Critic Reviews
| 70 |
Wall Street Journal Nancy DeWolf Smith
The plots are complex enough to sustain mystery, and if the mean streets of Toronto aren’t all that scary, this is a good thing for a show that is trying not to shock, but to entertain. |
| 63 |
Chicago Sun-Times Paige Wiser
His light blue eyes are so piercing you may forget that his special skill isn't X-ray vision. But he's supported by writing and characters that may induce eye rolling. |
| 58 |
Newsday Verne Gay
In a word, The Listener is boring. Or, if you prefer alliteration, listless. |
| 50 |
Hollywood Reporter Daniel Carlson
Listener is a serviceable supernatural drama with legitimate narrative potential that's undercut by its visually bland presentation and geographically nonspecific execution. |
| 50 |
New York Post Linda Stasi
It's all dopey--and as believable as a telepathic paramedic, a supermodel detective and a partner who doesn't notice he's riding around with a psychic. |
| 42 |
Entertainment Weekly Ken Tucker
This guy Toby the Listener wouldn't even qualify for NBC's Legion of Substitute Heroes. |
| 40 |
Philadelphia Daily News Ellen Gray
The writers, while showing a certain lack of imagination in feeding Toby the voices of passers-by--no, it's unlikely that woman who passes you on the street, guys, is thinking what they think she's thinking--have at least invested their lead with a mildly intriguing backstory. |
| 40 |
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Rob Owen
Canadian actor Craig Olejnik sports choppy black hair and piercing blue eyes--the only standout attribute in NBC's The Listener, an otherwise generic procedural drama. |
| 40 |
The New York Times
A co-production with the Canadian network CTV that is a ponderous exercise in the paranormal. Yes, here the science fiction is intentional, but The Listener is plagued by the same gloomy lack of urgency that afflicts “Flashpoint.” |
| 40 |
New York Daily News David Hinckley
For the moment, it would be nice if the show could just make the present more compelling. |
| 30 |
Boston Globe Joanna Weiss
A show so stunningly derivative that it feels a little bit insulting. |
| 30 |
Variety Brian Lowry
Actually, it's really just more of a bore (bore ... bore). |
| 30 |
Washington Post Tom Shales
The premiere is filled with flaws that may well be endemic to the series, one of them being that the characters behave so stupidly that one loses sympathy for them. |
| 20 |
Miami Herald Glenn Garvin
Chemistry is just one of the ingredients lacking in the Canadian-made The Listener, NBC's new drama about a psychic paramedic. Others include but are not limited to plot, dialogue and acting skill. |
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