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]

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.

What’s even more impressive is the delicate balance between the laughable and the distressing here. “Sweet Tooth” has some serious and timely bite.

Just as “Parks and Rec” was built around a strong female character (Amy Poehler), so is The Good Place and Bell brings her daffy range of sensibilities to the show. She somehow manages to run through sassy, clueless, innocent, rude, earnest, spunky, well-intentioned and selfish modes in every episode.

There are some fine supporting performances here--most notably from Bradley Whitford as a loyal-if-appalled Hubert Humphrey, Melissa Leo as the beleaguered Ladybird Johnson and Stephen Root as J. Edgar Hoover. But, beginning to end, this is a tour de force for Cranston. Great stuff.

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.

Whatever it is, "WandaVision" is the weirdest entry yet into the MCU, and a significant artistic step forward in its storytelling. It's bold and visionary and also a lot of fun, tweaking sitcoms in a knowing, loving way and playing with their format in a way that turns Americana on its ear. Like any great show, we're hooked.

At first you’re rolling your eyes at what seems an absurd stretch of a premise, but soon enough you’re buying its always-on-edge predicaments and after a few episodes you’re hooked into its story-upon-story acrobatics. Pete may be sneaky, but he’s not dull.

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

“Ozark” still has its crazy nooks and crannies — Ruth’s young cousin Wyatt (Charlie Tahan) takes up with the much older deranged opium grower Darlene (Lisa Emery), things like that — and the troubled, still-loving chemistry between Marty and Wendy remains powerful. Plus gangsters, drug cartels, body counts, all the standard pleasures of crime shows.

“Pretend It’s a City,” Martin Scorsese’s six-part documentary appreciation of Fran Lebowitz, is more than merely delightful, although it’s certainly that. It’s also something of a historical document. ... It’s easy to see why Scorsese wanted to put her time in a cinematic bottle.

It’s heavily populated, extremely well cast — whoever found the chiseled Antony Starr deserves either a raise or an Emmy — and never boring. The third season has a lot of moving parts but the show wisely keeps its focus on Homelander. There are a lot of jerks here, but it’s the jerk at the top, the jerk with the most apocalyptic power (like that jerk in Russia), who’s scariest.

The twisted, distorted, decadent fun of "The Curse" is how much you'll recognize but won't like what you see.

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

It leaves some questions hanging and spins on a bit when it comes to trans history, but “The Lady and the Dale” is undeniably a gas.

Madison, a conflicted yet driven narrator-as-victim, makes this a unique piece of true crime filmmaking. He captures the messy darkness that can hide behind seemingly shiny lives. Including his own.

Despite its straightforward plotting and the obvious contrast in cousins, Mortimer lets “The Pursuit of Love” play messy, since that’s how life itself plays.

This isn’t the brash, acid-tongued nerdy Patton Oswalt of the past, this is instead a more domesticated and content creature. Maybe he does indeed love everything. More power to him. Because apparently happiness does not preclude humor.

There are few serious undertones, but lots of lively excitement, despite all the lingering questions, which will assumedly be answered. Have faith.

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.

“Midnight Mass” moves from slow-burn to absolute fireball. Creepy becomes gory and then goes bonkers. The final two episodes of this seven-episode show are both hard to watch and impossible not to watch.

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]

The essential concerns of "The Scheme" actually fit into our current situation. That it does so in an entertaining manner — there are a number of laugh aloud moments here — is partly thanks to director Pat Kondelis, but the real reason this documentary works is because of a charismatic basketball wizard from Saginaw named Christian Dawkins.

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

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

It could all be so cheesy, but somehow it’s not. Credit DuVernay for giving us a sense of Louisiana--and black--life that rises above mere plot manipulations. You believe these people; you care for them. And that’s sweet enough.

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]

By the time you hit the fifth of its eight episodes you may find yourself yelling at the screen in amazed delight.