Traffic

Simply put, "Traffic" is the best non-HBO miniseries to come on TV in years. [25 Jan 2004]

Although the subject matter is familiar, the stories from exec producer Ron Hutchinson are fresh and packed with excitement and stylistic turns. [26 Jan 2004]

The shocker is that this third variation on the formula, made for American TV, is the best yet. [26 Jan 2004]

This Traffic is a lot more realistic than the movie. [26 Jan 2004]

The latest incarnation is, if anything, more complex and interesting than the first two. [25 Jan 2004]

Overall, this is a handsome study of a subject so disturbing and so complex that it could command our attention three times over - and three times more. This Traffic, like the two versions that preceded it, relates to each of us. [26 Jan 2004]

As gripping as Steven Soderbergh's 2000 movie or the 1989 British mini-series. [26 Jan 2004]

Traffic: The Miniseries is ambitious and adult in ways that put most broadcast miniseries to shame. It unfolds with such potent grittiness that it seems, at times, like a documentary. The cast contains many actors who aren't familiar faces on television, so the script's frequent twists pack even more punch. [25 Jan 2004]

Be prepared for a first episode that is mostly setup, and for a few 24-like twists that seem out of place in a story that's meant to be more realistic. The further you go with Traffic, however, the more the story pulls you in. [26 Jan 2004]

Your patience will only be rewarded to a point. Although capably acted and edited, Traffic doesn't hit enough green lights. Instead it stops and stalls too often, particularly during a concluding Part 3 in which you'll see a latter day bad guy a mile away, even in Seattle's fog. [26 Jan 2004]

As the show unfolds over three nights, the taut storytelling never falters, using the visceral oomph of handheld cameras, quick scenes and an unsentimental emotional palette. [26 Jan 2004]

The sets may at times look fake (is that Afghanistan or Vancouver?) and savvy viewers will spot the traitor in Mike's story line early on, but Traffic deftly puts tiny human faces on global problems. [23 Jan 2004]

At times, the storytelling is hopelessly and irritatingly convoluted. But you have to admire the ambition of the filmmakers in tackling both tough subjects and complex themes, a cast that rises to the occasion and the "24"-like kinetic energy. [26 Jan 2004]

The particulars of USA's Traffic are different enough to make it feel like a new viewing experience, as well as a satisfying one. [26 Jan 2004]

It's not as remarkable as [the previous versions], but it beats most of the weekly crime dramas running opposite it this week. [25 Jan 2004]

Because "Traffic" is filmed like "24," you can experience the excitement of a whole season of Fox in just three nights. [25 Jan 2004]

This handsome production takes too long to get going, but eventually generates considerable suspense, even if its parallel plots brush up against each other in only the most glancing fashion.

While the new series isn't Angels in America, neither is it entirely without merit. It, too, is capably acted and competently shot, and its main conceit—that proceeds from the global drug trade serve as liquid capital for global villains—strikes you as less far-fetched than it might have three or four years ago.

While Traffic: The Miniseries is definitely not in a league with its predecessors, there are still a number of things to like. [26 Jan 2004]

When it works, the series effectively portrays the sorrowful human toll the underground trade takes on men and women, parents and children caught up in the struggle either by choice or unseen forces. ... But the weaknesses of this Traffic mirror Soderbergh's stumbles, which is its tendency to brain viewers with the same clumsy force as a Partnership for a Drug-Free America commercial. [24 Jan 2004]