| 60 |
Los Angeles Times Robert Lloyd
It may be seen as a kinder, gentler, funnier cousin to Fox's bitter " 'Til Death." |
| 60 |
Orlando Sentinel Hal Boedeker
Uneven. |
| 60 |
Variety Brian Lowry
Two of the first three episodes [reveal] an assured, risque, semi-cynical air that should dovetail nicely with "Two and a Half Men." |
| 50 |
San Francisco Chronicle Tim Goodman
You might not remember to record it every week, but if you stumble upon it, you might stay. |
| 50 |
Christian Science Monitor
Pity Patrick Warburton whose dour delivery is the brightest spot in this half hour. He clearly feels trapped, but not by his marriage. |
| 42 |
Entertainment Weekly Gillian Flynn
Rules is similar to Fox's grimly unamusing comedy 'Til Death, but it has one major advantage: deadpan, rubbery Patrick Warburton. |
| 40 |
Chicago Tribune Maureen Ryan
At no point will you feel like scratching your own eyes out rather than sitting through an episode. So there’s that. |
| 40 |
The New York Times Alessandra Stanley
It’s not a groundbreaking new series by any means, but it has some redeeming virtues. |
| 37 |
USA Today Robert Bianco
Rules is one of those sitcoms that makes people who hate sitcoms hate sitcoms. |
| 30 |
Newark Star-Ledger Alan Sepinwall
Having two nearly identical, equally mediocre sitcoms on the air at the same time isn't exactly a crime, but it seems an awful waste of someone's time and energy. |
| 30 |
TV Guide Matt Roush
Rules would be more engaging if it weren't so familiar, but there is at least one consistently hilarious performance: Patrick Warburton. |
| 30 |
New York Magazine John Leonard
When it isn’t slamming bedroom doors in a high-rise apartment house in ostensible Manhattan (just like Mad About You except without the charm) or meeting for heavy innuendos at the corner diner (just like Seinfeld except without the writers), Rules reiterates Til Death’s take on marriage. |
| 25 |
Chicago Sun-Times Doug Elfman
"Rules" and "'Til Death" bear exactly the same ups and downs. The ups: essentially a good cast, plus sporadic funny lines. The downs: many un-funny lines, plus rehashed storylines from a thousand episodes of married-life sitcoms dating all the way back to "The Honeymooners." |
| 25 |
Detroit Free Press Mike Duffy
A ho-hum traditional sitcom filled with formula banter and cliched cuteness. |
| 25 |
People Weekly Tom Gliatto
Everything has the familiar mechanical deadness of a sitcom assembled from old ideas. [12 Feb 2007, p.39] |
| 20 |
San Jose Mercury News Charlie McCollum
There isn't a single new comedy idea in any of the upcoming episodes, and in some scenes, you practically can yell out the punch line before the characters get to it. |
| 20 |
Seattle Post-Intelligencer Melanie McFarland
Besides making every aspect of dating and mating look depressing, it's hard to come up with a reason to spend time with any of these characters. |
| 20 |
Newsday Diane Werts
This one isn't David Spade's fault. Really it isn't. |
| 20 |
Baltimore Sun David Zurawik
Let's hope Rules is just a misguided piece of fluff that disappears after a dozen episodes - and not a bellwether series trying to tell us something about how our lives have changed for the worse. |
| 20 |
LA Weekly Robert Abele
The series quickly begins to resemble one of those fake sitcoms you’d see in a snide movie that likes to take easy potshots at low culture. |
| 12 |
New York Daily News David Hinckley
"Rules of Engagement" is no more believable than it is amusing, and it's never amusing. |
| 10 |
Philadelphia Daily News Ellen Gray
Painful-to-watch. |
| 10 |
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Rob Owen
Besides being uninspired, "Rules" isn't all that funny. |
| 10 |
Salon Heather Havrilesky
The story lines are every bit as insufferable as the punch lines. |
| 10 |
Washington Post Tom Shales
No one in the cast is likely to be your new favorite actor. |
| 0 |
Boston Globe Matthew Gilbert
While TV comedy is getting good again, the network has decided it's time to resurrect the groan-inducing cliches of stinky sitcoms to remind us of just how truly rancid the genre can get. |
| 0 |
New York Post Linda Stasi
Everyone involved in creating this show should be forced to immediately seek other forms of employment. This business is not - repeat, not - for you. |
