It's one of the best new shows from any network this year, and is a total, almost giddy delight from start to finish.

If you loved "The Office" you may have grave doubts that any followup comedy could be as good and as quote-the-dialogue funny. "Extras" is that - another triumph, and a perfect Sunday-night companion piece for "Curb Your Enthusiasm."

In theme and execution, in caliber of performance and level of dramatic tension, "Sleeper Cell" is an impressive, relentlessly gripping drama.

Four hours in, living up to past standards no longer is in question. Setting new ones is what's going on here, as "24," partly by cashing in on our knowledge of and commitment to previous seasons and characters, gets off to its best start ever.

The language, the acting, the themes - everything in "Deadwood" is good as gold. In TV entertainment terms, maybe even better.

Every hour is impressive, surprising and entertaining.

It's bold, different and exciting, with a central character and performance that take your breath away.

"The Nine," starting tomorrow, is the show most people will want to discuss at the office water cooler.

Like the best TV comedies - from "Seinfeld" to "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," and all the way back to "The Jack Benny Program" - "30 Rock" sparkles not just because its central star gets to shine, but because everyone does.

Unlike most serialized dramas of late... "24" continues to do everything right.

As with the Gervais-Merchant "The Office," the more time you spend with the characters in "Extras," the more you feel their pain as well as laugh at their expense.

"The State Within" is challengingly cerebral - but at times, it's also almost painfully visceral. Don't miss it.

The law-firm arena is one of TV's oldest and most familiar genres, but Damages enlivens it by defying expectations.

With strong performances by a cast that includes Alfred Molina, Michael Keaton, Rory Cochrane and Chris O'Donnell, this adaptation of a Robert Ludlum novel reels you right in.

The team behind this series--creator Tom Kapinos from "Dawson's Creek," executive producer Scott Winant from "My So-Called Life" and "thirtysomething," and Duchovny himself--makes it easier for Duchovny by surrounding him with sparkling female characters and talent.

Sameer Asad Gardezi and his writing partners have created something very different in Aliens in America--and something very, very funny.

Pushing Daisies is perfect.

Shrek the Halls is pure delight.

Writers Kirk Ellis and Michelle Ashford do justice to McCullough's narration, and director Tom Hooper has a straightforward style that gives flesh-and-blood dimension to names from history books. Best of all are two extraordinary performances at the center: Paul Giamatti as Adams and Laura Linney as his wife, Abigail.

It's not comfortable. Just compelling.

The real skill and appeal of Mad Men remains in its characters.

Fabulous in every respect.

Archer is the rare show that's in love with its own wordplay and good enough that this love becomes endearing rather than annoying.

Justified doesn't have the bite of "Fire in the Hole," from which the first episode was adapted, but it gets much of the tone--droll, a little weary, frequently tense, sometimes conflicted--never forgetting that at the core, good is challenging evil.

Watching HBO's new Boardwalk Empire is like sitting in your favorite tavern and hearing someone say, "Drinks are on the house." Friends, it doesn't get much better.

The next great "Masterpiece Theater" series has arrived.

Season one set the bar high. Season two clears it.

Whether you've followed the show to this point or not, you can tune in and savor smart TV drama at its best.

If Sunday night's two-hour return episode of Mad Men ended after the first four minutes, it would still put the show in contention to win its fifth straight Emmy as the best drama on television.

It might be 16 of the best upcoming hours on television.

With the bar set at Emmy, Homeland has little room to falter. With this return episode, it doesn't.

[Creator Julian Fellowes] never been afraid to have characters we like do things we don't like. That continues in season three, which finds plenty of new ground even as it inevitably begins treading back over some old.

Every few years, if we're lucky, a new sitcom arrives that is so effortlessly funny, its characters so perfectly realized, that it seems more like a third-season opener than a fresh-from-the-box pilot. "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" was that way; so were "Taxi," "Cheers" and "Frasier," to name a few others...I may be overstating things, but I don't think I am, by placing tonight's Michael J. Fox showcase, ABC's Spin City, in the same league. [17 Sept 1996, p.70]

While many shows that have reached this point in the road have left their creative peak behind, Mad Men shows no such erosion. It still has things it wants to say and it still has the poetry to say them well.

This 10-hour production on World War II in the Pacific is an ambitious, imperfect, intense and often compelling look at combat that gets dirtier and more ragged with each episode.

It has everything you want from such a show: quirky characters, gifted actors, a captivating central story - and questions that leave you not only wanting more, but hungry for it.

Their dance of love and rejection, of giddiness and bitterness, is a warped waltz, and Kingsley and Bening clearly relish every step.

It has a sprawling cast, but even before the pilot is over, because of the clever way it's written, directed and acted, you'll know, and like, every single character.

There's enough classic "Sopranos" action -- some of it involving extreme physical violence -- to remind the average person that where the Sopranos are is not where most of us want to go. Yet at the same time, these episodes repeatedly return to the ways in which the Soprano clan, in its desperate, sometimes twisted and sometimes touching way, seeks to embrace family values.

"Big Love" sounds like a high-concept, comedic, intentionally sensational enterprise. Parts of "Big Love" are sensational, all right. But only in the best sense of the word.

"Thief" brims with strong, potent performances.

Elizabeth is mercurial, powerful, unpredictable - qualities made real, and a bit frightening, because of the intensity with which Mirren commits to the role.

Hilarious.

Any fan of Westerns, or of Duvall, will not be disappointed if this "Trail" is followed.

It just might be the kids, the ones who grow up too soon in the hard world of "The Wire," who steal opening night.

It boldly goes where no man has gone before.

Powerful.

Though the overall tone is light, there's enough darkness in "The Riches," and enough depth in the performances, to make you care about these people - even when you don't totally buy the premise.

It's as quirky, original and funny a comedy as "Universe."

"Raines" not only deserves an audience - with any luck at all, it deserves a renewal, and a firm spot on NBC's fall schedule.

I can't remember the last time I laughed so quickly and loudly at a new TV series.

If you relish the devious darkness of "Dexter" and the wonderful wackiness of "Weeds," you'll love the macabre moodiness of "Meadowlands."

As You Like It is effortlessly entertaining from start to finish.

While it remains to be seen if Gossip Girl will take the plot plunge "The O.C." did after its first season, the beginning here is encouraging.

Chuck sounds like a regrettably derivative idea - a remake of "Jake 2.0." But it's not. Chuck is a blast.

How fitting, then, that the plastic-surgery drama returns Tuesday for its fifth season by dangerously reinventing itself. Dangerously - and totally successfully.

Whichever the case, or whatever combination of the two, watching these 15 aspiring fashion designers compete for their big break is more fun than a new Victoria's Secret catalogue.

The episodes that kick off this last 10-show run don't feel perfect. But they almost always feel intuitively right.

In Treatment feels neither soapy nor formulaic, because of the intensity with which it's presented.

The show itself, however, does much of its best work in the shadows, where nothing is that clear.

Tremendously likable.

Mary doesn't win 'em all, but In Plain Sight is a W for USA.

It remains one of the best.

What matters is how well it's done, and Disney does a lot of things right. It's multicultural. Parents are portrayed as people. The intrapersonal dramas are small enough so viewers will understand them.

Crucial, sometimes hopeful and sometimes worrisome as the larger issues of modern medicine are, Hopkins excels on the human side.

Wright is a diligent reporter, and his material has been whipped into a smooth script under producers David Simon and Ed Burns.

Everything isn't perfect on Burn Notice. Some of the subplots have to be wrapped up a little neatly. But the interplay of the core group has enough ambivalence and shadows to keep the show intriguing.

This will be good news to people who enjoy watching train wrecks in which the engineer accelerates as the precipice nears, which is Grace's signature move.

It plays at its own pace, a little more deliberate than other TV dramas, and its strongest moments are often understated.

It knows exactly what it wants and needs its new hybrid product to be. The hockey fights video of teen romance drama.

Now it must find a way to become more than a routine action drama pitting plucky good guys against amoral, robotic bad guys. It's got the characters who can do that, though, and it's also streamlined its story enough so even a new viewer can figure out what's going on from tonight's back-to-back premiere episodes.

He has always been wrapped a little tight but now he's about to explode, and Chiklis plays it beautifully, making it sound as if he must measure every phrase so that just opening his mouth doesn't release all the frustration in a nuclear blast.

It has good characters and plenty of action. It keeps its science fiction accessible, not abstract. Maybe best of all, it has a great sense of humor.

Shirley MacLaine will get most of the attention for playing fashion legend Coco Chanel in this smart-looking and solidly crafted new Lifetime biopic premiering Saturday night.

The show pays more attention to relationships we care about, hints at a sensible number of new ones that show some promise, and thus doesn't rely on obscure medical mysteries to carry the whole dramatic burden.

A relationship with Julie, which has been percolating for some time, might be just a good cover for Dexter. But it feels more complicated than that, which at the very least reflects good writing and acting.

In general, we like his character, and Reese's. They have a new boss named Kevin Tidwell (Donal Logue), who doesn't start off all good or all bad. Neither does the show. But if it can maintain this level of quality, it's got a shot.

Despite soapy moments, it offers a more honest portrayal of contemporary high school life than a "90210."

Sewell radiates the kind of fascination you can't buy off the rack at the TV drama store, and that alone gives Eleventh Hour a strong start.

Some of the pirates tonight, perhaps inevitably, take on a little of Johnny Depp's Jack Sparrow. But the acting is generally solid and the action is both stirring and, happily, easy to follow.

The show's droll and mostly apolitical humor fits the exaggerated characters well, it's still got a good fast rhythm, and the five major players work well as an ensemble.

As you would expect from a show entering its 19th season, the acting and the pacing are strong and confident. L&O has always been smart enough to stick with what works.

The best moments in Wednesday night's chat between Elvis Costello and Elton John, which are good enough to recommend the show for fans of both men, serve up small but sparkling musical pleasures.

It's a fun ride and Wyle has gotten a little better each time. That's why it's a shame there apparently won't be another.

The show's long break seems to have rejuvenated its story lines, in which intense, rapid-fire action plays out against the backdrop of a complex, methodical geopolitical chess game.

Mainly, underneath the sitcom setups and witty banter, this show moves to the pulse of the ad game. The mystique and power of raw ideas push this story as surely as they push the characters of "Mad Men."

Bryan Cranston's Walter remains one of the best-played characters on television, and he's surrounded by a strong cast that, knowingly or unknowingly, plays off his desperation.

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency takes some time setting itself up Sunday night, but those who stay with it will be rewarded with the funniest and most charming lady detective series since "Murder, She Wrote."

It's still not a show for everyone, since 99% of the action is conversation. But it's intelligent conversation, and the problems of the patients, including Weston, are multilayered and compelling.

Harper's Island is an elaborate horror movie, a twentysomething slasher flick with a really good wardrobe, a first-rate cast and 13 weeks worth of twists and subplots.

Tuesday night’s premiere packs a lot of trash into 42 minutes, between the quips about “jewelry whores” and an almost pathological concern with whose “bubbies” are and aren’t authentic. It plants the first seeds of drama, too.

The likable Pete and Myka are a classic match, bickering until they need to stop and work together, which they do. Artie provides both comic relief and a reminder that their job is difficult and dangerous--point also made by Artie's boss, Mrs. Frederic (CCH Pounder). Not too much new here. But there's nothing wrong with taking the old and doing it well.

To say we actually like any of these characters would be stretching it. But we're drawn into their lives, and as it starts its second season, Sons of Anarchy can't be left out of any conversation about the golden age of cable drama.

Fortunately, someone finally grabs hold of the wheel and steers it back to where it belongs, as one of the great character dramas of contemporary television.

There are a lot of good laughs here, and they are not the result of Larry David changing anything about the show or his character, who is the show. He'd still trip his mother to get the last seat on the bus.

Other complications arise as well, and Laurie is superb in this episode, carrying scenes so strongly that for long stretches the viewer will forget the absence of his regular colleagues entirely.

Admit it: You've probably never considered the potential impact of sleep deprivation on a serial killer. Well, the creators of Dexter have, and the results make for highly entertaining television.

With 19 episodes remaining in this season, there's plenty of time for all this drama to intensify and the characters to sort themselves out as good and not-so-good.