Malibu Country

Malibu Country is nothing great. But its studio-shot sitcom style sure suits Reba.

The multicamera, laughtrack sitcom is completely unoriginal, the jokes are recycled and many of the characters--especially Reba's obnoxious teenage son and daughter--are underdeveloped stereotype. Still, the charismatic country star and Tomlin's droll Lillie Mae, who successfully balances her sharp tongue with surprising softness, are entertaining.

Reba's smile can warm almost anything. But it's not worth sitting through this recycled sitcom for it.

The dialogue and situations (written by Kevin Abbott) are nothing special.

The deal you make with a series like this is, if it doesn't ask too much of you, you won't ask too much of it.

Though she performs a heartfelt song about her mixed emotions, the implication being that Bobby's songs are lies and hers tell truth, the episode's ongoing comedy bits don't support this distinction.

The comedy--anything but edgy--is one cee-ment pond and half a fancy eatin' table away from "The Beverly Hillbillies," and is rooted in the inevitable culture clash of a Tennessee family adjusting to life in Southern California.

Outlandish and thoroughly TV Land-ish, Malibu Country belongs on the network of Hot In Cleveland, Happily Divorced and other broad, blast-from-the-past sitcoms.

Here the basic setup is "The Beverly Hillbillies" without Jed.

The Nashville-meets-California jokes are pretty weak. [12 Nov 2012, p.46]

Malibu Country is so old school, in fact, that it feels like a leftover from ABC's TGIF days, complete with a studio audience, an irritating laugh track and a sitcomy march-time pace.

Lazy and listless to the point of being sad.

The pilot for Malibu Country isn't the very worst show of the new season. But it's easily the greatest waste of talent.

Unfortunately, there are few shows this season worse or more grating than tonight's Malibu Country, where the beachfront corn grows awfully and annoyingly high.

[Malibu Country] is a traffic jam of culture-clash cliches, numbing laugh track cackles, and fake stage-set lighting.

Malibu Country, because of flabby writing, is decidedly less than the sum of its parts. It plays like a distressingly formulaic Disney Channel comedy.

Every beat of the new show is so stale and familiar the audience can practically sing along to the punchlines--which, perhaps, is the point.

Even if you buy the premise that 2012 Nashville is a redneck hellhole barely familiar with indoor plumbing (big laugh in episode one: Reba meets her first gay person!), the show's performances and punchlines mostly fall flat.

Lousy writing and stale characters rule in Malibu Country.