mad Men with plenty of vice (maybe more than before, at least more pot), long hours at work and lots of questions.

The show isn't perfect--the female characters are weak, Graham can get a bit wild-eyed and the killings get progressively more bizarre. But creator Bryan Fuller has a good grip on the material and Mikkelsen sets a tone that's both chilling and intriguing.

Massive, cruelly dense, absurdly complicated and absolutely thrilling.

Mamet is known for tight, pointed dramas, and he holds true to his rep here, creating a mystery, procedural and character study all in one.

Things go bad quickly, which is to be expected. The challenge with this show will be to keep it appropriately Crazy Town without letting it get Loony Bin bad.

The disconnect between propriety and reality keeps the miniseries on constant edge. The entire cast is fine, but Hall steals the show.

You get the feeling creator Rockne S. O'Bannon is building a puzzle box to nowhere here, but Knepper's malevolent glare sets a nice, unhinged tone, and there's certainly plenty of room to move forward.

Essentially, Shameless is still Shameless: A raucous, shocking, moral battleground, a family comedy taken to twisted extremes, boosted by a uniformly fine cast, and consistently entertaining.

Maybe this will all become coherent. But then maybe it shouldn't. Sometimes messy is better.

Fincher's unemotional style comes through in the first two episodes, and the show could use more heat. But Spacey makes it worth watching.

This show is so far-fetched it makes "24" look like political reporting and "Lost" seem like a nature documentary.

The Americans has potential. The way it uses recent history as a reflector of modern deceits while bouncing the concept of patriotism around mixes nicely with the hang-by-your-fingertips story turns.

[A] somewhat overheated but still fairly effective new thriller.