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TV Review: '24: Redemption'

By Daniel Fienberg

November 21, 03:17 PM

Kiefersutherland_24resurrec In the 18 months since the sixth season of 24 ended, fans have gone through the usual stages of withdrawal, including cottonmouth, involuntary spasms and rewatching old DVDs. Sunday night's 24: Redemption might seem like a much-needed fix, but it's really just Jack Bauer methadone.

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'First Class All the Way' review

By Hanh Nguyen

November 03, 05:45 AM

Saraduffy_firstclassalltheway_240 My first thought when I saw Bravo's docudrama First Class All the Way was, "What a scam." My second thought? "How do I get in on it?" Continue reading »

'Legend of the Seeker' review

By Rick Porter

October 31, 02:29 PM

Craighorner_240On one hand, the debut of Legend of the Seeker this weekend should be cause for happiness, the return of original scripted programming to a syndicated TV landscape dominated by tough-talking judges, paternity tests and makeovers.

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'Stylista' Review

By Hanh Nguyen

October 20, 06:54 PM

Anneslowey_stylista_240 Fashion can be an ugly business, judging by The CW's latest reality competition show Stylista. Continue reading »

TV Review: 'Crusoe'

By Rick Porter

October 16, 02:47 PM

Philipwinchester_crusoe_240Before discussing the merits of NBC's new series Crusoe, a public service announcement to those students who may be studying the show's source material this year: If you write your Robinson Crusoe paper from what's on screen and not what's on the page, you'll get an F.

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TV Review: 'My Own Worst Enemy'

By Rick Porter

October 10, 02:42 PM

Christianslater_myownworstenemy_240There are several things to recommend about NBC's new series My Own Worst Enemy: Christian Slater proves himself a very capable TV star, the supporting cast is solid, the pace is quick and the visuals high-quality. It's also saddled with what feels like the most needlessly overcomplicated back story to come along since Sydney Bristow was working for SD-6. Continue reading »

TV Review: 'Testees'

By Rick Porter

October 09, 09:56 AM

Jeffkassel_stevemarkle_testees_240Whatever else there is to say about FX's intermittently amusing new comedy Testees, this has to be said: This is a show that is not afraid.

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TV Review: 'Life on Mars'

By Rick Porter

October 08, 03:47 PM

Jasonomara_lifeonmars_240 I'd wager that about 90 percent, maybe more, of the audience for ABC's Life on Mars premiere Thursday will be people who've never seen the British show on which it's based. But either way, viewers shouldn't be disappointed.

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TV Review: 'Eleventh Hour'

By Daniel Fienberg

October 08, 01:48 PM

Marleyshelton_eleventhhour_240With Jerry Bruckheimer producing, Danny Cannon directing and a cushy post-CSI Thursday timeslot, CBS' Eleventh Hour seems like a predetermined hit. But does it deserve to be? Continue reading »

TV Review: 'Kath & Kim'

By Rick Porter

October 08, 01:40 PM

Mollyshannon_kathandkim_240Thursday is Remake Premiere Night on broadcast TV, with three different networks (ABC, CBS, NBC) debuting shows -- Life on Mars, Eleventh Hour and Kath & Kim -- they imported from overseas.

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TV Review: 'The Real Housewives of Atlanta'

By Hanh Nguyen

October 06, 10:40 AM

Shereeleakes Bravo's The Real Housewives of Atlanta, with its showy elite and rampant consumerism, seems rather out of touch considering America's dire financial situation. Continue reading »

TV Review: 'Valentine'

By Hanh Nguyen

October 03, 10:25 PM

Jaimemurray Cupid's arrow hit just shy of the mark with Valentine, but even though you won't fall head over heels in love with the show, fans of romantic comedy conventions will find something at least to like. Continue reading »

TV Review: 'Easy Money'

By Hanh Nguyen

October 03, 12:12 PM

Jeffhephner_easymoney_240 In this time of economic crisis, the American people may be persuaded to watch The CW's Easy Money, in which a family runs a money-lending business for folks who can't or won't deal with banks. Continue reading »

TV Review: 'The Ex List'

By Daniel Fienberg

October 02, 04:06 PM

Elizabethreaser_exlist_240CBS' new Friday drama The Ex List lost its ace-in-the-hole last month when original showrunner Diane Ruggiero exited the series due to "creative differences." Continue reading »

TV Review: 'Star Wars: The Clone Wars'

By Hanh Nguyen

October 02, 12:00 PM

Cw_yoda_02 Following the tepid reception to the big-screen animated The Clone Wars movie, Cartoon Network's Star Wars: The Clone Wars series is no more nor less compelling, but provides an avenue for the diehard Star Wars fan to explore the untold stories in this murky period of time in the George Lucas-created universe. Continue reading »

TV Review: 'Sanctuary'

By Hanh Nguyen

October 01, 09:52 PM

Robindunne_sanctuary_240 Like the beings offered a safe haven in Sanctuary, Sci Fi Channel's latest original series has yet to establish what it is before it can truly be comfortable in its skin and accepted on its own terms. In trying to be too many things at once, the show relies on cliches and loses the ability to actually entertain. Continue reading »

TV Review: 'Gary Unmarried'

By Daniel Fienberg

September 23, 02:57 PM

Jaymohr_jaimeking_projectgary_240CBS' Gary Unmarried is one of those comedies appreciated more by the laugh track (or, if you want to be generous, the studio audience) than by critics. Continue reading »

TV Review: 'Knight Rider'

By Rick Porter

September 23, 02:19 PM

Justinbruening_knightrider_240Like a lot of 11-year-old boys in the early 1980s, I was a fan of Knight Rider. Even my 11-year-old, uncritical brain realized, though, that a show about a super-intelligent car and its driver, fighting crime together, was a fairly thin premise.

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TV Review: 'The Mentalist'

By Daniel Fienberg

September 22, 11:35 AM

Simonbaker_mentalist_240Can we get something out of the way up-front about CBS' The Mentalist? It isn't really all that much like USA's Psych. Continue reading »

Review: The 60th Emmy Telecast

By Daniel Fienberg

September 21, 08:57 PM

Ryanseacrest_2007emmyawards_240Sunday (Sept. 21) night's 60th Annual Emmy Awards concluded two minutes early and I'm fairly certain that all 40 people with the patience to stick around to the end were mighty grateful. Continue reading »

TV Review: 'Worst Week'

By Daniel Fienberg

September 19, 02:15 PM

Kylebornheimer_worstweek_240CBS' Worst Week, which premieres on Monday, may be the finest new network comedy of the fall. And yes, that's certainly damning Worst Week with faint praise. Continue reading »

TV Review: 'Do Not Disturb'

By Daniel Fienberg

September 09, 04:00 PM

Niecynash_donotdisturb_240FOX's new comedy Do Not Disturb premieres on Wednesday (Sept. 10) with an entirely different and noticeably better pilot than the one sent to critics over the summer. It still isn't funny. Continue reading »

TV Review: 'Fringe'

By Daniel Fienberg

September 08, 03:13 PM

Annatorv_fringe_240Expectations rather than execution somewhat hamper FOX's Fringe. Continue reading »

TV Review: 'Privileged'

By Hanh Nguyen

September 08, 02:48 PM

Joannagarcia_privileged_240_2 Privileged matches well with 90210 as a portal to the lives of the rich and fabulous, but shows potential to rise above those primetime soap roots with its earnest charm and subtle characterizations. Continue reading »

TV Review: 'True Blood'

By Rick Porter

September 05, 02:23 PM

Annapaquin_trueblood_240Five episodes into HBO's new vampire series True Blood, I still don't quite know what to make of it. But I'm also pretty sure that I want to see more.

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TV Review: '90210'

By Hanh Nguyen

September 03, 10:33 AM

Jenniegarth_90210_240_2 The CW's much-hyped 90210 delivers the nostalgia for fans of the original series along with some clever references, but as the purported 2.0 version, the series lacks a certain oomph for these modern times that requires a little more edge and wittiness a la Gossip Girl. Continue reading »

TV Review: 'Sons of Anarchy'

By Rick Porter

September 02, 02:52 PM

Charliehunnam_sonsofanarchy_240_2FX excels at taking familiar TV templates -- the cop show, the medical drama, the single-friends sitcom -- and pushing and twisting them until they become original creations like The Shield, Nip/Tuck, and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

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TV Review: 'Raising the Bar'

By Rick Porter

August 31, 09:06 AM

Markpaulgosselaar_raisingthebar_240There are some interesting moments in TNT's new drama Raising the Bar. Unfortunately, they don't make up the bulk of the show.

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Review: 'America's Toughest Jobs'

By Rick Porter

August 23, 02:18 PM

Joshtemple_americastoughestjobs_240If you've ever watched Deadliest Catch or Ice Road Truckers and thought, Dang, I wish I could do that, then NBC has the perfect show for you in America's Toughest Jobs.

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Review: The Andromeda Strain

By Jessica Paff

May 24, 12:01 AM

Andromeda_bratt_240 The problem with remaking science fiction movies is that science and fiction have both moved forward along with the rest of the world. As such, The Andromeda Strain may have been intense and frightening in the late 1960s. However, that story today? We've seen Outbreak.

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Karaoke Wars: NBC's 'Singing Bee' versus FOX's 'Don't Forget the Lyrics'

By Daniel Fienberg

July 11, 09:23 PM

Waynebrady2_dontforgetthelyrics_240By now, everybody knows the story of NBC and FOX's Karaoke War. Continue reading »

'Greek': It's all Greek to me

By Liz Pardue

July 09, 08:19 PM

Jacobzachar_spencergrammer_greek_ab Greek, ABC Family's latest non-family friendly offering, stars Jacob Zachar as Rusty, a nerdy engineering freshman who wants to join a fraternity for the "real college experience." The show is basically a dramedy about the Greek system. As it happens, I intentionally attended a college that was somewhat lacking in the sorority/fraternity department, so I bring to the table absolutely no firsthand knowledge regarding the accuracy (or lack thereof) of Greek. However, I have seen Animal House, Old School, and a number of Veronica Mars episodes about the Greek system, so I consider myself to be basically an expert.

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Brill and Eric Watch TV 212

By Brill Bundy

July 01, 11:26 PM

Brillandericwatchtv_upfrontIt's a British Science Fiction Invasion as we review the third season premiere of  Doctor Who and two new shows: the much-anticipated spinoff Torchwood and a superb modernization of a classic Robert Louis Stevenson tale, Jekyll.

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The Tease: 'Flight of the Conchords'

By Liz Pardue

June 16, 05:34 PM

Flightoftheconchords_240 If you find the following lyrics funny, you will probably enjoy HBO's newest comedy, Flight of the Conchords. The scene: a guy trying to hook up with a girl at a party.

You're so beautiful
Like a dream
Or a high-class prostitute
You're so beautiful
You could be a part-time model
But you'd probably still have to keep a normal job
Continue reading »

Review: Showtime's 'Meadowlands'

By Daniel Fienberg

June 14, 02:46 PM

Cast_meadowlands_240Inscrutability is the watchword of the day when it comes to new premium cable programming. Continue reading »

The Tease: 'Rescue Me,' still all over the map

By Rick Porter

June 12, 04:26 PM

Denisleary_rescueme_s4_240 As the curtain rises on the fourth season of Rescue Me, things seem a little ... normal.

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Review: Comedy Central's 'Lil' Bush'

By Daniel Fienberg

June 12, 11:36 AM

Lilbush_seal_240With so many venues for scripted programming, it sometimes becomes hard to say which projects are best - suited to be Internet shorts, which are designed to be mobisodes and which concepts are ready to go to full-length series. To put it kindly, let's just say that with Comedy Central's new Lil' Bush, a lil' goes a long way. Continue reading »

Review: 'John From Cincinnati'

By Rick Porter

June 08, 03:27 PM

Brucegreenwood_johnfromcincinnati_2 If the following review of John From Cincinnati is a little short on specifics, forgive me. Having watched the first two episodes, I'm still trying to figure out what's going on.

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Brill and Eric Watch TV 208

By Brill Bundy

June 03, 09:40 PM

This week, we attempt to decipher HBO's trippy new surf drama from David Milch, John From Cincinnati. Naturally, the creator of Deadwood's penchant for salty language rubs off and gets the best of us. For those who have already given... Continue reading »

Review: Lifetime's 'Army Wives'

By Rick Porter

June 01, 03:00 PM

Television hasn't really figured out how to deal with the Iraq war yet, and Lifetime's new series Army Wives isn't going to change that. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing -- the show, premiering Sunday, is a home-front drama, with... Continue reading »

Review: 'Hidden Palms'

By Hanh Nguyen

May 29, 01:38 PM

Hidden Palms' angst-ridden, possibly supernatural mystery buried beneath the characters' superficial indolence is just as oppressive and maddening as the Palms Springs heat that purportedly drives its denizens crazy. As far as summer programming goes, the show's painful deficiencies in... Continue reading »

Review: 'Traveler'

By Rick Porter

May 09, 03:05 PM

When ABC unveiled its 2006-07 lineup nearly a year ago, a lot of folks left the upfront presentation curious about a show called Traveler. The clip ABC showed was intense, and the premise -- two friends on the run after... Continue reading »

Review: FOX's 'Drive'

By Daniel Fienberg

April 13, 12:14 PM

FOX, Tim Minear and the critics are engaged in a game of chicken that stretches back several years. It's an amiable sort of agreement wherein Minear executive produces a show (think Firefly, Wonderfalls or The Inside), critics say mostly nice... Continue reading »

Review: 'Notes from the Underbelly'

By Rick Porter

April 11, 03:09 PM

ABC has thrown up a big fat bagel with its new comedies this season, and the latest and last one to hit the airwaves, Notes from the Underbelly, probably won't change that. Though the show offers a handful of well-observed... Continue reading »

The Tease: 'Entourage' returns

By Rick Porter

April 06, 04:27 PM

Pretty much from the time it premiered, Entourage has been the prime example of heterosexual guy-love on television. So is it such a surprise that, as it returns to finish its third season, the show feels like a romantic comedy?... Continue reading »

The Tease: Beginning of the end for 'The Sopranos'

By Rick Porter

April 06, 12:48 PM

This isn't going to end well. I mean, there's no way, right? That's the widespread assumption, one that's been working for a couple of years now, about how The Sopranos will close its time as one of the great achievements... Continue reading »

The Tease: 'The Shield' returns

By Rick Porter

April 02, 03:38 PM

Much attention is being lavished this week on the beginning of the end of The Sopranos, and rightly so. We're going to get to that ourselves here in the next couple days. For those of you who don't pony up... Continue reading »

Review: 'The Tudors' on Showtime

By Daniel Fienberg

March 30, 01:56 PM

I'm torn on the most appropriate way to describe Showtime's new drama series The Tudors. Is it more truly "A Wikipedia entry with boobs" or "The history of Henry the 8th as told by TMZ"? Either way, The Tudors is... Continue reading »

The Tease: 'Six Degrees' returns

By Rick Porter

March 23, 01:10 PM

When we last left the plucky New Yorkers of Six Degrees, they were, uh ... Hang on a minute. Lemme think. Oh yeah: Steven (Campbell Scott) was struggling to connect with his son, Laura (Hope Davis) was flustered in her... Continue reading »

Review: 'October Road'

By Rick Porter

March 14, 05:33 PM

Comes now the curious case of October Road, which is not a bad little show and which gets a plum, post-Grey's Anatomy timeslot for the next few weeks, and yet is going on the air with nearly no advance warning... Continue reading »

Reviews: 'Andy Barker, P.I.' and 'Raines'

By Rick Porter

March 14, 03:10 PM

Is there a TV genre more well-worn than the detective show? Pretty much ever since broadcasters started beaming signals into homes, gumshoes and shamuses and sleuths have been solving crimes on screen. So when NBC debuts not one, but two... Continue reading »

Review: 'The Riches'

By Rick Porter

March 10, 12:04 PM

The suburban satire has become its own TV mini-genre in recent years, with shows like Desperate Housewives, Six Feet Under and Big Love all taking cockeyed looks at the putative American Dream. FX offers up its own entry in the... Continue reading »

Review: 'The Wedding Bells'

By Daniel Fienberg

March 06, 03:31 PM

Somewhere along the way, David E. Kelley lost the ability to write for actual humans. He did it on Chicago Hope and on Picket Fences and occasionally even on The Practice, but it's been a while. There's nothing wrong with... Continue reading »

Review: 'The Black Donnellys'

By Rick Porter

February 24, 05:11 PM

The Black Donnellys is likely going to be a series that rewards patient viewers. The show, which premieres at 10 p.m. ET Monday, Feb. 26, doesn't exactly reach through the screen and pin you to your seat, but over the... Continue reading »

The Tease: 'The Sarah Silverman Program'

By Daniel Fienberg

January 31, 10:38 AM

So much for putting your best foot forward. Comedy Central is airing the second episode of The Sarah Silverman Program -- titled "Officer Jay" -- as the show's premiere on Thursday (Feb. 1) night. Only the network's programmers know for... Continue reading »

TV Review: 'The Dresden Files'

By Hanh Nguyen

January 20, 12:10 PM

Sorry, Harry Dresden fans. Sci Fi Channel's The Dresden Files comes nowhere near to delivering the wit, suspense or magic found in Jim Butcher's best-selling novels about a wizard PI. It's as if a vampire sucked out half of its... Continue reading »

The Tease: Musical 'Scrubs'

By Rick Porter

January 17, 12:54 PM

I was a little concerned, after watching the two songs from the Scrubs musical that have been making the rounds online (multiple times), that the full episode might not be up to the standards of "Guy Love" and "Everything Comes... Continue reading »

Review: 'Armed & Famous'

By Daniel Fienberg

January 09, 10:53 AM

The tasering of D-list celebrities begins 11 minutes into my review screener of CBS' new reality show Armed & Famous. I don't know what that converts to in actual commercial TV time, but I point it out for one simple... Continue reading »

The Tease: 'Grease: You're the One That I Want'

By Rick Porter

January 05, 03:36 PM

The novelty of TV talent contests, in which viewers choose the America's Next Big (insert skill/talent here), has worn off a bit. So that's a strike against NBC's new show Grease: You're the One That I Want. It is, however,... Continue reading »

The Tease: 'Apprentice' hits the road

By Rick Porter

January 05, 02:54 PM

One of the reasons that Survivor can still occasionally grab your attention is that each season brings a fresh set of personalities to the party, and going in you don't know whose ego is going to dominate things. That's not... Continue reading »

Reviews: 'The Knights of Prosperity,' 'In Case of Emergency'

By Rick Porter

January 02, 05:37 PM

With the Wednesday premieres of According to Jim, The Knights of Prosperity and In Case of Emergency, ABC will quadruple the number of half-hour comedies currently on its schedule. That kind of says all you need to know about the... Continue reading »

Review: 'Dirt'

By Rick Porter

December 29, 11:19 AM

FX, home of some of the most distinctive series on television, rings in 2007 with another show that looks and feels like almost nothing else on screen. Dirt is a stylish peek inside the sausage factory of celebrity, and Courteney... Continue reading »

Review: 'Identity'

By Rick Porter

December 15, 02:33 PM

How good are you at reading people? Or, alternately, how deeply ingrained is your way of looking at and thinking about others? Those are the central questions -- pretty much the only ones, really -- NBC is asking in its... Continue reading »

The Tease: 'Scrubs' season premiere

By Rick Porter

November 29, 06:01 PM

If you haven't watched Scrubs before, well, let's face it: You're probably not going to start with Thursday's sixth-season premiere, seeing as how it's up against Grey's Anatomy and CSI. The folks who make the show have long since made... Continue reading »

Review: 'Big Day'

By Rick Porter

November 27, 05:37 PM

If you're a non-acolyte to the religion of 24, among the things that might turn you off is the Murphy's Law nature of the series. Everything that can possibly go wrong for Jack Bauer in a day does, usually spectacularly,... Continue reading »

Review: 'My Boys'

By Rick Porter

November 27, 01:09 PM

Describing a TV comedy as "pleasant" may sound like damning with faint praise, but here goes: My Boys, premiering on TBS Tuesday, is a surprisingly pleasant -- charming, even -- piece of work, and if this world is indeed a... Continue reading »

The Tease: Super-sized 'Office'

By Rick Porter

November 15, 03:41 PM

Okay: I'm starting to think the people at The Office are messing with the folks who do promos for NBC. If you've seen the spots for this week's episode, you probably know two things about it: A) It's "super-sized" and... Continue reading »

Review: 'Day Break'

By Rick Porter

November 14, 05:15 PM

The shorthand everyone's been using for ABC's new series Day Break is Groundhog Day meets Training Day, and to an extent that's accurate. It's about an L.A. detective (Taye Diggs) who's framed for murder and who keeps reliving the day... Continue reading »

Review: '3 Lbs.'

By Daniel Fienberg

November 13, 03:07 PM

It's going to be a fun game to see how many critics are going to be able to avoid comparing CBS' new pre-midseason drama 3 Lbs. to FOX's established hit House. The similarities are so obvious and intended, plus this... Continue reading »

The Tease: 'The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror XVII'

By Daniel Fienberg

November 03, 03:12 PM

While The Simpsons has always been an intensely political series, the annual "Treehouse of Horror" episodes have largely avoided topicality (with obvious exceptions like the brilliant "Citizen Kane" segment from "ToH: VII"), but the series' latest belated Halloween episode is... Continue reading »

Review: 'Class of 3000'

By Hanh Nguyen

November 02, 08:54 PM

Can today's kids embrace the funk? With a little help from Andre Benjamin, Cartoon Network thinks they can. The OutKast musician and Tom Lynch (KIDS Incorporated, Romeo!) have teamed up to executive produce the musically inspired Class of 3000, which... Continue reading »

'The Rich List' is pretty poor

By Daniel Fienberg

November 02, 01:16 PM

Welcome to The Rich List! The category is "Good things about The Rich List." Ummm... I'm gonna bid "Zero." FOX premiered its new game show The Rich List on Wednesday (Nov. 1) and since the words "new" plus "FOX" mean... Continue reading »

The Tease: 'The O.C.' Season Four premiere

By Daniel Fienberg

November 01, 07:07 PM

As the show's fourth season begins, the characters on The O.C. seem to be mourning a very different young lady from the one I remember. It's several months after the fiery car accident that claimed her life, but they're still... Continue reading »

Review: Masters of Horror -- 'The Damned Thing'

By Daniel Fienberg

October 26, 03:52 PM

It must be a bit sad for Showtime's Masters of Horror franchise. After much bluster, boasting and talk of revitalizing a stagnated genre, the anthology series debuted last fall with a series of mostly mediocre gore-fests. Then, in the time... Continue reading »

TV Review: 'Return to Halloweentown'

By Hanh Nguyen

October 19, 09:47 PM

With Return to Halloweentown, Disney Channel proves that it's mastered the magic formula for creating upbeat original movies that tap into tweens' not-so-secret desires. The fourth installment in the popular franchise packs teen witch Marnie Cromwell (Sara Paxton) off to... Continue reading »