Diane Werts

A grabber from the start, quickly moving beyond the sci-fi label to uncharted drama territory. Its tale - executive produced by Francis Ford Coppola - takes place on Earth and in the present day, which should help attract sci-fi-resistant viewers. Even better, its situations are viscerally relatable, hardly as removed from our daily lives as so many other out-there allegories. [11 July 2004, p.11]

Rarely does a TV series premiere as pitch-perfect as "Nightmares & Dreamscapes." But often does a second installment deflate as disappointingly as the subsequent second hour of this summer anthology of mystical imagination adapted from the stories of Stephen King...While the bubble doesn't burst completely, the bravura filmmaking of tonight's first hour sets a standard that's difficult to match on a regular basis, much less in the hour that airs immediately after. It's a "wow!" that's likely to stand as one of TV's most mesmerizing hours of the year. [12 July 2006, p.B21]

It's pretty stock stuff. [23 March 2000]

SPOOKY stuff happens in The Others. Windows open by themselves, ghosts spring out of walls, eerie sounds wail. Yes, indeed, it's spooky. It's spooky how script writers think this sort of stuff is actually effective after so many years of seeing these cues so many times in so many "horror" movies. [4 Feb 2000]

While "No Direction Home" can't turn the American Mastery trick of telling us what makes a cultural titan tick, it probably gets deeper inside the Dylan mystery than any such portrait is likely to. [26 Sep 2005, p.B17]

Thwarted by same-old sitcom scripting, full of adults’ childish bickering and laden with “irony” setups. ... The saving grace for the show, as for Alex, becomes his family. Through the first three episodes, they’re a nicely knit group with real chemistry and real concerns vs. the podcasts-for-dummies approach to his workplace.

There’s a thing called chemistry, which is little evident in the first few episodes here. Fischer and Hudson seem fine sparring, but not all that connected.

The series works overtime to place itself in a “real” world and treat faith earnestly, yet undercuts itself by resorting to every sitcom trick in the TV book.

One Day at a Time doesn’t make us laugh so much as let us laugh. Not to say there aren’t some sitcom-y jokes, but they tend to feel real. ... Engaging cast, smart writing, laugh-out-loud execution.

If you last the entire pilot, and your head doesn’t hurt, you’re a sturdier viewer than I.

The first two episodes demonstrate a firm grasp on both story and style. ... Cunningly provocative project.

There’s promising humanity to The Gifted, even in the hyperactive pilot directed by “X-Men” movie auteur Bryan Singer

The supernatural action unfolds through special effects like some live-action cartoon, with maybe-aliens literally losing their heads. That matches their Fox Sunday night surroundings--but with sneaky bits of sentiment sprinkled in.

Inhumans squanders its Marvel back story (largely unclear here), to come off silly and stilted (in the hands of “Iron Fist” showrunner Scott Buck), as it plods through a cheap parade of cliches in writing, design and production. Despite special effects up the wazoo, it’s utterly devoid of magic or wonder.

It feels to me like CBS wanted a military heroism series, and the producers provided one, and here it is.

Capable enough time-killer, but nothing compelling.

It’s emotion that moves the story forward. Highmore’s face and attitude. Schiff’s faith and moral weight. Thomas’ curiosity-generosity. That sets it apart from “House.”

This Tick moves like a movie, each episode more a chapter in an extended tale than a half-hour payoff.

Even vintage home movies from unexpected sources-- Oakland’s black community, a Kentucky small-town newspaper--conjure a relatable sense of life being lived, in a continuity that clearly flows through us today.

The pilot hour delivers with blood-soaked gusto. The second hour gets more amusing. And wit can be the saving grace for casual viewers of the grindhouse genre.

The show spurts onto the air like ketchup spewed from an oversqueezed bottle, plopping frenzied mayhem all over everything.

Taken exercises its thriller muscles effectively, dashing between locations and speed-introducing people as props to help/harm Mills while he races the clock to save the day.

From the setup to the incidentals, People of Earth is packed with humor and heart forever revealed in clever ways.

Yet, for all its jam-packed insanity, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend can be one of the tube’s most perceptive and moving shows.

If only I were 12 again. The tween in me would have loved the scruff and the cute and the “wild” antics.

Conviction is so into overkill, it’s hard to tell what to take seriously.

Driver['s character] is so self-righteous in her advocacy, so insensitive to her impact, that a little of her goes a long way. And there’s more than a little of her here.

Pitch is doggedly inspirational. And despite its hackneyed moments, the pilot introduces enough meaty stuff to warrant a wait-and-see response. It’s a fresh concept amid TV’s sea of cookie-cutter franchises.