George Lopez

Such down-to-earth humor distinguishes George Lopez, which takes off from the comedian's act. One of the smoothest comics working today, he's able to bring up uncomfortable stereotypes without reinforcing them. [27 Mar 2002, p.12C]

Lopez wrings genuine laughs out of ... gentle one-liners, and his show benefits from the appealing presence of Constance Marie (Tortilla Soup) as his wife, Angie.

Happily, it's a funny show that deserves a wide, diverse audience. [26 Mar 2002, p.6E]

George Lopez is a show you can't help but root for because its star is so likeable. And, yes, it would be great to see more ethnic diversity on TV...But while the pilot isn't bad, it isn't all that good. But being likeable and mildly amusing is a start. [22 Mar 2002, p.C08]

The actors are all very good, particularly Moreno and Valentine Rodriquez who plays his pal, Ernie...It's not there yet - not by a long shot - but it's got potential. Chances are good that the producers will work it out. [27 Mar 2002, p.72]

Basically it's an amiable sitcom about a family that--sit down if you aren't already--happens to be Latino. [27 Mar 2002, p.C6]

It's an ancient TV dilemma: Bring an edgy comedian aboard, then make him tone down what he does best in order to avoid offending anybody. The problem is only compounded for ethnic performers who know they'll get little time to develop an audience...Lopez's amiability, however, gives it a chance to work. [27 Mar 2002, p.E6]

Judging by the pilot, George Lopez is no laugh riot, but it definitely has its moments, and it's refreshing to find a touch of Mexican-American flavor on TV somewhere other than Showtime and Nickelodeon. [27 Mar 2002, p.D01]

There's a little "Everybody Loves Raymond" here, and that's not a bad thing.

[It] would be pleasant enough if someone hadn't decided it needed spicing up. Belita Moreno as George's phenomenally unlikable mother drags this whole proposition down. [27 Mar 2002, p.49]

It's nicely cast but pretty much a pure formula piece from the Bruce Helford ("The Drew Carey Show") factory. The welcome diversion from the family sitcom recipe is that it puts a Latino (who happens to be pretty funny) in the lead role. But Helford drops in altogether too much gratuitous crudeness to make this acceptable as family viewing. [27 Mar 2002, p.C3]

Is this show in danger of being too nice? Somebody must have thought so, because George has been given a harridan for a mother.

Even with all that support, George Lopez looks like a wispy, amateurishly performed show serving jokes that are bland, coarse or predictable. Lopez has a talent for delivering one-liners but he's a limited actor. [27 Mar 2002, p.E1]

The series is so derivative you can almost see its creators playing all the angles. It's "My Wife and Kids," but with a Latino family and not quite as upscale. It's "The Bernie Mac Show" but with a less brash father figure and not quite as upscale. Like "The Drew Carey Show," (Bruce Helford is a creator and producer of both), it is strategically poised between blue-collar and white-collar worlds, one of the few shows with an upwardly mobile, working class hero...The situations are utterly predictable.

Lopez might just be trying to prove that Latinos have as much right as anyone to bomb on ABC. [27 Mar 2002, p.F1]

Lopez loses because he's caught in the middle of a ho-hum sitcom with few real laughs -- much like ABC's very similar "My Wife and Kids" and "According to Jim." Oops. [27 Mar 2002]

[Lopez would] be a lot more sympathetic if he didn't keep making weird bug-eyes...But that annoyance pales when George's mother, Benny (Belita Moreno), enters the scene. In addition to being shrill, demeaning and contemptuous of her son, she's unnaturally fixated on his manhood. There's something funny about their relationship, all right, but it sure doesn't generate laughs. [27 Mar 2002]

ABC must be loco throwing Lopez to the critical wolves like this. [27 Mar 2002, p.B31]

This is the kind of material that gives sitcoms a bad name - not because it's so awful, but because it aims so low. It's middle-of-the-road, generic claptrap. [27 Mar 2002, p.D1]

There was a time when a show like George Lopez would have been seen as another assault on minority pride by clueless members of the majority, but as star, producer and writer, Lopez would seem to have more than enough control here. So if his show comes across as an often offensive, always witless collection of Latino stereotypes, at least the blame appears to fall on a Latino...I guess that counts as progress, even if it wasn't the kind intended. [27 Mar 2002, p.4D]

No doubt Lopez is a very funny fellow, but this script isn't. And the writers are the ones to blame, too, for all these tacky jokes about little girls entering puberty and George's digestive problems and wind-passing. The mother-of-mean-mothers gimmick is beyond mere tacky. It's gross...George Lopez is a goner - the sooner, the better. [27 Mar 2002, p.1]

However funny Lopez's stand-up act might be, his new sitcom is lame on arrival. [27 Mar 2002]

Lopez probably has a sitcom in him, but this isn't it. And it has nothing to do with the Latino bent. "My Wife & Kids" is funny because Damon Wayans is funny and it's about a funny family. It has nothing to do with race. Same with George Lopez. It's bad because it's bad, and bad knows no color. [27 Mar 2002]

It's a series so yawn-inducingly dull and maddeningly generic, it succeeds only in making its Latino family as bland as any other unmemorable TV sitcom clan. [27 Mar 2002, p.79]