American Inventor

:

Season 1
  • Network: ABC
  • Series Premiere Date: Mar 16, 2006
Season #: 2, 1
Metascore
29

Generally unfavorable reviews - based on 15 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 15
  3. Negative: 10 out of 15

Critic Reviews

  1. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Adam Buckman
    75
    The audition segments are mostly hilarious.
  2. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Robert Lloyd
    70
    I was often moved by the dedication and heart on display.
  3. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Matthew Gilbert
    50
    Despite all its contrived reality melodrama, ''American Inventor" features a steady stream of entertainingly kooky and cool creations.
  5. Orlando Sentinel
    Reviewed by: Hal Boedeker
    40
    The results suggest that everyone involved looked at American Idol too closely. And this time around, everyone is startlingly off-key.
  6. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
    Reviewed by: Rob Owen
    40
    Tonight's premiere is often a huge time-waster, but when it's not boring viewers with the umpteenth meet-the-judges segment and sticks to introducing wacky inventors, it's kind of a hoot.
  7. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: David Hinckley
    38
    How un-innovative is this series about innovation? Let me count the ways.
  8. Philadelphia Inquirer
    Reviewed by: Jonathan Storm
    30
    [Its] intolerable length helps to illuminate the cynicism of these competition shows.
  9. Detroit Free Press
    Reviewed by: Mike Duffy
    25
    [A] cheesy carnival of reality TV.
  10. Houston Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Mike McDaniel
    25
    A bloated disappointment that spends more time on the judges than the inventors and their inventions.
  11. Variety
    Reviewed by: Brian Lowry
    20
    At almost every level, "American Inventor" is over-produced.
  12. Seattle Post-Intelligencer
    Reviewed by: Melanie McFarland
    10
    The joke goes from bad to grim within minutes.
  13. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Tom Shales
    10
    An appalling amalgam of humiliating ridicule, primitive humor and heartbreaking pathos, "American Inventor" flies in on wings of sap.
  14. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Doug Elfman
    0
    A low-rent "American Idol" ripoff.
  15. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Maureen Ryan
    0
    The worst unscripted outing to hit the airwaves in many a moon.
  16. Newsday
    Reviewed by: Verne Gay
    0
    "American Inventor," ... is unspeakably awful, and makes not just a travesty of the type of television that "American Idol" so dramatically popularized, but an unintentional parody of it as well.

Awards & Rankings

90
#90 Most Discussed TV Season of 2006

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
5.1

Mixed or average reviews- based on 20 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 20
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 20
  3. Negative: 8 out of 20
  1. Larry
    Aug 25, 2007
    8
    I honestly do not see why it is so underrated, i mean isn't watching people introduce cruddy inventions funny?
  2. robd
    Jul 25, 2007
    6
    wrap dispenser..mom had one just like it in the 70's tea...need I say anything...bike hanger...buy a hook for a couple of bucks...bra wrap dispenser..mom had one just like it in the 70's tea...need I say anything...bike hanger...buy a hook for a couple of bucks...bra looks like a good sell even if not picked.racer may be a flop.... I'm voting for the angle even with fake tree looks like a great idea too me!!!!… Full Review »
  3. MattC
    Jun 9, 2007
    3
    I have a hard time trying to watch this show. I understand that these judges are entrepreneurs but they seem to laugh at every unworthy I have a hard time trying to watch this show. I understand that these judges are entrepreneurs but they seem to laugh at every unworthy invention. Many of the early inventions that come through are brilliant in my opinion but they still laugh at them because they don't fully understand them. In my eyes, it only makes them look like jerks and it drags the show around tremendously. This is the reason I dislike this show and It's likely that I'll never watch a full season. I would also like to say that George Foreman is the most brilliant judge out of the 4 of them because he understands most of the inventions. While the others laugh at the less worthy inventions for whatever reason George Foreman does not. He walks children out to their parents and he seems like a caring individual. I understand that they can only let so many inventors into the competition but it seems silly to laugh and grief the ones they don't accept.… Full Review »
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