A critic for this paper once declared "The Wire" "the greatest dramatic series ever produced for television" and as the fourth season gets under way Sunday night, there's no reason to quibble with that assessment.

Bigger, brassier and even more thrilling, Homeland has boosted the stakes.

A stunning, brilliant, terrifying launch to TV's best series.

One of TV's best shows, comedy or drama, because this series often succeeds as both.

True-blue fans will swoon. Everything they - you - love about this classic is laid out, banquet-like, Sunday night - the fashions, style, elegance, writing, characters, precision, beauty and most of all, the humor.

Character--as the old saying goes--is a long-standing habit, and their habits remain very much intact. The same could be could be said of Justified.

Sunday and the next three episodes are superb while the rhythms and beats of the story are very nearly hypnotic. Nothing here feels wasteful or cheap.

Stunning, beautiful, hypnotic, engrossing, spectacular... That oughta do it here as well, except Frozen Planet unexpectedly adds another word: Unprecedented.

Still funny and still not for everyone. Louie remains very much a taste that you either acquire--or don't.

Yes, "Deadwood" was incomprehensible last season. It is incomprehensible this season. Fans will be delighted.

Lean, laconic, precise and as carefully word-crafted as any series on TV, there's pretty much nothing here to suggest that the third season won't be as good as the second--or better.

This show--still TV's best--remains utterly true to itself.

Like "Mad Men," Wife has an obsessive attention to detail; it's a hurricane of detail, in the visual touches, legal patter and the actors' unspoken flourishes. Nothing seems extraneous or out of place. Also like "Men," this show cares as much about silence as words, or that which isn't said (also a form of eloquence).

A reasonably competent soap.

The most entertaining--and beautiful--new series on TV this fall.

TV's best (but do your homework before diving in).

Mad Men is back and back in all the right ways--the humor, the writing, the period details, and best of all, the flawless attention to these characters and their cluttered interior worlds.

I think I comprise a third type--a wary Weeds fan who's happy it's back but hardly ecstatic.

Besides the fine acting, writing and an attention to period detail that borders on the obsessive, what makes this show so ambiguous and pleasantly iridescent is narrative tension

Quirky, funny, smart, wonderful acting, surprise cameos by cherished actors (Steve Harris, "The Practice"), and a one-two punch by Chandler and Britton that is unbeatable. What's not to love?

Terrific start to the 6th.

This is a spectacular new series, with some stunning performances--Pierce, Peters, Zahn, in particular--and gorgeous music.

Extremely funny and extremely raunchy (consider yourself warned), but Dunham's a major talent.

Mad Men, as ever, remains a solid and beautifully produced TV program. Best of all, this episode promises a compelling third season. Fans will find much to savor.

A harmless and mostly fun little sitcom.

As with his earlier shows, "Hopkins 24/7" (2000) and "Hopkins" (2008), Wrong has structured these stories masterfully. Nothing seems wasted, nothing is superfluous. As a result, the hugely important work these people do is honored in every shot.

Modern Family is good. Better than good. Really good. O'Neil--dry and wonderful as ever--and Vergara (considerably less dry) are a winning combination.

From this, you will gain a keen understanding of what lies beneath those endless rows of markers at any military cemetery. This is an honest and often magnificent tribute to the 1st Marine Division.