A championship season
By Jonathan Storm

The Series is over. Now click off the news, start navigating the new TV week, and discover some of the finest network comedy and drama ever.

It's a well-kept secret, but these are golden days in broadcast television, with more truly funny comedies and provocative, emotionally compelling dramas than ever before. But with the unprecedented chaos of the last eight weeks, it has been difficult to keep up.

TV fans have been thoroughly confused: Just as most new shows were ready to premiere, the networks shredded their entertainment schedules while news dominated the airwaves. The World Series was moved back, forcing more dislocation.

Now most of the new series have debuted, and the old ones have returned with new episodes. Five shows - one-seventh of the class of hopeful freshmen - have already flunked out, which thins the ranks a little.

Unfortunately, programmers do the audience little service by clumping the good shows together, pitting our old friends against each other, or stacking the best of the new against worthy veterans.

They've crammed the first two hours of Tuesday night fuller than Yankee Stadium during the Series. Sunday - once a reeking landfill of dippy, drippy TV movies and ancient feature films - has been completely cluttered with quality.

What follows is a critical road map for the week, one man's suggested route for viewers through the broadcast networks. The recommendations recognize that there might be occasional detours for those with different tastes, but they do not include mere time-passers. Sometimes - all of Saturday night, for instance - even a rabid TV fan can't find anything worth watching without turning to cable.

[snip to O&A mention]

Once and Again, 10 p.m., ABC. Sela Ward, Billy Campbell and company struggle on for ratings in this family drama that's as emotionally rich as Pasadena is (intentionally) hollow. The show glows with fine acting and insightful writing, a warm way to end a week of top-notch TV. __ Philadelphia Inquirer (November 8, 2001)