"Saved by the Bell" is a throwback that looks forward, embracing the past while living in the now. And it shows that you can teach the old school some new tricks.

When the dramatic scenes work, especially in the opening episode directed by Duvernay, there’s a real family feel. But later episodes can come off too earnest and scripted, veering toward the afterschool special feel of yore. ... But this series is about spirit and perseverance and cultural chasms and race. It’s the sort of thing that should be shown in schools and probably will be, to the benefit of all.

There’s no question Hollywood loves to look at itself and a TV show about a TV show is more than a bit indulgent. But audiences also like to look at Hollywood and “Reboot” at least manages to be witty and entertaining.

To be sure, there are some fine performances, notably by Olivia Wilde as Richie’s former Warhol girl wife; Juno Temple as an ambitious gofer who wants to work her way up; and Ray Romano as Richie’s beleaguered right-hand man. But they’re mostly drowned in the confusion as the show veers from drama to farce to mostly poor musical interludes.

"jeen-yuhs" is a vital document on how we got this far.

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.

While still elaborate, feels a bit slight, tepid and drawn-out compared to the first season. For many it won’t matter — look at those gowns! But let’s be frank: Next season, turn up the heat.

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

The show is mostly a slow-burn look at Kyle as he tries to make sense of all the damage that seems to follow--and grow--around him. He may yet turn to prayer.

If you make it through the messy early episodes, “League” turns out to be a sweet show and downright wholesome in its own way.

"Pam & Tommy" doesn't make fun of them or their relationship, but shows it for what it is: a match made in the stars. James' physical transformation is astounding (she's aided considerably by prosthetics), and she finds the warmth within Pam, the naïve small town girl with dreams that perhaps outweighed her talents. Stan is clearly going for it in the role of Tommy, and he softens some of the rocker's harder features and less desirable traits; he makes him lovable.

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.

"Peacemaker" is guilty of taking itself not seriously enough. At least it has a sense of humor, too bad it's limited to the level of limericks scrawled on the inside of bathroom stalls.

“The Third Day” runs haywire in so many directions the fear is it might pull a “Lost” and amount to nothing. But by the third episode it’s clear that’s not the case; writer Dennis Kelly ties it all together in wondrous fashion and then lets the firestorm burn on. It’s glorious stuff.

This four-part documentary about the theft of 13 works of art from Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in 1990 is a rambling if entertaining search for the possible culprits in a major real-world whodunit.

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

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.

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]

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

Unfortunately, the positives are overwhelmed by so many disjointed things going on at once. For the most part it doesn’t matter that these are 20-year-olds playing 14. What matters is there’s simply too much that feels like plot fodder for a show stuffed with too many characters.

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.

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.

"Yellowstone" has always been the kind of show that it seems like Sam Elliott should be in — in the series, Forrie J. Smith plays a senior ranch hand who looks like he could be Elliott's stunt double — so it's fitting that Sheridan has found a way to weave him into "Yellowstone's" DNA. "1883" is expansive enough to stand on its own, but its ties to the original series give it grounding. We know where it's eventually headed, but that doesn't take away from the journey of getting there.

Pitch has a simple enough premise: It follows the first female player in major league baseball. Interesting. But what do you do with it? That’s the question that lingers over this new Fox show, which is undoubtedly timely but also seems somewhat dramatically limited. ... The series wisely looks at the isolation that’s resulted from Ginny’s single-minded pursuit of baseball.

Cavill remains fine as Geralt, with his absurd physique and long white hair. He has mastered the art of the humorous grunt and it’s still fun to watch him handily slaughter dozens of men at a time or take on some comic-book looking creature. But there was an audacity to this show’s first season that now seems buried beneath plot complications.

It’s all very efficient, well-made television, but just as it’s lacking in fun it’s lacking in fire.

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]

The new "Fargo" isn’t terrible — it’s loaded with talent, the story rolls along, there’s lots of nice dialogue. But it’s just not near as good or unique as the previous three seasons. Great shows breed great expectations.