television review

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Parenthood Has Room to Grow
 Parenthood Has Room to Grow 
TV Review
Mar 1, 2010 10:07 AM CST

Parenthood Has Room to Grow

Series has potential, but there's a lot going on

(Newser) - Can the new Parenthood, a remake of the Ron Howard flick of the same name, help repair NBC’s 10pm timeslot? Maybe, critics say, but it’s got some problems. Here’s what they’re saying about the show, which premieres tomorrow:
  • It’s a “credible dramedy with the
...

JLo-Hosted SNL 'Craptacular'
 JLo-Hosted SNL 'Craptacular'
or, clever and enthusiastic
Feb 28, 2010 2:35 PM CST

JLo-Hosted SNL 'Craptacular'

Critics split on Jennifer Lopez as host, agree on singer as musical guest

(Newser) - The Jennifer Lopez image-rehab train pulled into Saturday Night Live station last night, to mixed reviews.
  • "Her appearance on the show—bizarro Hallmark lyric songs included—was a very obvious attempt at rebranding herself as a down-to-earth, un-diva-like sweetheart, but it just came across as weird and overly acted,
...

Temple Grandin a 'Captivating' Look at Autism

Claire Danes shines in title role as animal behavior expert

(Newser) - Temple Grandin, the renowned animal behaviorist who credits her achievements to her autism, values "tangible results" over emotion—and so does her HBO biopic. The eponymous film, debuting tomorrow, "avoids the mawkish clichés" so typical of made-for-TV movies, instead delivering "a movie that is funny, instructive,...

Don't Miss Men of a Certain Age
 Don't Miss 
 Men of a Certain Age 
TV REVIEW
Dec 7, 2009 1:16 PM CST

Don't Miss Men of a Certain Age

Star turns from Romano, Braugher, Bakula buoy new TNT dramedy

(Newser) - The male midlife crisis is hardly a groundbreaking subject, but Men of a Certain Age doesn’t need novelty to augment the poignant and hilarious truth it deals in. The new TNT series “proves a powerful yet mercifully amusing experience—bittersweet, poignant, and wise," Tom Shales writes. "...

Poehler's Parks Show Has Gotten Good
 Poehler's Parks Show 
 Has Gotten Good 
TV review
Dec 2, 2009 12:46 PM CST

Poehler's Parks Show Has Gotten Good

NBC sitcom is refreshed in second season, but lacks viewers

(Newser) - Television critics far and wide, including Jonah Weiner, are coaxing viewers to tune in to Parks and Recreation, the underdog of NBC’s Thursday night comedy block. It “has gone from an erratically funny nonevent to astonishingly good,” Weiner writes in Slate , and if you watched during the...

Wanda Sykes Show: Working Hard, Hardly Working
Wanda Sykes Show: Working Hard, Hardly Working
TV REVIEW
Nov 8, 2009 3:59 PM CST

Wanda Sykes Show: Working Hard, Hardly Working

Clichés drag down late-night debut

(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...

V 's Great, If You Like Aliens, Politics
 V's Great, If You 
 Like Aliens, Politics 
TV Review
Nov 3, 2009 1:45 PM CST

V's Great, If You Like Aliens, Politics

Obama parallels and standard plot bother some critics

(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)? All Heather Havrilesky
...

Cougar Town Deserves Scorn, Not Yuks
 Cougar Town Deserves 
 Scorn, Not Yuks 
OPINION
Oct 14, 2009 11:57 AM CDT

Cougar Town Deserves Scorn, Not Yuks

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

(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 Havrilesky...

Office Wedding Draws Cheers, Tears, Few Jeers

Jim and Pam's nuptials tug on critics' heartstrings

(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, and
...

Vampire Diaries Bloody Good Fun
 Vampire Diaries  
 Bloody Good Fun 
TV review
Sep 10, 2009 10:59 AM CDT

Vampire Diaries Bloody Good Fun

CW series knows the teen mind

(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 in the
...

Melrose Still Fun, Still Bad
 Melrose Still Fun, Still Bad 
TV Review
Sep 8, 2009 12:31 PM CDT

Melrose Still Fun, Still Bad

Relaunch as trashy as ever, critics agree

(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 made me forget
...

Thirtysomething Hits DVD— But Is It Still Good?

Former fan would prefer an escape over this tedious show

(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 the...

Kourtney and Khlo&eacute; a 'Mindless Pleasure'
 Kourtney and Khloé 
 a 'Mindless Pleasure'
TV REVIEW
Aug 14, 2009 11:03 AM CDT

Kourtney and Khloé a 'Mindless Pleasure'

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

(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...

Colbert: The New Bob Hope
 Colbert: The New Bob Hope 
TV review
Jun 12, 2009 7:36 AM CDT

Colbert: The New Bob Hope

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

(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...

Falco Makes a Naughty, Irresistible Nurse Jackie

Edie soars; script needs a doctor

(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...

This Ain't Your Dad's Tonight Show
 This Ain't 
 Your Dad's 
 Tonight Show 
TV Review
Jun 2, 2009 7:28 AM CDT

This Ain't Your Dad's Tonight Show

(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,” writes
...

Goode Family Not Great
 Goode Family Not Great 
TV review
May 27, 2009 9:02 AM CDT

Goode Family Not Great

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

(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,” writes
...

Stories 41 - 57 | << Prev