Sioux City Journal's Scores

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For 342 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 58% higher than the average critic
  • 4% same as the average critic
  • 38% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 4.5 points higher than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average TV Show review score: 72
Highest review score: 100 The Bear: Season 4
Lowest review score: 25 Almost Family: Season 1
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 243 out of 243
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 243
  3. Negative: 0 out of 243
243 tv reviews
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  1. There's... Johnny!: Season 1
    [Johnny Carson is] such a presence, it’s hard to concentrate on what happens to those in his employ. Had Reiser and Green made him less vital to the story (even to the point of eliminating the clips), “There’s Johnny” might be a better look at those who worked so hard to win his favor. Now it’s just another journey down “42nd Street” and all the potholes it has to offer.
  2. At Home with Amy Sedaris: Season 1
    Sedaris plays crazy better than anyone. At Home is right in her wheelhouse. It manages to send-up the trivial and make it oh-so-important.
  3. American Horror Story: Season 7
    The seventh season--subtitled “Cult”--is among the most smartly written and addictive.
  4. The Deuce: Season 1
    The Deuce isn’t an easy watch, but it is a telling one. By the time the hairstyles and polyester settle down, it’s ready to explain how the industry took hold, what elements were at play and, essentially, who is teaching syllogisms and who’s crafting them.
  5. Episodes (US): Season 5
    Episodes isn’t made for mass viewing. Its world is too insular (even for the biggest television fan); its take on success is limited. But LeBlanc is a good sport and Mangan and Greig are too good to be limited to British series.
  6. Room 104: Season 1
    The variety--particularly if you watch them consecutively--shines through. Because it’s such a confined space, directors like Smith have to focus on the acting. The episodes are like little workshops. ... It's like any motel--hit and miss.
  7. Ozark: Season 1
    It’s very much another desperate man in a desperate situation. Whether he’ll emerge better than Walter White is anyone’s guess. Dubuque, however, makes the journey just as intriguing.
  8. Tour de Pharmacy
    Andy Samberg may not be in Christopher Guest’s league--yet--but his latest mockumentary, Tour De Pharmacy, has plenty of moments that will make you snicker.
  9. Friends From College: Season 1
    In the eight-episode Netflix series, there’s plenty of action but all of it isn’t that interesting.
  10. T.J. Miller: Meticulously Ridiculous
    More attention to the construction of his set and less to the spontaneity and it might actually be fun. Saturday’s offering suffers from attention deficit.
  11. The Tony Awards
    Spacey did a great job explaining why he was host (using riffs on the nominated musicals to make his point), but he was playing to a home crowd. If you didn’t know anything about “Dear Evan Hansen” (and you should), you wouldn’t understand why he had a cast on his arm (and, later, on his leg).
  12. I'm Dying Up Here: Season 1
    Like the comedians, the scripts try too hard. Once the stage is set (and those conceits are out of the way), I’m Dying starts to breathe and draw us in.
  13. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Season 3
    Fey and Carlock constantly keep audience members on their toes, thrusting ideas that sound so wacky they’d never work. And yet they do.
  14. The Wizard of Lies
    The Wizard of Lies doesn’t have the pop of “The Wolf of Wall Street” or “The Big Short” but it does its best to give viewers a look at a man who still seems like an enigma. Complexity aside, it gives De Niro one more notch on his belt of highly detailed, award-winning characters.
  15. Great News: Season 1
    It’s just another sitcom set at a television show.
  16. Genius (2017): Season 1
    Aptly named, Genius is kinetic.
  17. Veep: Season 6
    While there are far too few Veep episodes each season, the ones that begin this, the sixth, are jewels to treasure. Unimpeachable, Veep remains the best comedy on television. Now, more than ever.
  18. Fargo: Season 3
    Wackier than the last outing, Season Three has a moment in the first episode that is both hilarious and appalling.
  19. Making History: Season 1
    This one doesn’t bother teaching any great lessons. It looks for the laughs, makes its points and gets out.
  20. Trial & Error: Season 1
    “The Jinx” constantly surprised. Trial & Error seems like it’s just going through the motions.
  21. FEUD: Season 1
    Murphy gives his eight-part series a lush old Hollywood look and lets both Lange and Sarandon have fun recreating the quirks that made the actresses so memorable. While Sarandon is a dead ringer for Davis, Lange has to work harder to find the outsized Crawford. Both are ably abetted by a host of actors as recognizable names.
  22. Girls: Season 6
    Like life, it unfolds in quirky ways. Knowing Dunham, its ending will leave questions: Will we get to see what great work comes from her character's experiences? Easily, this could be the "Go Set a Watchman" for something more.
  23. Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2017): Season 1
    By breaking the books into digestible chunks, it goes down smoothly and, yes, makes you want more.
  24. Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds
    That they’re both gone without realizing the full impact they made is probably the saddest part of a very fun journey. Bloom and Stevens didn’t miss a beat.
  25. The Mick: Season 1
    Olson does a great job as the title character, willing to go for anything if it lands a laugh. (Most times it does.)
  26. Stranger Things: Season 1
    The Duffers captured the vibe quite nicely, tell a story that doesn’t seem watered down and emerge with a series that could be the summer’s equivalent of a large popcorn with plenty of butter and a kidney-busting keg of Coke.
  27. Vice Principals: Season 1
    Vice Principals is as profane and outrageous as HBO comedies get. Once you realize where this is headed, you’ll want to stay after school just to see how it all plays out.
  28. Roadies: Season 1
    An uneven peek at the men and women who make headliners look good night after night after night.
  29. The Jim Gaffigan Show: Season 2
    The Jim Gaffigan Show works best when it’s housebound and forced to deal with a man who lives in boxer shorts and never seems too far from an all-you-can-eat home buffet.
  30. BrainDead: Season 1
    BrainDead comments better than a Sunday morning pundit, moves faster than a New York to D.C. train and never pauses to filibuster.
  31. Greenleaf: Season 1
    The drama that surrounds them is fairly familiar and hardly religion-specific. Greenleaf World Ministries needs more of the details that would make this more than just another soap opera.
  32. Roots (2016): Season 1
    It’s a magnetic production, one that’s filled with precious performances that sparkle.
  33. All The Way (2016)
    All the Way works because Cranston is so determined to make Johnson relatable. He shows there’s more to the guy than baling wire and spit. Best of all, he isn’t afraid to let him look weak and afraid.
  34. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Season 2
    Kimmy gets a little smarter, too, and finds relations outside that circle of new life that embraced her last year.
  35. The Night Manager: Season 1
    The Night Manager is easily the best miniseries of the year--in a year packed with monumental ones. Hiddleston, Laurie and Bier aren’t just adding another credit to their resumes. They’re part of a series that’s quite likely a game changer.
  36. Silicon Valley: Season 3
    Silicon Valley isn’t the kind of place you’d like to live (or even work), but it is a fun spot to visit. It makes you happy you never devised a single app in your life
  37. Veep: Season 5
    Veep doesn’t have as many pointed one-liners as it did in the past (could the absence of creator Armando Iannucci be the reason?) but it still boasts a cast that’s as sharp as ever. The addition of John Slattery as a possible love interest is clever, but some installments get bogged down by a parade of guest stars trying to share a bit of the fun.
  38. Houdini & Doyle: Season 1
    The sets and costumes are great. Now, the mysteries need to rise to the occasion.
  39. Crowded: Season 1
    Filled with predictable jokes, stereotypical characters and situations that wouldn’t have been fresh two decades ago, the new comedy wastes its premise and all but deserts star Patrick Warburton, the only one who appears to be making an effort.
  40. The Carmichael Show: Season 2
    “Black-ish” has found a great way of talking about current events without sounding like “Meet the Press.” The Carmichael Show will get there, too, once it lets its very good supporting cast get out and do more.
  41. Fuller House: Season 1
    Fuller House is like a grilled cheese sandwich served with a cup of tomato soup. It’s not exactly amazing, but it’s certainly comforting.
  42. The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story: Season 1
    Both Paulson and Vance are Emmy-worthy. The miniseries is, too, primarily because it makes us care about a story that once seemed impossible to escape.
  43. You, Me and the Apocalypse: Season 1
    By the time You, Me and the Apocalypse” starts making sense, you’ve either abandoned it or forgotten to watch it.
  44. Grease: Live
    Sure, the show’s live sound was spotty in parts (too many lines were inaudible) but its energy was right where it needed to be, particularly in the big dance numbers.
  45. The X-Files: Season 10
    It’s looser--and smarter--and it could just make believers out of those who never joined the conversation in the first place.
  46. American Crime: Season 2
    Through the limited series’ run, guilt is passed like a basketball. Sexual orientation, economic disparity and other headline-grabbing issues get their turn at attention. Best of all, Ridley works with a repertory company of sorts which gamely assume new roles.
  47. Galavant: Season 2
    Like a gentler Monty Python venture, Galavant pokes, prods and pummels current events. It doesn’t get down and dirty, but it isn’t afraid to wallow every now and then. When it does so with a little song and dance, there’s enough fun to last longer than 30 minutes.
  48. Telenovela: Season 1
    All too often, though, this looks like a “Saturday Night Live” skit that doesn’t quite land.
  49. Superstore: Season 1
    It’s better than an unadvertised special and more fun than a deep discount on Black Friday.
  50. The Wiz Live!
    The costumes, sets, choreography and makeup were incredible. And newcomer Shanice Williams as Dorothy? Outstanding. The only problem? The show was so packed with commercials the actors barely sang a song and it was time to cut to five or six ads. As a result, the story (what little there was) was impossible to track.
  51. The Man in the High Castle: Season 1
    Directed by David Semel, the first episode (now available on Amazon) sets a visual tone that immediately sets this apart from other thrillers.... By the second episode, you’ll want to know who’s really good and who’s bad and how the latter will meet their untimely deaths.
  52. Getting On (2013): Season 3
    While Getting On might seem confining--and hardly funny--it’s one of the best workplace comedies on television. Like both versions of “The Office,” it embraces stray looks, asides and slyly funny commentary.
  53. Amy Schumer: Live at the Apollo
    It recalls some of the better standup specials of the past decade. It hits on those R-rated topics she’s good at addressing and it lets her weigh in on the problems women face in Hollywood.
  54. Fargo: Season 2
    It’s involving--and just the series to keep your mind off the snow that's lurking. Fargo's still a prime TV destination.
  55. Scream Queens (2015): Season 1
    The joy, though, is listening to Roberts’ Chanel Oberlin bark at her minions and security officer Denise Hemphill (a brilliant Niecy Nash) savor the show’s writing. They’re funny in a fresh, interesting way that fits nicely with Murphy’s social commentary.
  56. The Muppets (2015): Season 1
    Co-creators Bill Prady and Bob Kushell have given the gang the right setting. Now, they just need to figure out how they fit in a selfie-driven world. Newer Muppets like Pepe the King Prawn do better than veteran ones.
  57. Late Show with Stephen Colbert: Season 1
    Eager to please, Colbert did a few comic bits at the outset (two product placement pieces fell flat) and got plenty of mileage out of Donald Trump. But his best moments were planned ones.... Too often, though, Colbert seemed like a dad trying to be hip with his kids’ friends.
  58. Mr. Robinson: Season 1
    Robinson is still appealing, but he’s surrounded by a gaggle of sitcom stereotypes.
  59. Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp: Season 1
    First Day of Camp’s success depends on your love for the original film and your willingness to sit through some comedic dry spells before you hit a gusher. It isn’t Old Faithful. It’s just a chance to rekindle old times.
  60. I Am Cait: Season 1
    While I Am Cait appears determined to be a noble endeavor, its producers shouldn’t feel obligated to teach every time out.
  61. Masters of Sex: Season 3
    Masters of Sex is highly watchable, not fact. If you understand that, you’re going to enjoy it much more.
  62. 7 Days in Hell
    Cute conceptually, the comedy falls short when director Jake Szymanski searches for ways to fill the time. Dumb on-court antics (including sex with two streakers) don’t really live up to the Christopher Guest ambitions of the rest of the film.
  63. Humans: Season 1
    While the past few TV seasons have had more than a few robot shows, this one bears watching, largely because it doesn’t insist there’s a “robots are good” or “robots are bad” way of thinking.
  64. The Astronaut Wives Club: Season 1
    Astronaut Wives moves as fast as a beach novel, covers more territory than a history book. But it’s history channeled through a distinct lens. The first episode was slow to launch, but the series could take off once we figure out who’s McSteamy and who’s McDreamy.
  65. True Detective: Season 2
    The sharpness of Season One gives way to the moodiness of Season Two. And, thus far (three episodes were made available), it’s hard to get a bead on where this is headed.
  66. Aquarius: Season 1
    This isn’t connect-the-dots storytelling. It’s a blast from the past that reminds us when cop shows succeeded because they were built on great writing.
  67. Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief: Season 1
    Although it’s two hours long, Going Clear speeds by.... Mesmerizing? If you’ve had even a passing interest in Scientology, Going Clear will fascinate in ways you never thought possible.
  68. The Late Late Show with James Corden: Season 1
    Corden isn’t as facile as Fallon, but he also isn’t as fawning. Instead of bringing guests out one at a time, he bunched them (a good move) but didn’t have enough experience to pull both into all conversations.
  69. The Comedians: Season 1
    When the second bananas nudge the top ones, The Comedians has laughs. When it leaves the two to play out a tired game of “The Sunshine Boys,” they vanish.
  70. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Season 1
    While Kemper’s mood can grate, she’s working from a very logical base. There’s the Elizabeth Smart innocence that suggests this does have legs. How long they can maintain the guise is anyone’s guess.
  71. Episodes (US): Season 1
    In Hollywood, it may be business as usual. But in Episodes, it’s fodder for great comedy.
  72. Girls: Season 4
    The new season has plenty of surprises (couples aren’t who you think they are), a reality check for Marnie and a nice showcase for Rannells.
  73. Galavant: Season 1
    Written by Dan Fogelman, Alan Menken and Glenn Slater, the new musical miniseries on ABC has so many clever bits and witty songs you’ll think someone wrote a sequel to “Spamalot.”
  74. Empire (2015): Season 1
    While parts of this are too broad, it’s crafted in such a way it can’t be ignored. Just when you think you’re ready to move away, Henson pulls you back in and Empire becomes the new song you can’t get out of your head.
  75. Downton Abbey: Season 5
    Downton Abbey seems just as fresh as it did five years ago.
  76. Peter Pan Live!
    Dull, sluggish and frequently lost, Walken had none of the spark you’d expect from the “swiniest swine in the world.”... Allison William’s Peter Pan was more successful but only because she took a very straightforward approach to a role that should have been bubbling with life.
  77. Getting On (2013): Season 2
    It slips into a world you probably never knew (or cared about) and finds a way to make you utterly invested.
  78. The Comeback: Season 2
    The concept is interesting, but it would have been more fun to show Valerie in a less high-stakes setting.
  79. Olive Kitteridge: Season 1
    Writer Jane Anderson, cherry-picked four chapters and crafted them into a telling character study that covers 25 years of story.
  80. The Affair: Season 1
    Reiner keeps the interest level high but The Affair requires much more buy-in than the pilot cares to offer.
  81. Gotham: Season 1
    An absorbing, intelligent new drama that gives the Batman mythology one more layer of depth.
  82. The Roosevelts: An Intimate History: Season 1
    It’s a fascinating documentary that’ll make you want to devour it all, no matter where you start.
  83. Houdini: Season 1
    Showing how [Houdini] got the bug, learned his craft and went from sideshow oddity to world-wide celebrity, the film holds interest and makes you want to know more. Then, it pulls back the curtain and shows the locks, keys and stunts he uses to open all those seemingly inescapable devices. It’s a bit like knowing a gift before you unwrap it.
  84. Jonah From Tonga: Season 1
    Jonah from Tonga, a new miniseries from the talented Chris Lilley that doesn’t have enough heft in each episode to prompt weekly return visits. If the episodes were shown in bulk, the whole would have an amazing impact.
  85. Sharknado 2: The Second One
    While it isn’t as much of a surprise as the first Sharknado, this one manages to up the ante and take advantage of its pop culture standing.
  86. The Strain: Season 1
    Ominous, creepy and utterly engaging, The Strain is like the perfect drive-in movie.
  87. Working the Engels: Season 1
    The fish-out-of-water aspect intrigues but it also frustrates.
  88. The Leftovers: Season 1
    By the time the first episode ends, “The Leftovers” has planted enough interest to make you want to stick around. By the time the third installment unfolds, the action really heats up.
  89. Orange is the New Black: Season 2
    Consider how well-crafted they are, you might want to pace yourself and savor every precious moment.
  90. Vicious: Season 1
    While Vicious plots don’t stick, they do entertain.
  91. The Normal Heart
    Like Behind the Candelabra, its action isn’t measured in car chases and explosions. It’s charted in the lives it touches.
  92. Undateable (2014): Season 1
    It’s watchable but it’s not unforgettable and, oddly, it could be.
  93. Penny Dreadful: Season 1
    Logan has the skills to make it anything but cheap. With a respectful eye on some of the public domain classics, he’s primed for a convention of forces that do more than just go bump in the night.
  94. Louie: Season 4
    Because Louis C.K. does everything but hand-deliver the series to the network (and maybe he does that, too), it’s entirely his vision. That’s something few hyphenates get a chance to reveal. Here, though, it resonates.
  95. 24: Live Another Day: Season 9
    [Director] Cassar juggles plenty of balls in that first hour, uses some new techniques at his disposal and gives Rajskub her best scenes yet. But there’s something very retro about the formula--something that doesn’t quite seem ready for revival.
  96. Bad Teacher: Season 1
    It’s not about a “bad” teacher, just a slightly irreverent one.
  97. Fargo: Season 1
    It’s violent in ways you wouldn’t think; daring in areas you couldn’t imagine. It’s not your mother’s Fargo. But it does have the characteristics you’ve come to cherish.
  98. Mad Men: Season 7
    Sunday’s premiere provides the border and key pieces to the oh-so-attractive world that is Mad Men.
  99. Silicon Valley: Season 1
    Silicon Valley is good. But “Silicon Valley 2.0” is going to be even better.
  100. Veep: Season 3
    Tossing Meyer into the election fray was a great idea, particularly since it gets away from the well-worn path she strutted last season. Now, out of her comfort zone, she’s bobbing and weaving with the best of them.
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