Robert P. Laurence

The Brits just love Ali G, but they have a considerable appetite for rude, politically incorrect satire. Americans may just find him rather peculiar. [21 Feb 2003, p.E5]

Shot in an impressively glossy style, and in wide-screen, Wolf Lake at least looks good, in spite of a lack of the visual effects one might expect in a series like this one. [09 Sep 2001]

Cybill crackles with that kind of wry, brittle, unexpected wit and it could well rejuvenate the sagging CBS Monday night schedule. [01 Jan 1995]

If you are over 12, you can look at it one of two ways: You can regard it as hopelessly silly or, if you're in a silly mood, just go along and enjoy it. [29 Sep 1985]

Like TV teachers back to the time of "Room 222" and beyond, Mr. Rhodes is depicted as the one teacher in the school who really knows what kids need and want, who will constantly have to buck an unfeeling, insensitive bureaucracy and a staff of stodgy, disapproving older teachers. [23 Sep 1996, p.E1]

Offers some deliciously shocking moments, several sequences when you may want to remind yourself: "This is not real. [17 Nov 1990, p.C-9]

ABC really has done a fabulous job in the special effects department, though, particularly as the story reaches its messy, apocalyptic climax, complete with decapitations, oozing blood, stranglings and exploding monsters. Oh. Did I mention that there's quite a bit of violence? But the whole project, photographed in New Zealand (apparently the real Maine doesn't look enough like Maine), is gorgeous to look at and offers some excellent performances, particularly by Marg Helgenberger as Bobbi, the writer who uncovers the strange force, and Jimmy Smits as Gard, a poet and her live-in companion. [9 May 1993]

Spielberg appears to be suffering from movie-industry arrogance, the belief that any old piece of tripe will sell on TV. He certainly would not have tried to film a script like this for one of his mega-movies. Where's Jules Verne when we need him? [12 Sept 1993, p.TV16]

"Ghost Train" was an auspicious start...Spielberg has been working with movies of two or three hours length for a long time, but he can still tell a powerful story in the 25-or-less minutes allowed in a half-hour of commercial television. [30 Sept 1985, p.C-7]

Viewers are not accustomed to finding programs of this caliber on Fox, and they certainly will not expect it right after the tawdry "Melrose Place." But make the effort. You'll be glad you did. [11 Sept 1994, p.TV-17]