Alan Sepinwall, Newark Star-Ledger
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For 489 reviews, this critic has graded:
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44% higher than the average critic
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2% same as the average critic
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54% lower than the average critic
On average, this critic grades 3.2 points lower than other critics.
(0-100 point scale)
Alan Sepinwall's Scores
- TV
| Average review score: | 60 |
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| Highest review score: |
Critic Score
100
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| Lowest review score: |
Critic Score
0
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Score distribution:
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Positive: 242 out of 489
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Mixed: 182 out of 489
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Negative: 65 out of 489
489
tv reviews
- By critic score
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Alan Sepinwall 80
The premiere doesn't necessarily have the sort of mythical, spine-tingling moments that the first season provided from time to time, but the acting remains strong (particularly by Chandler and Britton, the First Couple of primetime) and it feels like an episode of Friday Night Lights in a way that very little of season two did. -
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Alan Sepinwall 80
There's definitely a joy to this series, no matter how dire things get for its characters. -
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Alan Sepinwall 80
Fey's parts of the premiere are terrific, and next week's episode is an even better--and sillier--showcase for her. -
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Alan Sepinwall 80
I have no interest in fashion, little inherent fondness for soap operas, and I'm absolutely not the gender this show is targeting. And based on the two episodes I've seen, I'm going to be watching "Ugly Betty" every week. It's that much fun. -
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Alan Sepinwall 80
Because Dexter's victims are always so evil, we're inclined to root for him, but moments like that--or one in where Dexter admits he doesn't really care about saving innocents, just scratching his itch to kill--gives the show more moral complexity than you would expect, and it's the better for that. -
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Alan Sepinwall 80
In Plain Sight is a definite for any summer TV To-Watch list; don't cross it off until you've seen at least one. -
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Alan Sepinwall 80
Krause could be hard to digest as the self-righteous Nate on "Six Feet Under," but he makes a fine, amusingly flustered straight man to the cast of eccentrics that Wright and producer Greg Berlanti have assembled. -
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Alan Sepinwall 80
A show this whimsical needs a few anchors to avoid floating away altogether. Emerson is one, and the hands-off Ned and Chuck romance is the other. -
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Alan Sepinwall 80
And as the new season begins, it becomes clear that gags are easier to write in abundance than gag lyrics. The non-melodic portions of the show are still a scream. -
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Alan Sepinwall 80
You get out what you put into it--even in the episodes that are weaker, I was rarely bored--and it's a consistent scripted oasis in a sea of shows where people take lie detector tests on camera. -
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Alan Sepinwall 80
It is slow, and it requires work and careful observation, but when it achieves its breakthroughs, the effects can be as extraordinary and dynamic as any other drama on television. -
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Alan Sepinwall 80
Chuck starts a step slower, with more exposition in the first two episodes and no larger-than-life character like Satan to smooth over that, but by episode three, it's just as assured and entertaining in its own extremely similar way. -
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Alan Sepinwall 80
There are shows on television that are smarter than Chuck, deeper, more ambitious, whatever. At the moment, I can't think of one that's more fun. -
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Alan Sepinwall 80
Because the comedy is so strong, the cast is so likable, and everyone involved so obviously has a passion for making the show as entertaining as it can be, there's a sense of joy around "Chuck" that's infectious. -
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Alan Sepinwall 80
Nix and company had a very thing going last season, and they've found a way to change the show a little without screwing it up. -
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Alan Sepinwall 80
Horne and Page have sweet chemistry, but what makes the show work is the cast of eccentrics that Corden and Jones have created around them. -
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Alan Sepinwall 80
The hour offers up office intrigue, romantic complications and a classic Don Draper pitch, not to mention the usual brilliant acting from all involved. -
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Alan Sepinwall 80
Whether Tara is herself or someone else (including a new alter), "Tara" works as both a character drama and an absurdist family comedy because the characters are so well-drawn, and because what happened before isn't forgotten as the show moves forward. -
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Alan Sepinwall 80
Those three performances are so good that they lift up everyone around them, whether it's Combs (best whenever he has Rashad or McDonald to spar with) or John Stamos, surprisingly subtle in what could be a thankless role as the white man who doesn't want the Youngers moving into his neighborhood. -
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Alan Sepinwall 80
Rarely have I smiled as early and as often at a new series as I have at this one, which manage to be gentle and sweet and lighter-than-air without ever departing from the Earth that we know. -
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Alan Sepinwall 80
Now that Sutter and company have finished the long and difficult task of fixing what wasn't working, I want to know everything it has to offer--even if some of those things may give me nightmares. -
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Alan Sepinwall 80
While at times it feels like a bleak HerskoZwick drama--"Fortysomething Going on Fiftysomething"--the stories are leavened with humor, and the chemistry between the leads, and their fine performances. -
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Alan Sepinwall 80
There are enough intriguing, albeit deliberately unfinished, ideas in there to make it worth a look for any fan not only of "Galactica," but the kind of thoughtful science fiction it represented. -
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Alan Sepinwall 80
Hung has more to offer than just John Thomas jokes. Amidst all the sniggering humor about how Ray has been taught to "do your best with the gifts God gave you" is some smart comedy about the state of 21st century America in general, as well as a superb lead performance from Thomas Jane. -
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Alan Sepinwall 80
Party Down may not reinvent Starz the way "Mad Men" did for AMC, but it's a very funny series that any cable channel would be lucky to have. -
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Alan Sepinwall 80
It's at once a simple, R-rated office comedy about a bunch of people who would have nothing to do with each other if they didn't work together, and a pretty wicked satire of the quest for fame at all costs. -
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Alan Sepinwall 80
In that way, he's not unlike the super-competent Michael Westen from "Burn Notice," and "Human Target" has the same fun, retro-chic vibe as that USA series. But because it's on a broadcast network, the show works on a broader scale. -
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Alan Sepinwall 80
The Good Wife is confident and polished, and a much better showcase for Margulies than her last legal drama. -
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Alan Sepinwall 80
I've seen the pilot episode at least four times already, in whole or in parts, and I laugh just as hard at the jokes now as I did the first time. -
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Alan Sepinwall 80
It ain't deep, but the new Five-0 has the setting, it has the style and it has the cast to work. -
