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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: television review

television review stories: 12 news summaries
TV REVIEW

Wanda Sykes Show: Working Hard, Hardly Working

Clichés drag down late-night debut

Nov 8, 09 3:59 PM CST
(Newser) - Viewers expecting something fresh and new out of The Wanda Sykes Show—as the unlikely combination of Fox and an African-American lesbian might seem to promise—were sorely disappointed, writes Ken Tucker . The comedian and actor "is terrific: at ease and bawdy," he writes for Entertainment Weekly. But... More »

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entertainment • television • late night talk show • late night host • Fox • Wanda Sykes • television review • The Wanda Sykes Show

TV Review

 V's Great, If You 
 Like Aliens, Politics 

Obama parallels and standard plot bother some critics

Nov 3, 09 1:45 PM CST
(Newser) - Most critics agree that ABC’s much-hyped alien drama V is a well-made show with good acting. But does this remake of the 1983 miniseries feel original? Is it a conservative screed? Here’s what they’re saying:
  • Who cares if V is believable (it’s not)?
... More »

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television • ABC • aliens • science fiction • television review

OPINION

 Cougar Town Deserves 
 Scorn, Not Yuks 

Courteney Cox's new show has everyone watching—but why? Masochism?

Oct 14, 09 11:57 AM CDT
(Newser) - Cougar Town is our nation’s newest guilty pleasure—“‘guilty’ in this case meaning ‘it makes you want to stick your head in the oven’ and ‘pleasure’ referring to the feeling humans get from having their fingernails ripped off one by one,” writes Heather... More »

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entertainment • TV series • Courtney Cox • Courteney Cox • television review • Cougar Town

TV REview

 Office Wedding Draws 
 Cheers, Tears, Few Jeers 

Jim and Pam's nuptials tug on critics' heartstrings

Oct 9, 09 1:08 PM CDT
(Newser) - Jim and Pam's wedding on The Office last night was a bit syrupy, but that's A-OK with most critics. And an ingenious twist made a YouTube gag bearable—even funny. Spoilers ahead:
  • "Dunder Mifflin's golden couple managed to pull it off," Tanner Stranksy writes for Entertainment Weekly,
... More »

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entertainment • NBC • The Office • wedding • TV shows • television review • television program

TV review

 Vampire Diaries  
 Bloody Good Fun 

CW series knows the teen mind

Sep 10, 09 10:59 AM CDT
(Newser) - The Vampire Diaries, which premieres tonight on the CW, has its finger on the pulse of American youth, delivering a teen-vampire love story that gives Twilight a run for its money:
  • “Let the other franchises sniff with disdain at moldy old genre conventions,” writes Mary McNamara
... More »

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television • vampire • CW network • Twilight • Stephenie Meyer • television review • The Vampire Diaries • Kevin Williamson

TV Review

 Melrose Still Fun, Still Bad 

Relaunch as trashy as ever, critics agree

Sep 8, 09 12:31 PM CDT
(Newser) - Horrible and dramatic people once again fill the halls of Melrose Place, this time with a glossier look and a whodunit plot. Here’s what the critics are saying:
  • Reluctant longtime fan Linda Stasi of the New York Post was surprised that “the new tenants actually
... More »

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soap operas • Ashlee Simpson • Melrose Place • television review

REVIEW

Thirtysomething Hits DVD—
But Is It Still Good?

Former fan would prefer an escape over this tedious show

Aug 25, 09 10:59 AM CDT
(Newser) - Thirtysomething is finally on DVD, much to the excitement of baby boomers everywhere—and Seth Stevenson, who, inexplicably, loved the show as a 14-year-old boy. “I wondered: Would I find it even more compelling now that I’d actually reached my 30s?” he writes for Slate. But, though... More »

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entertainment • DVD • TV series • television review • thirtysomething

TV REVIEW

 Kourtney and Khloé 
 a 'Mindless Pleasure'

Yes, it's vapid, but go ahead and enjoy it anyway

Aug 14, 09 11:03 AM CDT
(Newser) - You might have heard that Kourtney and Khloé Kardashian are famous for being famous. “False! They are primarily famous for being the sisters of Kim Kardashian,” writes Troy Patterson for Slate—and now they have their very own reality show. “In these days of pseudo-celebrity and rampant... More »

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entertainment • reality TV • celebrity • Khloe Kardashian • Kim Kardashian • television review • Kourtney Kardashian

TV review

 Colbert: The New Bob Hope 

Iraq stint brings back predecessor's 'easy-going' style

Jun 12, 09 7:36 AM CDT
(Newser) - Taping his show in Iraq this week, Stephen Colbert channeled Bob Hope in an "unexpectedly charming" series of shows, writes Alessandra Stanley in the New York Times. Colbert largely stayed in ultra-right character, though he let it slip in places. His interviews were “pleasant, not barbed,” and... More »

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Iraq • television • US military • comedy • Stephen Colbert • The Colbert Report • Bob Hope • television review

TV REVIEW

  Falco Makes 
 a Naughty, 
 Irresistible 
 Nurse Jackie 

Edie soars; script needs a doctor

Jun 8, 09 12:21 PM CDT
(Newser) - She's addicted to painkillers, cheats on her husband with a pharmacist, and punishes a diplomat who stabbed a hooker by flushing his ear down the toilet. In Showtime's Nurse Jackie, debuting tonight, Edie Falco is no Carmela Soprano, but a sarcastic, no-nonsense nurse who's better, critics say, than the show... More »

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television • Showtime • television review • Edie Falco • Nurse Jackie

TV Review

 This Ain't 
 Your Dad's 
 Tonight Show 


Jun 2, 09 7:28 AM CDT
(Newser) - It certainly wasn’t the same old Tonight Show that came on at 11:35 last night. Here’s what the critics are saying:
  • From the hilarious open on, Conan announced he “is not as interested in filling Jay's shoes as in buying a much newer pair,
... More »

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late night talk show • late night host • Conan O'Brien • Tonight Show • television review

TV review

 Goode Family Not Great 

A few good jokes, but show's aim seems off

May 27, 09 9:02 AM CDT
(Newser) - The Goode Family, an animated series about an eco-obsessed, passionately politically correct family that airs tonight on ABC, is fairly funny, but leaves reviewers scratching their heads:
  • It “feels aggressively off-kilter with the current mood, as if it had been incubated in the early to mid-’90s,”
... More »

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television • animation • reviews • TV series • Mike Judge • television review

12 Stories


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