Twenty Good Years

Philadelphia Daily NewsEllen Gray

The pilot for "Twenty Good Years" has some genuinely funny moments even as it makes no apparent effort to reinvent the form.

Washington PostTom Shales

The laughs generated are not subtle, but at least they're there.

Philadelphia InquirerJonathan Storm

Without these two, 20 Good Years would be 22 bad minutes of television, but they bring so much skill to their roles, and seem to be having so much fun, you can see the comedy running, if not for 20 years, maybe four or five.

People WeeklyTom Gliatto

So far, it's of interest only for watching Lithgow--who likes to shout his lines with quivering urgency, as if he'd just seen a UFO--as he goes over the top to get a laugh. [16 Oct 2006, p.39]

Wall Street JournalDorothy Rabinowitz

The writing could be sharper, the vision less soft-headed.... That aside, there's no mistaking the sense of life and vitality that comes bouncing out of this series, or its cause -- namely, its two stars.

VarietyBrian Lowry

Even if the material is a trifle slight, pairing of John Lithgow and Jeffrey Tambor brightens matters, serving up smiles if not outright guffaws.

Seattle Post-IntelligencerMelanie McFarland

"Twenty Good Years" is not flat-out awful. It's nowhere close to great, either.

Orlando SentinelHal Boedeker

This show is for people who find Lithgow's shameless shtick uproarious.

Kansas City StarAaron Barnhart

A perfectly serviceable but utterly forgettable sitcom.

Chicago Sun-TimesDoug Elfman

I will be rooting for this series to improve, but not watching it.

USA TodayRobert Bianco

Everything about the show seems designed to misuse its stars and erase our memories of the better work they've done.

Pittsburgh Post-GazetteRob Owen

Viewers who like their comedy broad, loud and silly might take a liking to this "Odd Couple"-like sitcom.

San Francisco ChronicleTim Goodman

The jokes in "Twenty" are both predictable and telegraphed.

San Jose Mercury NewsCharlie McCollum

What's particularly appalling is the way Lithgow is allowed to go way, way over the top in his performance.

Chicago TribuneMaureen Ryan

"Twenty Good Years" is based on the premise these two comedy warhorses can make just about anything work, but this tired vehicle proves too much -- or rather, too little -- for even them.

Hollywood ReporterBarry Garron

If "Twenty" proves anything, it's that even gifted performers can't conceal the flaws of a truly uninspired script, though they can distract from them here and there.

Los Angeles TimesRobert Lloyd

There's nothing inherently wrong with the premise... But what's been done with it, on the evidence of the pilot, is weak, and slightly embarrassing to watch.

The New York TimesAlessandra Stanley

It is a male version of “The Golden Girls,” but with weaker writing, and older viewers are not saps.

Newark Star-LedgerAlan Sepinwall

If it weren't for [Lithgow's] shameless bellowing, "20 Good Years" would be excruciating, instead of the (very) occasionally amusing hackfest it's turned out to be.

NewsdayVerne Gay

It is so ancient - in approach, tone, style and energy - that you can almost see the dust bunnies tumble across the set.

New York Daily NewsDavid Hinckley

"Twenty Good Years" is so bad, its pilot doesn't contain 20 good seconds.

Detroit Free PressMike Duffy

Despite Lithgow and Tambor's capabilities, the series sags badly amid the moldy excesses of generic, over-the-top slapstick.

TimeJames Poniewozik

This is the same kind of odd-couple pairing that TV has been trying to sell for decades, and, like most every odd-couple concept after the actual Odd Couple, the premise has not even Twenty Good Minutes of humor in it.

Miami HeraldGlenn Garvin

This show just isn't funny. At all. Ever. Under any circumstances.

New York PostLinda Stasi

If you last through 20 minutes of "Twenty Good Years," NBC's new sit-no-com, you are either a saint, a madman or in a tragic and irreversible coma.

Boston GlobeMatthew Gilbert

The show is just awful.