What The Lost Tapes adds, beyond all the terrifying footage, is a plethora of perspectives and insights.

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.

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]

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

It was before reality TV, so it was before reality TV became all hot tubs and hook ups. It was about young people discussing issues that matter to them in a frank manner, and "Homecoming" is positioned as the same people — now not-so-young — discussing those same issues and how they matter to them today. The idealism of the project then is what makes this concept, and this cast, worth revisiting today.

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

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.

Handled correctly, this has “Lost” potential.

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

Family Tree is addictively silly stuff.

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.

The balance of action and story is nimble, and in the series' first episode — only one of six episodes was provided for review — seeds are planted for conflict, team building and drama of the personal and global variety.

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]

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

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.

The real cement here is two Oscar-winning actors painting a portrait of aging lovers staring down their eventual demise. There is no greater dilemma or darkness. And “Night Sky,” to its credit, knows and shows this.

The set-up isn’t unique, of course. There have been numerous shows about doctors and lawyers and such having to fight their way to success in a crowded field. The difference is those characters usually do something redeeming along the way. These people are just plain greedy and flippantly vile. Which doesn’t mean they can’t make for a guilty pleasure. And they’re a varied lot.

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

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]

The nice thing is it pretty much works. Oh, there’s a great deal of silliness and some false notes — it is a ghost story, after all and some explanations add up while others just drift away. But in the end “Bly Manor” dares to make at least some sense (which is likely blasphemy to Henry James fanatics).

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

It’s an intentionally delicious and messy show, born to be binged, although a lot of the name-dropping – Tallulah Bankhead, Noel Coward -- may float right by some. No matter, its glittery blend of the tacky, corny and controversial, while lacking real weight, is an escapist balm.

“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.

“Chloe” is an intriguing tangle of lies and obsession, a well-made striptease of a show that slowly reveals all over six episodes of cringey psychological suspense. Heads don’t explode, super-heroes don’t save the day and nobody hires a hitman. Instead “Chloe” is that rarest of birds, an adult drama, albeit one stuffed with odd turns and awkward encounters.

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.

It’s “Veep” at a car company. You could do worse. The cast is strong and the characters become clear in the opening episodes. ... Early episodes are a bit loose, but creator Justin Sptizer knows workplace comedies.

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

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.