One of the most fully realized, innovative and flat-out exciting television debuts ever. [4 Nov 2001]

The format of '24' still works beautifully. [27 Oct 2002]

This season's opening four hours are as good as anything the series has ever done.

For five decades, the cop drama -- the good guys vs. the bad guys on the streets of our cities -- has been one of the cornerstones of network television, from the days of "Dragnet" to newer shows such as "Hill Street Blues" and "NYPD Blue" that altered TV. But never, ever has there been a cop drama quite like The Shield, and it could have an impact on pop culture that rivals the best of the police shows that came before it. [12 Mar 2002, p.AE 1]

If you stick with it, you will be rewarded with some of the most compelling, provocative drama ever produced for television.

In the end, The Wire is extraordinary television. It has a richness, a depth and an intelligence that transcend the medium and makes it the kind of superb literature that A.O. Scott found lacking in the world of books.

One of TV's most invigorating and intellectually stimulating series.... provocative television that transcends its genre.

The way these characters interact and relate in the first hour is dazzling and involving without being self-consciously clever.

They could have made for some deadly passages, but thanks to Morgan's writing and a superior cast, these discourses on the nature of evil, and whether the truly evil ever can be restored to humanity, are mesmerizing.

It manages to be a rousing piece of filmmaking, a fascinating character study and a largely accurate presentation of the time when America was born.

[Sorkin's] premier episode for West Wing is a fine piece of work, relying heavily on a presumption that viewers have brains and can absorb a lot in a short period...Rarely has a writer fleshed out so many characters with so few words in such a short period of time. [22 Sept 1999, p.14E]

Boomtown offers hope that it could be one of those rare shows that looks sharp, is sharp and actually has something to say...In lesser hands, it could have been hackneyed or pretentious. But creator Graham Yost is a skilled writer who handles the shifting perspectives and the time jumps with aplomb and without sacrificing characterization. [27 Sept 2002, p.SE1]

The one truly original new show this season and certainly the funniest comedy. It is outrageous. It is odd. It is fresh. It is smart. And, given the track record of such refreshingly sophisticated comedies on network TV, it will be lucky to last three episodes. [31 Oct 2003, p.9E]

House is a rarity for TV: a true anti-hero, someone who's hard to embrace but easy to accept. [15 Nov 2004, p.2C]

This is a cast that jells immediately, hitting on all cylinders from the very first scene.

[It has] a rich mix of sharp observant humor and a sure feel for the family dynamic.

The finest purely American TV film to come along in some time.

This BBC-produced series has some of the best writing and acting you're likely to see this season.

The series is a funny, knowing, sometimes dark, sometimes romantic take on the time just before the power of advertising was fully realized.

The good news is that the folks behind "Buffy" -- notably writer-creator Joss Whedon -- have come along for this new chapter in a vampire's life and, at least for the first episode, have brought their wit, style and keen sense of pop culture with them. [4 Oct 1999, p.1C]

The first hour... is as kinetic as any episode the show has done. [26 Oct 2003]

This year, as in the past, there are all kinds of problems with "24" if you think too hard about what you're watching.

The series returns with its creative six-shooters blazing, its florid language and baroque manner of storytelling still gloriously riveting.

Much of its strength comes from a group of actors so skilled that, like the ensemble on "The Sopranos," they draw us into the lives of their characters even if we don't initially want to go there.

A finely detailed exploration of high school life and small-city dynamics.

The characters are intelligent, complex people you quickly care about, even if -- this being a show about television -- they can be egotistical and self-centered.

It's a mesmerizing tale of legal maneuvering with the distinctive FX moral ambiguity and splendid performances by Close, Rose Byrne ("28 Weeks Later") as her protege and TV veteran Ted Danson as her latest courtroom adversary.

The driving force behind the show's appeal is Ferrera, who gives a pitch-perfect, killer performance in the opening episodes.