The Oregonian's Scores

  • TV
Select another publication »
For 291 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 52% higher than the average critic
  • 4% same as the average critic
  • 44% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 0.9 points higher than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average TV Show review score: 68
Highest review score: 100 Mrs. America: Season 1
Lowest review score: 10 Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 191 out of 191
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 191
  3. Negative: 0 out of 191
191 tv reviews
view
per page
  1. Transparent: Season 2
    Scenes set in 1920s Berlin, apparent flashbacks that seem like they're aching to be their own show, but don't quite work in this one.... The further adventures of that family, in all their flawed glory, make Season 2 of Transparent a smart, sensual treat.
  2. Better Call Saul: Season 5
    After four good, sometimes uneven seasons, "Better Call Saul” returns for Season 5 feeling like it finally knows where it’s going.
  3. Succession: Season 3
    “Succession” is the best show on TV. Which makes it a particular pleasure to report that Season 3 lives up to that superlative.
  4. The Handmaid's Tale: Season 1
    Painfully timely. It's also absolutely enraging, and completely riveting. ... The Handmaid's Tale isn't just the best original show Hulu has ever done. It's one of the most impressive series of the year.
  5. Transparent: Season 1
    Tambor's delicacy and sincerity as Maura are subtle and moving, though he never aims for sentimentality. The comedy and difficulty of what this all means for the Pfefferman family are beautifully balanced.
  6. Master of None: Season 1
    Master of None is a warmer, sweeter show than "Louie" often is, and it's less cynical than a raft of other comedies on TV and elsewhere.
  7. Transparent: Season 3
    In Season 3, the superb writing and performances make Transparent more satisfying than ever. If there's a standout, it's Light as Shelly, providing most of the comedy as Shelly works on her own one-woman show.
  8. The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story: Season 1
    Like the trial itself--and the spectacle that surrounded it--The People v. O.J. Simpson is sometimes trashy, often disturbing, and so compelling that it's impossible to stop watching.
  9. The Vietnam War: Season 1
    The Vietnam War is both the most powerful film Burns has produced, and the most despairing. ... By the end of the fascinating, sometimes wrenchingly hard to watch 18 hours, it's impossible to regard the Vietnam War as anything other than an agonizing failure, one that taught Americans to be cynical about a government that lied to them, sent Americans off to risk their lives, and made one costly bad decision after another.
  10. Succession: Season 2
    One of TV’s best shows. In Season 2, “Succession” continues to demonstrate that unlikable characters can make for riveting TV. ... “Succession” is good, nasty fun.
  11. Masters of Sex: Season 2
    Masters of Sex is better than ever.
  12. Fargo: Season 3
    If subsequent chapters in the 10-episode season stay at this high level, Fargo again looks like a contender for best TV series of the year.
  13. Olive Kitteridge: Season 1
    Adapted from a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Elizabeth Strout, Olive Kitteridge is an extraordinary character study, featuring a brilliant performance by Frances McDormand.
  14. A Parks and Recreation Special
    The “Parks and Recreation” special made the most of its brisk running time, packing in lovely moments for the characters, and gently delivering the message that we need to take care of our emotional and mental health as we quarantine during these anxious times.
  15. The Roosevelts: An Intimate History: Season 1
    Burns and his frequent collaborator, writer Geoffrey C. Ward, plunge into the elements that make The Roosevelts so engrossing, enlightening and entertaining. In a seemingly effortless balancing act, Burns and Ward do justice to the massive mark these three individuals left on the country's history, while also keeping a tight focus on their inner lives.
  16. Muhammad Ali
    At close to eight hours over four parts, the film at times feels overly long, with considerable time and attention is paid to Ali’s boxing matches. The final chapter feels both truncated and sad. ... But overall, the documentary makes abundantly clear why Ali became the most famous man in the world, and why, when he died in 2016, he was widely loved.
  17. Better Call Saul: Season 3
    The two Season 3 episodes made available to critics feature both familiar strengths and weaknesses of the series so far.
  18. Mrs. America: Season 1
    From the lead roles to the ensemble, “Mrs. America” has a fabulous cast, and the writing gives them plenty to work with. Blanchett is totally in command as Schlafly. ... “Mrs. America” is one of the best shows so far this year, and it’s worth seeking out.
  19. The Crown: Season 2
    Utterly fascinating. ... The Crown is a showcase for keen character observation and inspired acting, not only from Foy. As Philip, Smith is able to show more dimensions of a man who's hard to like, but not easy to outright condemn.
  20. Howards End: Season 1
    Lonergan's gift for empathizing with characters while clearly seeing their flaws fills every scene with rich, unsentimental emotion. Lonergan's work is matched by director Hettie MacDonald, who, rather than leaning on handsome production design and costumes, makes the material feel immediate, and the characters' choices full of risk. ... The cast more than rises to the occasion.
  21. The Crown: Season 4
    [Lady Diana Spencer (Emma Corrin)'s] transformation from the “Shy Di” young wife of Prince Charles (Josh O’Connor) to the desperately unhappy, but increasingly popular, Princess of Wales gives Season 4 a propulsive energy. Equally riveting are storylines involving Margaret Thatcher (played with clenched-jaw virtuosity by Gillian Anderson). ... If anything, Season 4 of “The Crown” suffers from an overabundance of plotlines that beg for more attention.
  22. The Rehearsal: Season 1
    “Sometimes, I’m not sure why I make the choices I do,” Fielder says. Viewers may not know either, but “The Rehearsal” is unique in making us wonder. Whether you laugh, or stare in amazement, “The Rehearsal” will definitely keep you watching.
  23. The Black Church: This Is Our Story, This Is Our Song
    “The Black Church” feels a bit rushed toward the end, as Gates tries to address the ongoing horrors of racial violence, police killings of unarmed Black men, and younger activists finding the Church doesn’t reflect their progressive views. But even with its flaws, “The Black Church” flows like a river, carrying viewers forward in the tradition of the glorious music that has been an essential element of worship for centuries.
  24. Fargo: Season 1
    The setting is convincingly snowy and wintry (it was filmed in Calgary, Canada), the writing is clever, and the actors are outstanding.
  25. The Deuce: Season 1
    The Deuce is probably the best new show of the 2017 fall TV season, with superb acting, punchy writing, expert production design, great music, and a storytelling flair that keeps you watching. That said, The Deuce may also make you feel a bit queasy.
  26. Ted Lasso: Season 2
    If there are fewer laugh-out-loud moments in Season 2, the series goes deeper, and the actors are more than able to rise to the challenge of blending humor and drama.
  27. The Beatles: Get Back: Season 1
    Is it a long sit? Definitely. Are there moments when you wish the band would quit noodling around and amusing themselves by playing snippets of rock oldies or the Harry Lime theme from “The Third Man?” Absolutely. Will you feel impatient as you wait for more finished versions of such songs as “Get Back” to emerge? Sure. All that said, Jackson’s film is something special.
  28. Show Me a Hero: Season 1
    At times, the pace drags. Some scenes make the same points over and over again. Sticking with it may feel like eating your spinach. But the commitment is worth it.
  29. GLOW: Season 2
    The female wrestlers are a splendid ensemble, both in their silly show, and in GLOW. But they’re always individuals. ... The 10 episodes in GLOW Season 2 go by so fast, they’ll leave you wanting more.
  30. The Affair: Season 1
    Aside from a few off-key moments, based on the instantly compelling performances, and the novelty of the his-and-hers storytelling, The Affair has an appeal that may be hard to resist.
  31. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel: Season 2
    All in all, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is even better in Season 2, rising above a few flat spots to offer bubbly, exuberant entertainment.
  32. Mad Men: Season 7
    With its signature mixture of tiny details providing texture and easy storytelling flow, Mad Men lures us back into its final season with all the confidence in the world.
  33. Watchmen (2019): Season 1
    “Watchmen” suffers from the sense that anything can happen at any time, so nothing really matters. ... As with “The Leftovers,” the talented cast members do their best to tie together the various portions of the unfocused storyline.
  34. American Crime: Season 1
    When Ridley's narrative threatens to get too heavy-handed, the individual struggles and tragedies of the characters keep the story grounded.
  35. Broadchurch: Season 3
    Though Chibnall doesn't quite stick the landing in the last of the eight episodes--when we learn the truth about Trish's assault, it feels a bit too much like an "Author's Message" sign should be flashing--any fan of intelligent TV should watch Broadchurch Season 3.
  36. The Crown: Season 3
    Colman is exceptional in everything she does, so she’s not afraid to make the Elizabeth of Season 3 look, at times, distressingly irrelevant and frustratingly complacent. ... Like Colman, the new cast members assume their roles with elegance and ease. ... The return of “The Crown,” with its irresistible blend of heightened history and peek-behind-the-brocade-curtain drama, is a gloriously welcome gift, arriving just in time for the holidays.
  37. Portlandia: Season 5
    [The first 2] episodes are so solid and done with such polish, they're reason to think that Season 5 of Portlandia may be the best one yet.
  38. Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief: Season 1
    While Going Clear is unapologetically one-sided in its dim view of Scientology, the issues it raises--what is a religion? What motivates people to follow a faith, even when it comes under attack?--will make you think about the film long after it's over.
  39. Barry: Season 1
    That willingness to embrace comedy and tragedy makes Barry something special. Hader, who also directed and co-wrote several episodes, is exceptionally good, making us care about Barry while also being horrified at what he's capable of. The cast is superb.
  40. Silicon Valley: Season 1
    With an appealing cast, a relatively fresh setting and smart jokes ("Every party in Silicon Valley ends up like a Hasidic wedding," i.e., the men and women are always separated), Silicon Valley is definitely worth your time investment.
  41. Orange is the New Black: Season 3
    Season 3 is an utterly confident mix of gritty comedy and affecting, underplayed drama.
  42. Los Espookys: Season 1
    With its light touch and affection for its characters’ foibles, “Los Espookys” is refreshing, different, and best, of all, funny.
  43. Roots (2016): Season 1
    The miniseries remains difficult to watch, as Kunta Kinte and his descendants keep being victimized by white slave-owners, slave-catchers and land-owners who regard slaves as property, not as men, women and children. But Roots gains in power. Though at times, the story seems to blame the institution of slavery on sadistic white racists, as the miniseries goes on, it makes it clear that slavery remains America's original sin.
  44. Mad Men: Season 7.5
    Severance gets the second half of Season 7 off to a brisk start.
  45. Jackie Robinson: Season 1
    Though there are moments where the film feels a bit too diffuse, what makes Robinson's life so remarkable is how many aspects of American life he touched.
  46. Homecoming: Season 1
    The first four episodes do an eerily good job of making us wonder why Heidi can’t seem to recall her time at Homecoming, and just what the heck happened there. The sound design of Homecoming is intriguing, as you’d expect from a series based on a podcast. ... The cast also keeps "Homecoming" watchable, with skillful performances that keep a fine balance between drama and thriller, spiked with moments of weird humor.
  47. Legion: Season 1
    With all this world-building going on, Legion doesn't, at least in these early episodes, make the most of Hawley's talent for letting his characters express themselves in distinctive, individual voices. And the horror of David's situation hardly lends itself to Hawley's characteristic wit. But those are small problems, considering that Legion is a trippy explosion of creativity.
  48. The White Lotus: Season 1
    It’s to the credit of White and the wonderfully well-chosen cast that we keep watching, even knowing that these guests are probably not going to find much self-awareness. ... The splendid cast is led by Bartlett, who makes Armond’s growing resentment a volatile partner to his put-a-smile-on-everything professional demeanor. Rothwell emerges as the heart and soul of the series. ... Coolidge is outstanding, as she makes Tanya’s stunted emotional life kind of sympathetic. Britton and Zahn are pitch-perfect as a couple with their own challenges.
  49. Sherman's Showcase Black History Month Spectacular
    The delightfully funny, sharp “Sherman’s Showcase Black History Month Spectacular” is a welcome return from writers and stars Bashir Salahuddin and Diallo Riddle.
  50. All Creatures Great and Small (2021): Season 1
    Coming at a time when everything seems stressful and difficult, the new “All Creatures Great and Small” feels as comforting as a cup of tea, as warming as a fleecy blanket on a cold night, and as welcoming as a fire burning indoors while the winter wind blows outside. ... The perfect show for this imperfect moment.
  51. Big Little Lies: Season 2
    Though there are a few moments where Kelley gives in to his tendencies for burlesque – as in the characterization of the principal of the elementary school attended by the main characters’ children – in the first three episodes, “Big Little Lies” retains the invigorating mix of dark comedy and drama that made the first season so special. ... Rather than running out of gas in its second season, “Big Little Lies” is more deliciously watchable than ever.
  52. The Night Manager: Season 1
    The Night Manager combines luxurious production with razor-sharp writing, and it's brought to life by a brilliant cast, headed by Tom Hiddleston and Hugh Laurie.
  53. FEUD: Season 1
    As a saga about how Hollywood builds up idols and then throws them aside, Feud: Bette and Joan is no "Sunset Boulevard." But it's a delicious cocktail of nostalgia, gossip and star power.
  54. Mr. Robot: Season 2
    The first two episodes also reinforce that Mr. Robot is at its strongest when keeping a tight focus on Elliot and his Mr. Robot companion/adversary.
  55. Marvel's Jessica Jones: Season 1
    Jessica Jones could use a bit more wit, overall. But its messed-up, tough, brave heroine holds our interest every moment.
  56. GLOW: Season 1
    GLOW is both blessedly original and delightfully nostalgic. ... It's a superb showcase for an ensemble cast that couldn't be better. Brie, in particular, is a revelation.
  57. Mare of Easttown: Season 1
    The crime story has disturbing echoes of all too many series built around the murder of young women. What keeps “Mare of Easttown” watchable are the terrific actors, who make the most out of their characters, who are drawn with nuance and depth.
  58. The Leftovers: Season 2
    Season 2 of The Leftovers has its maddening moments, but I never knew what was coming next. And, in a crowded TV world, that anything-might-happen quality is enough to keep me interested. At least for a while.
  59. Country Music
    If “Jazz” was a combination of arts education and appreciation, “Country Music” is the Burns equivalent of a jukebox musical. The wonderful songs just keep coming. ... “Country Music” is at its best when it pauses to revel in the brilliance of greats like Johnny Cash, Parton and Hank Williams.
  60. Dark Winds: Season 1
    “Dark Winds” immediately establishes its own tone. ... “Dark Winds” avoids stereotypes, and feels fresh and vibrant.
  61. The Walking Dead: Season 5
    Brutal and intense, the season opener is an powerful blend of darkness and a few threads of light, as Rick again takes on the role of doing whatever it takes to protect those he cares for.
  62. Abbott Elementary: Season 1
    “Abbott Elementary” reminds us how entertaining mockumentaries can be. It helps that the show is superbly cast.
  63. The Staircase (2022): Season 1
    As Michael Peterson, Colin Firth manages to make us think he’s guilty as hell one minute, and possibly innocent the next. Toni Collette is touching as Kathleen. And while many a series has caused eyes to glaze over when the plot shifts to younger characters, the dynamics among grown children in this extended family are consistently absorbing.
  64. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel: Season 1
    The show drops in lovely little moments, funny, melancholy and insightful.
  65. Orange is the New Black: Season 1
    Quibbles aside, watching this superb cast working together remains a pleasure, and it makes Season 2 of Orange Is the New Black an irresistible summer viewing choice.
  66. Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi: Season 1
    Lakshmi links her personal experience with the areas that she visits, which makes “Taste the Nation” feel both personal and universal.
  67. Lovecraft Country: Season 1
    It’s all dazzling, if sometimes disorienting. After five episodes, it’s hard to know where “Lovecraft Country” is going. But even if it careens off the rails, the show has so much creativity and passion it’s a ride worth taking, wherever it leads.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Stephen King's It: Season 1
    A true horror story, possibly the most successful horror story ever made for television, a medium hostile to sustaining belief in the unbelievable. The four-hour miniseries is a bit too long, and the ending doesn't live up to what has gone before, but this Stephen King story is gripping, fascinating, well-acted and superbly produced. [18 Nov 1990, p.5]
    • The Oregonian
      • Posted May 2, 2021
  69. Marvel's Luke Cage: Season 1
    At times, Luke Cage feels so concerned with urban problems, it's as if Marvel met "The Wire," an impression helped by an excellent cast.
  70. Girls: Season 6
    Based on the first three episodes, Dunham is ready to end her story with satirical precision and self-aware compassion.
  71. Better Call Saul: Season 1
    Odenkirk is a gifted comic actor, and the sadness in his eyes hints that he can fill in more dimensions to Jimmy McGill as time goes on. But the first two episodes of Better Call Saul take their own sweet time setting things up.
  72. Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind
    Though many aspects of Williams’ life were sad, for two hours, Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind brings him back to life, showcasing the brilliance, impact, and vulnerability that made Williams special, and that make his death still feel like such a loss.
  73. Community: Season 6
    While the first episode is comfortingly familiar to Community obsessives, the second one feels weirdly off.
  74. Sharp Objects: Season 1
    Sharp Objects may not be compulsively watchable, but it’s much better than the “Gone Girl” movie, with its own sweaty, sensual, mesmerizing atmosphere.
  75. Beware The Slenderman
    Brodsky resists the temptation to judge, and instead sheds light on her subjects, and all their complexity.
  76. Stranger Things: Season 2
    Even when scenes border on getting mushy, as in the final moments of Stranger Things 2, the sentiment feels earned, not plastered on. Scary, witty and sweet, Stranger Things 2 just might give sequels a good name.
  77. The Affair: Season 2
    Season 2 improves on Season 1 by broadening the story to give us the points of view of the wronged spouses, Noah's wife, Helen (Maura Tierney,) and Alison's husband, Cole (Joshua Jackson.) Tierney and Jackson are both so good, they left us wanting more in Season 1, and it's great to see their characters do some well-justified venting.
  78. All The Way (2016)
    All the Way shows so much of the backroom dealings, influence-peddling and strategic threats that typified Johnson's approach that it can be a bit plodding and talky. ... Fortunately, the events are so momentous, and the cast so outstanding, they keep the stakes high.
  79. American Gods: Season 1
    American Gods is amazing to look at and often hard to watch. If you're a fan of Gaiman's work, and patient with slow-moving scenes of thinly developed characters speechifying, you may like it. Others might want to proceed with caution.
  80. Black-ish: Season 1
    Black-ish is one of the best new shows of the season.
  81. Documentary Now!: Season 1
    Documentary Now! is dazzlingly smart.... It's true that Documentary Now! is funnier if you're at least vaguely familiar with the movies that serve as the inspirations.
  82. Forever (2018): Season 1
    Too often feels like a show about an institution, instead of an exploration of characters. ... Forever has genuine warmth and affection for its characters, and it ends with some of the best work Armisen and Rudolph have ever done. ... But Forever would be better if it moved a little faster, and gave viewers more reasons to stick with it until the end.
  83. The Man in the High Castle: Season 1
    Those are a lot of threads to knit together, and some feel looser than others.... But there are enough chilling scenes to make The Man in the High Castle genuinely disturbing.
  84. Homeland: Season 5
    If you're still on board with wondering if Carrie will go off her meds again, whether she and Saul will patch things up, or if Quinn is an alienated killing machine or kind of crushing on Carrie, welcome back to Homeland. But if you're craving something more, Season 5 may feel like a retread job on tires that are showing their wear.
  85. W/ Bob & David: Season 1
    At times endearingly old-fashioned (montages of whirling newspaper headlines), sometimes scatalogical (a time-machine toilet), occasionally blasphemous ("Turkey Jesus"), and totally irreverent (Odenkirk as "Pope Jonah Abromowitz.") The tone can get pointed (Cross as a filmmaker who's such an apologist for slavery he refuses to call it that, instead using the term, "helperism"), but the mood stays buoyant.
  86. The Defiant Ones (2017)
    Even when The Defiant Ones pauses to reflect on grim reality and troubled times, its tone is generally laudatory. We may wish for more depth and perspective. But then along comes another vintage clip of U2 in its prime, or Snoop Dogg's laid-back assurance, or a young Springsteen and the E Street Band, and the music takes over, and takes us away.
  87. Benjamin Franklin: Season 1
    The documentary does a fine job of explaining why Franklin was such a consequential figure. Unfortunately, “Benjamin Franklin” doesn’t really bring this founding father to life. ... The life of Franklin doesn’t need to be turned into “Hamilton,” but some artistic interpretation of the man might help fill out a portrait that seems accurate, but dry.
  88. American Vandal: Season 2
    Once you start watching the eight episodes, it's hard not to get hooked on solving the mystery, even if the show lays it on a bit thick when it comes to opining about the impact social media has on young people growing up in a world that allows them--or is that forces them?--to construct online personas to broadcast their every move via smart phones, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube and endless selfies.
  89. Star Trek: Picard: Season 1
    [Stewart's] gravity, empathy and dignity ground “Star Trek: Picard,” and make it surprisingly moving. ... If the dialogue sometimes veers into the geeky, for the most part, “Star Trek: Picard” benefits from keeping the characters front and center.
  90. Westworld: Season 2
    This is some serious feel-bad TV, which would be OK if there were any character, human or android, we cared about, or if the show was saying something fresh and insightful.
  91. Sherman's Showcase: Season 1
    There’s something hugely refreshing about “Sherman’s Showcase,” a show that makes you giggle before you realize, “Hey, that’s pretty smart.”
  92. Downton Abbey: Season 6
    Characters behave pretty much exactly as we've come to expect; plush décor and candlelit dinner parties dazzle the eye; and the actors dive into their scenes with the gusto of carnivores dining at a top-dollar steakhouse.
  93. House of Cards (2013): Season 4
    House of Cards has its own distinct, if shallow, pleasures, including Spacey, who just gets better and better as Frank.... Wright is Spacey's equal, and in Season 4, Claire is more stony and stoic than ever.
  94. Preacher: Season 1
    Whether the Preacher series creative team will keep all its elements in balance or giddily drive off a cliff, is anybody's guess. But, judging from the early episodes, Preacher is a wild ride that will be worth hanging on for.
  95. Hillary: Season 1
    There are few voices included who are critical of its subject. “Hillary” is a generally flattering portrait, which makes it less grueling to watch than cacophonous cable news shows, but also muffles its impact.
  96. The Knick: Season 1
    For all its volatility and rough textures, after a few episodes, The Knick begins to draw you into its idiosyncratic rhythms.
  97. The Wonder Years (2021): Season 1
    The show skillfully moves from coming-of-age comedy to drama. This “Wonder Years” also does a fine job of telling the story from the point of view of a Black family, and honors their experiences.
  98. Pose: Season 1
    Pose is way too entertaining to be considered an example of TV offering a diversity lesson.
  99. Allen v. Farrow: Season 1
    What “Allen v. Farrow” does most effectively is illustrate how what happened – or didn’t happen – can make us examine our own preconceived notions. As with the HBO documentary, “Leaving Neverland,” which explored allegations of sexual abuse leveled against the late Michael Jackson, “Allen v Farrow” makes you think about who you believe, what you believe, and why.
  100. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel: Season 3
    The result is both charming and frustrating, entertaining but a tad underbaked. ... Carping aside, Season 3 has its pleasures, which include, as always, Midge’s color-coordinated, accessories-to-die-for ensembles (there’s an apt joke about her ridiculously huge wardrobe); the totally capable cast; awareness of the casual sexism that was an accepted part of life in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s; some snappy writing (“By the way, irregardless is not a word”); vivid production design, from a Vegas casino to Miami; and Luke Kirby’s lively performance as Lenny Bruce.
prev
Page:

Top Trailers

See all »
See all trailers »