| 80 |
Orlando Sentinel Hal Boedeker
Proves that a conventionally made sitcom can still produce laughter. |
| 80 |
LA Weekly Robert Abele
In Keenan and Lloyd’s world of dizzy, barb-tossing sophisticates, this group is confident and well-armed: Channing’s patented ladies-who-lunch tartness, Winkler’s nervous defensiveness, Burrell’s blasé arrogance, Marshall’s droll delivery and Gorham’s frustrated sensitivity all mix like a well-shaken cocktail, even if it’s the kind that gets tossed in somebody’s face. |
| 75 |
USA Today Robert Bianco
Practice is the kind of show that will probably appeal to those who like their comedy theatrical. |
| 75 |
New York Daily News David Hinckley
Its supporting players steal the spotlight from the central character. |
| 75 |
Detroit Free Press Mike Duffy
"Out of Practice" is that increasingly rare old-fashioned sitcom that delivers decent laughs. |
| 70 |
Hollywood Reporter Barry Garron
With its superb cast, impeccable direction and mostly sharp writing, "Out of Practice" demonstrates simultaneously how polished and professional a sitcom can be and why TV comedy, with a few notable exceptions, is in such a funk. |
| 70 |
Philadelphia Inquirer Jonathan Storm
Tonight's episode employs the same he's-talking-about-one-thing, she's-talking-about-another, and neither-one-knows-it farcical convention that was frequently featured in Frasier, and goes back at least to Moliere. These pros bring it off with panache. |
| 70 |
Chicago Tribune Maureen Ryan
"Practice" has the kind of easy flow that comes from veteran sitcom experts. |
| 70 |
The New York Times Alessandra Stanley
Pleasant to watch. |
| 70 |
Variety Phil Gallo
[It] already feels like it's been on air for three seasons... in a good way. |
| 67 |
Entertainment Weekly Whitney Pastorek
At least Henry Winkler didn't ditch Arrested Development for a show that totally blows. [7 Oct 2005, p.64] |
| 60 |
Washington Post Tom Shales
Boasts the strongest cast of any new sitcom. |
| 50 |
Boston Globe Matthew Gilbert
If someone turns down the volume, ''Out of Practice" has the potential to become a likable, if conventional, sitcom. |
| 50 |
Los Angeles Times Robert Lloyd
Although there is nothing compelling... ["Out Of Practice" is a] professional job and not hard to watch. |
| 50 |
Seattle Post-Intelligencer Melanie McFarland
It isn't as funny as it should be. |
| 50 |
New York Post Linda Stasi
These pros deserve better than bad jokes and swinging doors. |
| 40 |
PopMatters Michael Abernethy
Had Keenan and Lloyd devoted more time to providing their characters with depth and less to flinging insults, viewers might have developed empathy for them and better understood why they feel such aggression toward one another. |
| 40 |
Village Voice Joy Press
Has a few funny lines. |
| 38 |
People Weekly Tom Gliatto
In the first few episodes, nothing's happening. No pulse. Doctor, what's wrong? [24 Oct 2005, p.41] |
| 30 |
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Rob Owen
"Out of Practice" relies on trite misunderstandings and crude dialogue, both go-to gags for uninspired sitcom scribes. |
| 25 |
Chicago Sun-Times Doug Elfman
"Out of Practice" lives in a comedy vacuum: All its laughs are trapped inside and can't get out. |
| 10 |
Miami Herald Glenn Garvin
A purported sitcom, it draws no laughs... but does manage the impressive achievement of making Stockard Channing and Henry Winkler, playing Gorham's parents, thoroughly unlikable. |
| 10 |
Kansas City Star Aaron Barnhart
Shockingly unfunny. |
| 10 |
Newsday Verne Gay
If you expect the worst, your expectations will probably be met. |
