Sioux City Journal's Scores

  • TV
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. Mixed: 0 out of 243
  2. Negative: 0 out of 243
243 tv reviews
  1. A series that scores inning after inning. “What We Do in the Shadows” is a clear comedy league leader.
  2. “Fleabag” has callbacks to the first season’s revelation and an ending that’s so perfect it really should be in a textbook for comedy writers.
  3. It’s involving--and just the series to keep your mind off the snow that's lurking. Fargo's still a prime TV destination.
  4. How Harjo will end the series is anyone’s guess. Easily, the town could continue on with other stories, other protagonists. The four friends, however, were the lure that brought us in. No doubt, their exit will be emotional. If there’s a lesson to be learned from the journey, it’s this: Great stories are everywhere. It just requires someone to give them light.
  5. Sure, it’s billed as a comedy but there are so many touching moments it could easily top the shows that are billed as dramas. ... You’ll also see why there are many rites of passage in a teenager’s life. Some come with guidance; others require a little on-the-job experience. All should be preserved as beautifully as these.
  6. 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.
  7. The series isn’t a fluke. It’s as good as we thought it was last year and, maybe, even a little bit better. When you see the fulcrum at home, you’ll understand what pokes “The Bear.” In a word, it’s phenomenal. And the series is, too. It proves “every second counts.”
  8. Like a good novel, The Staircase never seems to bore. It does, however, give viewers pause when it comes to the justice system.
  9. 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.
  10. 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
  11. While “Hacks” isn’t as ruthless as it was in its infancy, it does have moments where Smart can bear her claws. .... When Deborah gets a guest spot, “Hacks” hits its apex and puts everyone on alert. It’s the season’s best episode and yet another reason Smart is the best female in a comedy series, hands-down.
  12. Consider how well-crafted they are, you might want to pace yourself and savor every precious moment.
  13. While “Gemstones” doesn’t bite the religious hand quite the way it did in previous seasons, it does conclude without a big sermon. Aimee-Leigh might have delivered the message in song. But the way Jesse, Judy and Kelvin do it is quite good – and just the farewell we need until they return with a big “Gemstones” movie.
  14. Wackier than the last outing, Season Three has a moment in the first episode that is both hilarious and appalling.
  15. Writer Jane Anderson, cherry-picked four chapters and crafted them into a telling character study that covers 25 years of story.
  16. 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.
  17. It’s a fascinating documentary that’ll make you want to devour it all, no matter where you start.
  18. While “Hacks” will definitely be in the hunt for more Emmys (it won for Smart and its writing and directing), look for Metcalf to join their ranks. The second season’s third episode is about as good as these things get.
  19. 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.
  20. Haggard finds much to embrace and a great way of making you think of all people.
  21. It gleefully wallows in its own world, suggesting nobody in Washington really knows what makes it tick. While Louis-Dreyfus is just as Emmy-worthy as ever, it’s Simons who rises to this season’s top.
  22. While Blanchett waltzes through the miniseries like Eleanor Parker, she doesn’t quite get the hardscrabble woman who tilted at the ERA windmill. She’s too patrician for those of us who remember her. ... Martindale and Ullman have done their homework, but it’s Elizabeth Banks as Jill Ruckelshaus and Byrne who impress. They capture the movement’s urgency and help us understand their place in it. ... “Mrs. America” might have benefitted from an additional episode to explain how many of [Schlafly's] disciples went on to win seats in the House and the Senate.
  23. Girls was great last year. But this season it just got a little bit better.
  24. At times, True Detective just seems like an overlong episode of a standard television series. But the flashbacks and flash forwards give it heft and let Fukunaga push the actors.
  25. 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.
  26. The series may have been a dandy offering during the pandemic (if you didn’t binge it then, you should now), but it’s a good digestif for the world we’re in now.
  27. Miller and company don’t always make it easy to follow (the flashbacks could be confusing for new converts), but they never undercut Atwood’s impact.
  28. Tyson's so perfectly cast, perfectly directed and perfected nuanced, Bountiful overflows with the kind of goodness we rarely find in TV movies.
  29. A compelling look at the 1963 March on Washington for civil rights.
  30. Anderson, a favorite in British theater, shows American audiences yet another nuanced take that manages to nudge even Colman’s performance. ... While Corrin doesn’t make a deep impression until the third episode, she gives Diana a strength we haven’t seen before.

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