In the end, all critics should be guided by this one principle: Is this piece of work [TV show, movie, play, concert, album, restaurant] succeeding at what it set out to do?

While I don't like violent programs per se, I do like good storytelling, which made me a fan of shows like Breaking Bad and American Horror Story.

It seems to me conspiracy is at the heart of dozens of TV dramas currently on. Maybe that itself is some kind of conspiracy.

Never forget that I am paid for my troubles!

Jarecki's 'Reagan' is a compellingly watchable and appropriately conflicted portrait...artfully nuanced and intellectually curious.

"Big Bang Theory" focuses on main characters who in other shows would only be auxiliary players hewing to stereotype: The gawky nerd who lives next door and says oddball things.

I think the occasional appearance of the UFO is a very oblique pop-cultural reference that anyone who was alive and sentient in the late 1970s will get right away.

I have to confess I can't have the holiday season without "Hard Candy Christmas". For some reason, it makes me think of the sticky ribbon candy bowl my mid-western grandma always had.

In fact, when it comes to TV, I'm not even sure what my real, true preferences are.

My work is very much like the restaurant critic's - a number of factors come together to make for a strong review.

Just as it's unfair to review a taco stand for not being a four-star restaurant, I also have to be mindful that not every drama on TV is trying to be "The Wire."

Prayer is more than a wish

Forgiveness is mandatory

You have to choose what you want to be.You have to choose your own path in life.

The establishment of Christianity . . . arrested the normal development of the physical sciences for over fifteen hundred years.

For which reason the sea in those parts is impassable and impenetrable, because there is a shoal of mud in the way; and this was caused by the subsidence of the island.

Fear is about things that you can't control. The future or the dark, or someone trying to kill you. You don't get scared of yourself because you always know what you're going to do.

It's important to keep the people who know you well around you. It helps center you.

I don't know why it is we are in such a hurry to get up when we fall down. You might think we would lie there and rest for a while.

I've cheated, or someone on my team has cheated, in almost every single game I've been in.

I was right about one of the most significant issues in modern American history. I was the only one who was right about one of the most significant issues in modern American history.