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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed shows.
Standoff
EMAILPRINTSERIES: Fox, Tuesday 9:00p (60 minutes)
Generally unfavorable reviews
Based on 20 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 46 votes
Read user comments
Rate this show >
Show Info
Genre(s): Drama
Created By: Craig Silverstein
First Air Date: September 5, 2006
Summary
Starring Ron Livingston, Rosemarie DeWitt, Michael Cudlitz, Gina Torres, and Raquel Alessi
The short summary: FBI hostage negotiators in love. The slightly longer summary: Fox tries for "Moonlighting," but the witty banter part proves to be too tough to reproduce.
Episode Guide & More Info: More about this show at TV.com
Also On The Web: Official Show Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Christian Science MonitorGloria Goodale
The series' unique angle lends itself to interesting psychological drama as it explores the hows and whys of hostage negotiation - even as it dishes out a heavy helping of FOX's de rigueur hoppin' hormones.
Read Full Review >Entertainment WeeklyGillian Flynn
Standoff doesn't recreate the genre, but it certainly refreshes it. [15 Sep 2006, p.64]
San Francisco ChronicleTim Goodman
Can we negotiate for a better premise if we release some hostages?
Read Full Review >Wall Street JournalNancy DeWolf Smith
The main thing in its favor is the chemical tension between its stars. That may not be enough, but it's something.
Read Full Review >USA TodayRobert Bianco
It's hard to say what seems sillier: the show's misplaced attempts at comedy or the intuitive leaps that allow the agents to solve the case.
Read Full Review >Detroit Free PressMike Duffy
From start to finish, "Standoff" is slickly contrived, formulaic crime drama nonsense.
Read Full Review >NewsdayVerne Gay
"Standoff" does seem to emerge miraculously out of the fumes of '70s TV - a near-perfect reformulation of every bone-weary cliche, every hackneyed piece of cop chatter (Dan Tanna lives!) that last-century TV glorified in.
Read Full Review >The New York TimesAlessandra Stanley
Chemistry is supposed to be the binding element of “Standoff,” and the two leads, while appealing in their own right, seem neither well matched nor sufficiently mismatched.
Read Full Review >Newark Star-LedgerAlan Sepinwall
There's potentially a good show here; the pilot's just a miss.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles TimesPaul Brownfield
The standoffs... are less than exhilarating thrill rides.
Read Full Review >New York Daily NewsDavid Hinckley
These actors more than deserve a series of their own. They deserve a good one, and "Standoff" isn't it.
Read Full Review >Chicago Sun-TimesDoug Elfman
If Matt and Emily blow up, the show doesn't get a second episode. Because they'll be dead. Keep your fingers crossed.
Read Full Review >Chicago TribuneMaureen Ryan
"Standoff" isn't a terrible show, it's just an unnecessary one.
Read Full Review >Boston GlobeMatthew Gilbert
The tonal dissonance in "Standoff" is deafening, like pairing up, say, Jewel and Meat Loaf for a duet.
Read Full Review >Kansas City StarAaron Barnhart
I’m having a reverse case of Stockholm Syndrome with “Standoff”: The more time I spend with it, the less I like it.
Read Full Review >Hollywood ReporterBarry Garron
The series premiere suffers from a catalog of problems longer than most demand lists.
Read Full Review >Seattle Post-IntelligencerMelanie McFarland
"Standoff" fails to connect on almost every level.
Read Full Review >VarietyPhil Gallo
An awkward pairing of adult relationship drama and procedural cop show, "Standoff" bombs on both counts.
Read Full Review >Pittsburgh Post-GazetteRob Owen
Never mind the unbelievable premise -- the way the audience is introduced to it is so strained it's painful to watch.
Read Full Review >Washington PostTom Shales
It's hard to imagine a civilized audience of any significant size wanting to sit through these trumped-up conflicts and lazy-daisy crises week after week.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this show is 8.1 (out of 10) based on 46 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
J C. gave it a9:
This was one of the only shows that I actually looked forward to... it was easy to get into the show with the actors involved.
Sheila gave it a10:
I am very disappointed that the show was canceled. It was 1 of only 2 shows I looked forward to all week and Ive already started watching past episodes on myspace.
Mary M. gave it a10:
I enjoy the romance of Matt and Emily and I find the hostage negotiations interesting.
Teresa S. gave it a10:
have you ever noticed, even with movies, "professional" critics (and i use the word professional loosely) tend to not like a lot of things that the people (who are what really matters) seems to love them? I don't even listen to critics anymore. I pay attention to what people like myself have to say. And I say this show is excellent and would be extremely sad to see it go.
edward d gave it a10:
I think this is a great show. Why would anyone like a cartoon better? I guess I don't get how some people think?
Wynne S gave it a10:
The entusiasm and fine acting of Ron and the others are worth watching even if the storyine is bad, which it isn't
Nathan S gave it a9:
It is a very good T.V. Show.
