Fueled by the rock 'n' roll music of the '60s and using "American Bandstand" as a story component, American Dreams is unabashedly hopeful in spite of enough personal crises to spawn a Party of Five revival.

With a show described as an action-comedy-drama-romance, Glenn Gordon Caron may be setting himself up for failure. But the premiere of "Now and Again" is exactly as advertised: dramatic, funny, poignant, stunning and bold. [24 Sep 1999]

The only sparkle comes from Bosworth, who seems to be aware that "Young Americans" might work better as spoof than as semiserious drama. [12 Jul 2000]

The new Wolf Lake -- we're not talking a retooled pilot here, we're talking a complete makeover -- is the real deal: a five-star train wreck, a line of toxic-waste tank cars jumping the tracks and fouling lakes, rivers and swimming pools for miles around. In a word: stinkaroonie.

Bronson Pinchot left Perfect Strangers behind, but he's still addicted to his Balki shtick. As a husband who returns after being presumed dead for a decade, only to find his wife remarried, he shamelessly steals every scene, pillaging the rest of the cast and overloading the action until it sinks in a sea of sophomoric Pinchosity. [01 Sep 1993]

Eminently predictable, monumentally derivative. [09 Sep 1996]

"Rose Red" is a rambling wreck of a film, chopped into a three-night miniseries -- six total hours, if you include the commercials, airing Sunday, Monday and Thursday -- for no discernible reason other than that King is apparently being paid by the hour. In fairness, "Rose Red" is the first major project King tackled after being seriously injured by a hit-and-run driver in 1999. But while that may be a good excuse for King's less-than-great screenplay, is there no one at ABC with the authority to ask for a second or third draft?

King, who wrote this directly for the TV screen, not as a novel, is a master of psychological terror, and Storm of the Century delivers plenty, with several fine performances from a huge cast. At the same time, it is not too violent nor too bloody, just a night too long. [12 Feb 1999]

Oh, there are some jump-up-and-grab-the-cat moments, especially in Monday's installment. But, generally speaking, the people who appear on Jerry Springer are scarier than this version of The Shining. [25 Apr 1997]

A flawed but still above-average sci-fi thriller. [7 May 1993]

Ghosts aren't Kingdom Hospital's biggest problem. What this movie needed was an editor with the ability to exorcise dusty cliches.

The orphans-hang-together story is hokey in places, but it also addresses important issues that rarely come up in usual network fare, like handling money and responsibility for and to each other. [12 Sept 1994]

The prize in this case is complete intellectual engagement. [30 March 2000]

The danger lies down the road, if Titus the creator runs out of real-life fodder for Titus the character. At that point, "Titus" could become a sitcommy caricature of itself. But, in the early going, Titus is on the money when he says, "Anything is funny if the setup is right. [20 March 2000]

The potential problem is that it's dumb funny, not smart funny. This may be what FX is looking for as it tries to become known for something other than reruns of somebody else's shows. But Stack has proven he's considerably smarter than Notch Johnson, having hosted the clever make-believe talk show, "Nightstand with Dick Dietrick" on E! Entertainment Television. [14 March 2000]

Even if all eight continue to be as fresh-scrubbed and downright agreeable as they seem tonight, Making the Band already promises to capture a thrill of victory/agony of defeat ethos that's irresistible to the average dreamer. [24 March 2000]

May be remembered as the dullest example of irreverence since Sister Maurice jabbed me in the nose during my altar-boy days and I bled like an "ER" goner all over my white surplice. [9 March 2000]

The Beat happens to be one of the best shows on any network. [21 March 2000]

Chiklis seems to be enjoying the transition from "Commish" to "Sitcommish," but Daddio isn't likely to go down as the first great family comedy of Y2K. [23 March 2000]

Battery Park shines brighter, thanks to punchier writing and a better ensemble. But it, too, suffers from sitcomitis: the urge to give viewers another version of something they've already seen. [23 March 2000]

The Others makes glaciers look fast. [5 Feb 2000]

Sunday's premiere episode of City of Angels is polished, but it lacks the raw intensity of other Bochco shows like "NYPD Blue," "L.A. Law," "Hill Street Blues," even "Murder One." Pacing is languorous - closer to "Chicago Hope" than "ER" - and anyone who remembers "St. Elsewhere" will quickly realize that one of the show's key characters, the hospital itself, seems underused in City of Angels. [14 Jan 2000]

[The episodes] crackle with all the drama, emotion and intensity that existed during the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo years but rarely emerged from NASA's carefully controlled environment. [2 Apr 1998, p. D1]

So bizarre it must be seen to be disbelieved. [17 Sep 1990, p.D1]

For viewers who scream for quality, this is it...I can't answer for today's teens, but from this geezer-gazing distance, the show is amazingly, wonderfully right. As an added benefit, it's a perfect reminder of why I never again want to be 15. [24 Aug 1994, p.C1]

Tucker tries to be cutting edge by doing away with the studio audience, "Malcolm" style. But sometimes the absence of a laugh track is a bad thing, for if someone shoots a comedy and nobody laughs at all, is it really a comedy? [2 Oct 2000, p.D1]

While we can empathize completely with a grown man's desire to stay connected to his youth, Stern handles it unconvincingly. [28 Sept 2001, p.C1]

Like the shallow exploits of Crockett and Tubbs, Hawaii emphasizes style and flash over substance, powered by the kind of intelligence you'd expect from a coconut.