No one will confuse episodic The Tommyknockers with The Twilight Zone. It relies more on cheap effects than imagination or characterizations. Even the setting is counterfeit; this New England is actually New Zealand. [8 May 1993, p.G1]

The Stand is far superior to other miniseries based on King books -- IT and The Tommyknockers -- but at twice their lengths, it's a demanding, sometimes confounding epic. The first six hours unfold, oh so slowly, as an elaborate prelude to the rousing final two hours. ABC is betting you'll still be around by Thursday night, to see divine intervention, spectacularly hellish makeup and an explosive finale. [8 May 1994, p.1]

Leaving aside King's peculiar nostalgia for the Middle Ages, the two-hour premiere of Kingdom Hospital, though a little long on weird affectations and a little short on story line, establishes an appropriately spooky atmosphere at the hospital and deftly sketches its main characters. [3 March 2004, p.4E]

The print ads for The Commish go: "Loves pasta. Sings opera. Nails scum. . . . A police commissioner you gotta love." Viewer, you don't gotta at all. The Commish and ABC should go nail themselves. [28 Sept 1991]

The cornball Walker, Texas Ranger looks like a parody early on; it has the strangest camera angles since Batman. Soon enough, it's clear this is just another violent show filled with cartoonish villains, helpless victims and a taciturn martial arts hero who lets his hands do the talking. The low point comes when a rapist ogles his victim a second time and confides to pals, "Just chalk it up to hormones." [21 Apr 1993, p.E7]

Party of Five is easily Fox's best new series this season...The young actors, especially Wolf, give heartfelt performances, and when they talk about their departed parents, the pain comes through. There are some Fox touches -- the knockout new nanny, for one -- but Party of Five is far from being a life-without-parents fantasy. [12 Sept 1994, p.C1]

Television has rarely been so bold as to present a series like Wonderland, which is intelligently written and acted with conviction and passion. [30 March 2000, p.2E]

Unlike The Real World, Making The Band has far more hopeful, giddy moments where you can't help but root for these guys to make it. [24 March 2000, p.1E]

Fortunately, there's still a lot of substance. With help from some of the Homicide crew - Detective John Munch has a cameo - Fontana and Levinson give The Beat depth through interesting and often quirky subplots. [20 March 2000, p.1C]

The result is a testament to Scorsese's considerable story-telling skills. With no narration at all, No Direction Home is an intricate yet seamless account of an elusive subject whose own friends call him a shape-shifter. [26 Sep 2005, p.E3]

Cop Rock is neither a realistic police drama nor a convincing musical. It's an experiment that's rarely arresting. [26 Sep 1990, p.D1]

I like this show, but am not bowled over by it, and I couldn't imagine racing home each week to see it. Kellie Martin had more compelling adventures on "Life Goes On". As for oft-invoked comparisons to "Catcher in the Rye", forget it. [25 Aug 1994, p.G1]

Tucker, despite having Katey Sagal from "Married . . . With Children" as Aunt Claire, plays as a weak copy of Malcolm. [2 Oct 2000, p.1E]

You could do worse than check this out. [26 Sept 2002, p.E1]

There's no depth in Bodwatch -- er, Baywatch. It is what it is -- a day at the beach. Hunks 'n' Babes with Bodacious Bods, Sullying Sand 'n' Surf with Silly Stories. [22 Sept 1989, p.1]

Swift pacing energizes the movie, and Schulman writes compelling scenes for the large cast. Many actors, who have only one scene to make an impression, meet the challenge splendidly. [11 Sept 1993, p.G1]

Well, call me a party pooper, but I was bored to tears by the thing. It's just the type of silly gimmick that I'm quite susceptible to. Yet I found ALF shrill, predictable and not in the least bit funny. I'm pretty sure that's because it is shrill, predictable and not in the least bit funny. [22 Sept 1986, p.C1]

Given the gamut of Lois' emotions, it's no wonder Teri Hatcher can't get a handle on her character. For his part, the handsome but wooden Dean Cain won't make anyone forget Christopher Reeve as the Man of Steel -- not even the scene in which the hunky former pro football player wears only a towel. He's just So-So-Man. [12 Sept 1993, p.1]

The Flash is one of the most pleasant surprises of the fall season. It's one of CBS' best new shows, and it is spectacular- looking. [20 Sept 1990, p.G1]

What's missing is a soul, a reason to care what happens to the characters. Carter also fails to give viewers enough critical insights to fully understand the complex premise.[8 Oct 1999, p.1E]

It is so good and bad all at once that you just have to watch it. Remember, it's based on a comic book. [11 June 2001, p.2C]

It sounds smarmy and cliched. But Hidden Hills is really a wry meditation on stale, overworked marriages that's both funny and insightful. [24 Sept 2002, p.E1]

Aside from the dismal possibility that Braugher's return to television could be a short one, should Gideon's Crossing fail, it would be a critical blow to shows that dare to be deep. [10 Oct 2000, p.2E]

It's standard fare, not worth staying home for. [26 Jan 1989]

With an attitude that is nine parts Northern Exposure and one part Twin Peaks, Maximum Bob qualifies as one of the best hourlong shows that ABC has uncorked since NYPD Blue. [4 Aug 1998, p.1C]

Credit is due here for crafting a show in which the relationships are at least as important as the chase scenes. [20 Sep 1985]

The China Beach premiere has its ups and downs. The downs are mostly in its too pat and predictable dramatic choices. It takes the easy road too often in its resolutions. Its bag of storytelling tricks is trite, undermining a greater potential that might have been tapped with less telegraphed, less easy calls. But there is much to admire as well. The acting and characterizations are uniformly splendid. [26 Apr 1988]

The show reduces some of its actors, notably Cole, to stereotypical shtick. There are too many characters and too many emotional shifts, but not enough depth. Viewers who visit the neighborhood of Brewster Place won't get close to its people. [1 May 1990]