[The audience] will see some wonderful acting, especially from the luminous McDonald as Walter Lee's wife, Ruth. And they will see the movie debut of director Leon, who has helped turn these fine stage performances into convincing movie work, with the help of a screenplay by Paris Qualles that opens up the play into small additional scenes that will be a special pleasure for those who already know the play on stage.

The series maintains its sense of creating a believable universe. Yes, a few characters are explained away without making an appearance (BBQ owner we hardly knew ye) but the show tries hard to reward long-time fans.

Sunday's premiere doesn't advance the story much--shades of early season two--but there's enough zombie carnage that fans of mayhem may not care.

Aside from a few head-scratcher terms (GBH = "grievous bodily harm"), lawyers and judges wearing white wigs while in court (the judge in the premiere looks like she's got a poodle on her head) and occasionally impenetrable accents, Law & Order: UK should be remarkably familiar to fans of the original series.

Wise is one lucky devil. And so are viewers who appreciate lighthearted, supernatural dramas.

Easily the best of ABC's overly similar, large-cast ensemble dramas.

Curb is filled with uncomfortable comedy, as always, but its humor stems from the relatable minutiae of everyday life, not unlike what viewers watched on "Seinfeld."

On screen the show has a soaked-in mood, courtesy of pilot director Michael Dinner, and terrific performances that mark Justified as the best new series premiere so far in 2010.

The series retains its trademark flash forwards that signal murders and/or deceits yet to be revealed. It's one of the show's more operatic touches but this time the revelation, a fantastic and personal driver for stories, feels less like an attempt to manipulate the audience and more rooted in the plausible.

An engrossing, humanizing portrait of the British monarch.

It's not the best cop show ever but it's certainly an above-average effort for fans entertained by quality TV drama.

This first episode has brief nods to the deaths last season of two series regulars--Owen and Toshiko--and it acknowledges advances in the relationship between bisexual Jack and Ianto (Gareth David-Lloyd). But more than anything it's a propulsive action-adventure.

FX's Sons of Anarchy returns to form in its fourth season premiere this week with the action set squarely back in the motorcycle club's hometown of Charming, Calif. Even better, the show's wannabe hero, Jax (Charlie Hunnam), is fighting again, putting forth a plan to get out of his current situation.

The Hour looks fantastic but it moves at a snail's pace that's sure to irk impatient viewers.

An engrossing, detailed military character drama, Generation Kill is a modern-day "Band of Brothers," a warts-and-all account that hits closer to home because it depicts such recent events.

Circus offers equal treatment to performers, stage crew and management, showing how a circus operates and the conflicts that inevitably erupt when 150 people share such close quarters, living out of trailers for months at a time.

The first episode offers a somewhat overwhelming dose of midwifery, to the point that some viewers may wonder how Call the Midwife won't grow tiresome with repetitive birthing stories. The addition of Chummy to the cast in episode two and a broader role for the midwives--in episode three Jenny simply spends time with an elderly man--allows the series to avoid growing stale.

Did the new network screw up the show? Not that I could tell from the incomplete first episode sent for review (no judge's remarks or eliminations).

In a sort of oral history style, a moderator leads them through the show's tumultuous birth, its low ratings, demise and resurrection as the 2005 motion picture "Serenity." But what's most interesting about Browncoats Unite is learning how what was going on behind the camera impacted what viewers saw on TV.

The animated comedy returns in stronger comedic shape in its fourth season.

It's not easy viewing, but this series offers smart, challenging, character-driven drama at its finest.

For this one half-hour, Frasier is high-class entertainment. Grammer does scowling exasperation as well as any actor in America (it's hard to imagine an actor who could get more laughs trading looks with a dog), the fraternal relationship is wonderful, and the work-place material works perfectly (thanks to another fine supporting performance from Peri Gilpin). [16 Sept 1993, p.C7]

Torchwood gets off to a lighter, more rousing start in its second season premiere.

The show creates tension--through atmosphere and characters the audience cares about--and offers so many make-you-jump scares that by the end of an episode, you're left breathless.

The show's trademark time shifts continue, although it's initially unclear if they're connected to the season one story that carries over or to the season two plot.

It's so funny and so well-done on so many levels, the Conchords definitely deserve to be discovered by a wide TV audience.

A grand soap opera of epic proportions, Game of Thrones can be a bit talky in some episodes, but the series draws a viewer in with well-defined characters and a multitude of simultaneous stories whose plot turns are generally unpredictable.

Many viewers probably come to True Blood for the thrills and the romance but it's the humor that allows the show to rise a step above similar TV fare even as it falls short of HBO's loftier efforts.