David Bianculli

Cohen is talented, but there's nothing he's doing that wasn't done better, and more creatively, by Andy Kaufman decades ago. [21 Feb 2003]

It's got a creepy moment or two, and fleeting glimpses of solid performances from supporting players James Cromwell and Andre Braugher, but most of it just plods along. [18 June 2004, p.150]

Be bored. Be very bored....Stephen King's Rose Red, the new six-hour ABC miniseries written by King, is a haunted-house story that's told so slowly, it's almost inert. [24 Jan 2002]

What really destroys "The Langoliers," though, is when the langoliers finally appear, looking and acting like a pack of crazed, oversize Pac-Men. Their evil intention is to literally chew the scenery, but Pinchot has already beaten them to it and the special effects are more laughable than terrifying, as if the dinosaurs in "Jurassic Park," after all that buildup, had looked like big Barneys. Until that point, "The Langoliers" is fun but that's not quite enough. If you're curious, though, catch it now, because it's a safe bet this miniseries won't ever be an in-flight movie. [12 May 1995]

By the time the first episode of Kingdom Hospital is over, viewers are likely already to have checked out. [2 March 2004, p.79]

In all cases, imagination is sorely lacking. It's like visiting a world just like ours, except that everyone is named Charles! Wow! How cool is that? Not very.[21 March 1995]

Included in the opening hour: a scene so harrowing and unexpected, you won't soon forget it. [30 March 2000]

The problem with NBC's new animated comedy series, "God, the Devil and Bob," isn't that it's too irreverent, or not irreverent enough. Despite its rich premise and wonderful cast, the problem with TV's newest prime-time cartoon is that it just isn't funny enough. [7 March 2000]

The feel is "Barney Miller," but the jokes and characters aren't. Gary David Goldberg, of "Family Ties" and "Spin City" fame, is behind this sitcom, so it's fair to hope for and expect very good things...In the case of this pilot, though, you don't get them. [23 March 2000]

"No Direction Home" is so thoroughly captivating, with so much rare and new material - fresh interviews, as well as vintage film and TV footage - that it's frustrating that the focus is so narrow. [26 Sep 2005, p.87]