David Wiegand, San Francisco Chronicle
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For 306 reviews, this critic has graded:
  • 50% higher than the average critic
  • 3% same as the average critic
  • 47% lower than the average critic
On average, this critic grades 0 points lower than other critics. (0-100 point scale)

David Wiegand's Scores

  • TV
Average review score: 63
Highest review score:
Wilfred: Season 1
Critic Score 100
Lowest review score:
Beauty and the Beast (2012): Season 1
Critic Score 0
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 161 out of 306
  2. Mixed: 99 out of 306
  3. Negative: 46 out of 306
306 tv reviews
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    • Metascore: 75
    • David Wiegand 75
    Family Tree: Season 1
    Just as "A Mighty Wind" and "Waiting for Guffman" aren't like traditional movies, "Family Tree" isn't like traditional sitcoms, in that there isn't a traditional setup-punch-line structure to it. It does evoke comedies such as "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and "Arrested Development," though, where the humor is more incremental, character-based and cumulative.
    • Metascore: 42
    • David Wiegand 50
    Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior: Season 1
    It's all pretty average and watchable largely because of the cast.
    • Metascore: 32
    • David Wiegand 50
    Lennon Naked: Season 1
    Despite the fact that the film focuses on just a few critical years of Lennon's life, the pacing is plodding and scattershot at the same time.
    • Metascore: 55
    • David Wiegand 50
    Tracy Morgan: Black and Blue: Season 1
    Morgan is appealing and brilliant in many ways, but as a stand-up comic, he needs better material. Or at least a few different positions.
    • Metascore: 75
    • David Wiegand 50
    The Chicago Code: Season 1
    The Chicago Code may stick to police-procedural formula, but it does have most of the elements needed to make the show at least a moderate success. With better writing and a bit more imagination, it could do even better.
    • Metascore: 49
    • David Wiegand 50
    Off the Map: Season 1
    The real challenge for the writers is to use the show's formula without becoming so enslaved to it that they fail to allow the characters to move beyond being cliches.
    • Metascore: 73
    • David Wiegand 50
    Episodes (US): Season 1
    The performances are actually good in the series, if only the actors had credible or remotely likable or, dare we ask, funny characters to play.
    • Metascore: 48
    • David Wiegand 50
    Harry's Law: Season 1
    When the balance is off, as it is too frequently in Harry's Law, it undermines credibility. Bates is almost capable of making us overlook some of the show's problems.
    • Metascore: 59
    • David Wiegand 50
    Fairly Legal : Season 1
    Fairly Legal is adequately entertaining, thanks in large part to Shahi, an engaging actress who looks like Anne Hathaway.
    • Metascore: 71
    • David Wiegand 50
    Portlandia: Season 1
    Despite the fact that Portlandia features different sketches in each episode, the show already begins to feel like a stretch by the second show.
    • Metascore: 64
    • David Wiegand 50
    Terra Nova: Season 1
    The slowdown of the show's pace is one thing, but the real issue here is that the family element often feels inauthentic and just isn't up to the quality of the CGI-fueled action sequences.
    • Metascore: 65
    • David Wiegand 50
    Pioneers of Television: Season 2
    Regardless of the memories and anecdotes, what these films lack are commentators who can provide cultural context.
    • Metascore: 60
    • David Wiegand 50
    Mad Love: Season 1
    It's hard to judge a show by a single episode (although, in some cases--NBC's "Perfect Couples," for example--the stench is instantly convincing), but Mad Love has at least the seeds of eventual success.
    • Metascore: 78
    • David Wiegand 50
    Thurgood: Season 1
    It probably works better onstage, but Stevens should know that what you do to achieve suspension of disbelief in a theater is not what you do to convince an audience that what it is seeing in a film is real.
    • Metascore: 58
    • David Wiegand 50
    America's Next Great Restaurant: Season 1
    What makes the show at least mildly interesting is that it's not always easy to predict who will make it to the next round and who will be cut.
    • Metascore: 55
    • David Wiegand 50
    The Pee-wee Herman Show on Broadway: Season 1
    While it seems apparent that seeing the show live would be a hoot, it doesn't translate to television all that well--it just feels shrunken and confined by the medium.
    • Metascore: 58
    • David Wiegand 50
    Camelot: Season 1
    Pieces of the familiar Arthurian epic are preserved in the script, but that doesn't mean the characters fit our images of them.
    • Metascore: 50
    • David Wiegand 50
    Marcel's Quantum Kitchen: Season 1
    And, in most cases, he has a concept for how the food will look, then has to figure out how to make it work. Taste is important, but seems to be somewhat of an afterthought.
    • Metascore: 57
    • David Wiegand 50
    Happy Endings: Season 1
    Created by David Caspe, Happy Endings needs better writing and characters who don't look like characters in other forgettable sitcoms. Otherwise, this show's ending may be anything but happy.
    • Metascore: 56
    • David Wiegand 50
    Franklin & Bash : Season 1
    F&B will rise or fall almost entirely on the basis of how likable you find Gosselaar and Meyer, not to mention the wisecrack-stuffed dialogue.
    • Metascore: 61
    • David Wiegand 50
    Teen Wolf: Season 1
    It is billed as scarier and sexier than the lighthearted film series. It is that, but still plays it safer than, say, "Vampire Diaries" or the "Twilight" films.
    • Metascore: 63
    • David Wiegand 50
    Alphas: Season 1
    Of course, it's a coup for SyFy to snag Strathairn for the new series, but this is very much an ensemble piece. The other performers are all great at being unlikely and, at times, downright cranky heroes. Still, while their crankiness is initially appealing, it could wear thin pretty quickly unless they are given really smart crimes to solve.
    • Metascore: 58
    • David Wiegand 50
    Case Histories: Season 1
    Isaacs makes an attractively moody hero, and both the supporting and guest casts are superb. That said, the episodes tend to meander slowly from plot point to plot point.
    • Metascore: 47
    • David Wiegand 50
    Happily Divorced: Season 1
    Drescher is almost as appealing as ever, but the vehicle barely passes inspection.
    • Metascore: 66
    • David Wiegand 50
    New Girl: Season 1
    Where everything comes together beautifully in "Broke," New Girl tries too hard and falls short for doing so.
    • Metascore: 60
    • David Wiegand 50
    Suits: Season 1
    This is what USA does best, and Suits has a good shot of staying on the team. The only real danger is whether viewers will reach the saturation point for this kind of show. That's possible, even if the premise for Suits isn't.
    • Metascore: 43
    • David Wiegand 50
    Hart of Dixie: Season 1
    The show is cozy, predictable, comfortable and, like a good ole' huntin' dog, not in need of serious housebreaking.
    • Metascore: 64
    • David Wiegand 50
    The Big C: Season 2
    The writers have calmed down a bit this season, but they still can't seem to resist the urge for over-the-top plot strings.
    • Metascore: 39
    • David Wiegand 50
    Roseanne's Nuts: Season 1
    She's foulmouthed, abrasive and suffers absolutely nothing gladly. Yet, as always, her own foibles crack her up as much as they do her boyfriend or visiting eldest son. The fact that she's completely unafraid to hold herself up to ridicule endears her to her audience.
    • Metascore: 48
    • David Wiegand 50
    Same Name: Season 1
    In the long run, our interest in the show will directly correspond to our interest in whatever celebrity is featured from week to week.
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