The reason the show feels so real at every turn is that it is a perfect balance of dramatic realism and gentle humor.

Fellowes does know how to write some tasty dialogue, especially for Maggie Smith....The other performances are equally winning, but beyond that, you can't help feeling these actors are having a jolly good time with all this overblown fluff. And so will you.

The characterizations are carefully nuanced in Southland, and the performances are equal to the quality of writing.

Abbott makes sure the quirkiness of the Gallaghers is firmly rooted in three-dimensional, credible characterization. You never feel a bit of inauthenticity here.

The performances are superb, especially that of Sewell in the title role. He underplays the part to sublime perfection, making Aurelio Zen one of the most attractive and fascinating TV cops in years.

The ensemble cast is terrific and the direction lean and perfectly pitched at every turn.

Well, subject matter doesn't get more profound than life and death, but, thanks to McCarthy's writing and the two veteran actors, we're completely drawn into the discussion, so much so that we're taken by surprise as McCarthy careful injects another possible interpretation of the play's set-up.

The performances are precise and beautifully detailed, as are the characterizations in Thomas' script. Fans of the original series will see certain echoes in some of the characters in the sequel, but the echoes are faint enough to allow us our memories of, among so many others, Rachel Gurney and David Langton as the Bellamys, Angela Baddeley as the cook and Gordon Jackson as Hudson, who was so much more than just the butler.

Even without the original source material, Cinema Verite offers provocative insight into how far we've become lost in the reality-TV wilderness in the past 40 years.

The emotional authenticity of Downton Abbey continues to make it a classic.

The series commands our attention because of how it was conceived by Neil Cross, who continues to write masterful scripts.

Wilfred works on many levels, something that may not become apparent until after you stop laughing.

The characters bring us into the action and, once there, we want to follow every development.

The Hour stands perfectly well on its own merits. It's so good that other shows should start looking to it as something to emulate.

Sherlock is an electric marriage of great writing with great performances.

If Kirkman, writer/show runner Glen Mazzara ("The Shield") and the rest of the team continue doing what they're doing--and following the template Darabont created--The Walking Dead can have a bloody long life.

Person of Interest separates itself from the gimmick pack, not only because of superbly nuanced characterization and writing but also because of how it engages a post-9/11 sense of paranoia in its viewers.

A genuinely funny and immediately likable sitcom.

There are a couple of bush-league moments in the show....[But]those are minor quibbles, made even more insignificant by the extraordinary performances of Danes, Lewis, Patinkin and Baccarin.

When you have a story as thoroughly involving as this one, evoking both "King Lear" and "Citizen Kane," and when the performances are this good, Boss almost directs itself.

Great historical documentaries not only enlighten us about the past, but tell us things about our own times as well, either directly or implicitly. Prohibition, the latest project by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, states the implicit links between the passage of the 18th Amendment and contemporary politics so loudly, you'd have to be drunk on bathtub gin not to get the message.

The portrait of Belafonte that emerges from the film is also the portrait of the times of his life, the times of the nation's life in the past 60 years.

Like "Justified," it's impossible to point to one element as the primary reason it works so well.

Based on the premiere, the season may wind up being the show's best so far, but even if it doesn't, Mad Men beats almost everything else on TV.

"Deadwood" fans already know that Milch doesn't make it easy for viewers to get a purchase on his series, but for those willing to do the work, Luck, pays off.

A gorgeous new documentary series on the Discovery Channel.

The series is so pervasively cynical--and, by the way, brilliantly funny--it has the potential of making any viewer feel his or her life isn't so bad after all.

It's as great as ever.

[It's so] good you can't help wondering why no one thought of it before, a compelling mix of credible real-life melodrama with a fictionalized approximation of what it takes to get a Broadway show from the idea stage to opening night.

Awake grabs you, unnerves you, breaks your heart and even makes you work a little.

One of the many virtues of Buirski's film is that it doesn't hit viewers over the head with the parallel between the Lovings' case and the debate over same-sex marriage. The parallel is simply there, to be identified and considered by the viewer.

Game Change is graced by three extraordinary performances in the leading roles, beginning with Moore's portrayal of Palin, which is both complex and entirely credible.

Girls represents an exciting moment in television history because, like a handful of other shows (MTV's "Awkward," most notably) it not only makes great use of the medium but has the creative guts to realign it for a new century and a new generation.

Everything you fear might be true about how our government works--or doesn't--becomes hilarious fodder for Veep's biting satire.

Sunday's season premiere sustains the quality of the first season, continues the story line in a completely credible way, and then opens up even more possibilities for future plot developments.

Weight pulls no punches, spares neither the multibillion-dollar food and advertising industries nor public officials for not only failing to fix the problem but actually making it worse, and essentially writes a prescription for the nation's health and economic future that we ignore to our peril.

What's remarkable about this quartet, and why Push Girls proves that reality shows can actually be intelligent and engaging, is that in most ways the women's lives are in fact not all that remarkable.

They [Rayna and Juliette], and the other characters, are anything but [one-dimensional cliches], thanks not only to the writing but also to the performances of the colorful and capable cast.

Louie is the gold standard of contemporary TV comedy.

From the two new episodes made available to critics for review, it's clear that the quality of Breaking Bad will continue undiminished.

The entire constellation of impetuous, ambitious, determined and insecure young urbanites in Girls is realigning in the new season, but at no point in the four episodes sent to critics for review do you feel that any of it is artificial.

Copper has much to recommend it: action, passion and great performances arising from an exploration of classic American themes.

The series is so good that it isn't seriously harmed by its few minor flaws. Much of the dialogue is brilliantly written, revelatory and credible.

At every turn in this heart-wrenching series of films, we are reminded that these men and women are human, no matter how robotic they may seem as they rapidly snap off shots of death and tears.

The performances, the writing, the intelligence that goes into the script and the characters--all reasons for welcoming the start of a new season of The Hour.

The dialogue in the first two episodes of the new season crackles with brilliance.

Self-delusion can grow fairly tiresome, in life and on TV, but what makes Amy sympathetic is that even though she almost convinces us at times that her personal fairy tale actually makes sense, we are always aware of her basic decency and, more important, her vulnerability.

There isn't a better cop show on TV right now than Southland.

The new season is not only as smart and absurdly funny as ever, but also reflects the rapid changes in how we watch television.

Parade's End is a television masterpiece.

Top of the Lake is Jane Campion and her cast at the top of their game.

Mamet is very much on his game in Phil Spector, but so is every member of his cast, including Al Pacino as Spector and Helen Mirren as attorney Linda Kenny Baden: Watching these two titans of acting work is half the fun.

Don Draper's journey has been and remains maddening, in a very good way as far as what makes a great TV show.

Michael Douglas is astonishing.... Damon is just as good, somehow convincing us that he's far younger than he is in real life and artfully keeping us guessing about Thorson's true motivation as he worms his way into Liberace's life.

The art of war takes on new meaning in Rick Beyer's mesmerizing documentary.

Whitechapel may not reinvent the police procedural, but it's great fun, and the third episode is a heart-stopping race against time.

Their unwavering obliviousness to what may be happening in the world actually makes their accidental commentary on current events even funnier.

It definitely has its moments.

All in all, it's astounding how many plot elements can be packed into 90 or so minutes and how well all of them can be resolved in the hands of a competent writer like Stephen Churchett.

Directed by Jon Alpert and Ellen Goosenberg Kent, Wartorn is convincing on a number of levels.

This may not be Martin Scorsese's most sophisticated film, but it actually takes a smart filmmaker to understand that, with a subject like Fran Lebowitz, the best thing you can do is let her talk.

Lights Out may not reach the level of "The Sopranos," but it has enough going for it to at least earn a shot at the title.

Being Human works better than it should because of skillful writing, often laced with wry humor, and the very deep well of plot possibilities in the idea that three "monsters," as they call themselves, can pass for "human."

Skies has enough going for it to appeal even to those who don't think they like sci-fi.

While some plot elements and characters have been imported intact from the United Kingdom, the American show makes its own statement and will move away from its British roots in future episodes.

While there are somewhat foreseeable plot developments (Cameron's falling for Melanie, but she's hooked on Dutch), the series does have an agreeable cast and clever writing, and perhaps enough of both qualities to go the distance.

The trick to Archer is that you have to listen--and watch--carefully. What can be seen and heard on the surface is outlandish, but the real genius of the show is to be found in its seemingly offhand sight gags and throwaway lines.

The scary parts of the show really are scary and the actors are all appealing.

Dinner isn't quite ready to take its place in the Brit-com hall of fame, but it's good for a laugh or three.

The Borgias, created by filmmaker Neil Jordan ("The Crying Game"), is the better of the two [The other is "Camelot"], thanks largely to Irons, a strong supporting cast and sophisticated production values.

For the most part, [Haynes] succeeds because he embraces the story's excesses instead of feeling they need to be swept under a metaphorical rug.

They bring David himself on as a kind of nudge to the ribs, as if to say, "Of course we know we're ripping off Larry's show." But what the hey? David's clearly in on the joke and is well paired with Reiser as the two of them riff off each other over lunch.

The material works more often than not because the guys are completely shameless, which makes them difficult to dislike.

What truly makes the miniseries, though, are the performances in general and that of Garai in particular. The entire story and theme turn not only on contrasts but also on character evolution, which demands precision and nuance from the cast.

Several recent documentaries have tried to help the rest of the world understand the realities of being transgender, but, ironically, one of the better efforts does it well in spite of the fact that it focuses on the offspring of one of the most famous couples in pop culture.

Angry Boys is an equal-opportunity offender, but its infectiously juvenile humor, not to mention its secret heart and, of course, the appeal of Chris Lilley's multiple impersonations, make it very hard to stay angry for long.

With a cast this big, though, and plots this complicated, it can be a challenge to keep up. Then again, if you're willing to do the work, it more than pays off.

Despite the complexity of the subject, it's impossible not to get the gist of what went on in 2008, thanks to the focus on the players and the actors who do the playing.

Don't try too hard to make sense of it: Covert Affairs is simply--and simple--fun.

Unlike other documentaries, Gettysburg is short on archival still photography from the battlefield, but that's because, for once, it isn't needed. The re-enactments are dramatic and horrifically convincing all by themselves.

Despite what we know about his troubled childhood, Fischer remains enigmatic.

It's unlikely that any TV drama filmed in Toronto could ever come close to the bloody reality of war, but ABC's new series, Combat Hospital, makes a pretty compelling attempt at doing so.

Revenge has enough meaty characters and plot possibilities to keep it going for years. And it just may last long enough to explore them all.

The performances and characterizations are all top-notch, and the action sequences, especially in the first episode, are crisply directed.

Pelosi's film may not tell "the other side of the story" directly, but if it does nudge us to consider these issues, viewing the film becomes more rewarding.

The life of an everyday American high school girl has rarely been rendered with such sly and funny precision as it is in MTV's aptly named Awkward.

Once Upon a Time is both family-friendly and smart enough to win viewers of any age and level of sophistication.

The performance quality of the show is matched only by the sharpness of the writing.

By making us wonder what Steinem doesn't declare, we can come to a greater understanding of the complexities of the woman herself, but only if we are willing to venture beneath the surface.

It opens into a fairly entertaining ensemble show about beautiful, bright people.

Broke is rich with laughs, warmth and credibility. The performances by the two lead actresses are instantly winning, both individually and as they play off each other.

The changes enhance the comic balance between the reality-based humor of a young couple coping with their new baby and their evaporating youth, and the "SNL"-sketch-like satire of a powerful and powerfully self-involved talk show hostess.

The show is great fun, and clearly the star herself is having fun in the lead roles.

Even if it isn't the scariest series ever, Horror Story still has tasty performances by several characters, chief among them Lange and Conroy.

If Amy really was enlightened, there'd be no show, but the fact that she's wearing her enlightenment like an ill-fitting coat gives the show both its comedic and plot trajectories.

The films work individually, of course, but gain even greater meaning and emotional strength in context with each other.

The writing is juvenile, hormonal and often pretty dang funny.

The truth is, it takes a very big man to laugh at himself, and a very good actor to get us laughing along with him as well.