Oprah's Big Give
ABC | Release Date: March 2, 2008
CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
48
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 19 Critic Reviews
Positive:
6
Mixed:
8
Negative:
5

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
Baltimore SunDavid Zurawik
Season 1 Review: Winfrey and ABC have taken the much-maligned reality TV format and used it to create a show that both entertains and encourages viewers to think about such matters as how best to help others. Read full review
80
Pittsburgh Post-GazetteRob Owen
Season 1 Review: It may do some good, but it's still a piece of TV entertainment that, first and foremost, must succeed as a revenue generator for ABC. That realistic, not cynical, caveat aside, Big Give is certainly more positive than "Big Brother" or numerous other reality shows. Read full review
80
SalonHeather Havrilesky
Season 1 Review: A heartfelt, inspiring, uplifting TV show that brings out the best in people? Who could possibly resist that? Read full review
70
Orlando SentinelHal Boedeker
Season 1 Review: Oprah's Big Give overflows with emotion, tears and hugs. Read full review
70
SlateTroy Patterson
Season 1 Review: In all, Oprah's Big Give is a triumph of virtue, which leaves only the question of who would want to watch it. Read full review
63
New York PostLinda Stasi
Season 1 Review: Think "The Apprentice" meets "Extreme Home Makeover" and you've got the heartwarming Oprah's Big Give. All shows together equal more Sunday-night tears than a feelgood Lifetime movie marathon. Read full review
60
Boston GlobeMatthew Gilbert
Season 1 Review: Is it strange to make good will and charity into a win-lose proposition? Is it peculiar to judge the givers on their manner of giving, to quantify their largesse? To me, yes, it is, and the show makes for awkward viewing as a result. Read full review
50
Chicago Sun-TimesMisha Davenport
Season 1 Review: There also is something disturbing about making a game out of charitable acts. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneMaureen Ryan
Season 1 Review: Though Oprah’s Big Give is supposed to be celebrating the power of giving, it’s more likely to prove that not everything can or should be turned into a contest. Read full review
50
New York Daily NewsDavid Hinckley
Season 1 Review: People victimized by terrible events and circumstances often feel pride and dignity are two of the few things they have left. There are times in Oprah's Big Give when it feels like those things may be slipping away, in the service of creating a splashier television show. Read full review
50
NewsdayDiane Werts
Season 1 Review: Pathos may make for a more positive reality TV experience than a parade of lying, backstabbing and physical torture. But the basic appeal remains pathetic. Perhaps in more ways than one. Read full review
50
Philadelphia Daily NewsEllen Gray
Season 1 Review: I'm ashamed that a wounded Marine, about to be discharged after 15 years in the service, needs help from an entertainment show to find and afford civilian housing for himself and his family. Read full review
50
VarietyBrian Lowry
Season 1 Review: The result is a series that wants to do good and still have enough "edge" to do well in the rough-and-tumble, less-nurturing environment of reality TV, which feels out of step with all the good vibrations. Read full review
40
The New YorkerNancy Franklin
Season 1 Review: Oprah’s Big Give stands out as a weird, misbegotten creature that perhaps shouldn’t have been taken out in public. Read full review
30
Washington PostTom Shales
Season 1 Review: Although Winfrey might imagine she's doing something fresh and innovative, the trite staples of competitive reality pop up predictably. Read full review
25
USA TodayRobert Bianco
Season 1 Review: Seldom has the drive to do good works been as alarmingly, offensively presumptuous. Read full review
10
Philadelphia InquirerJonathan Storm
Season 1 Review: It's doubtful that Oprah's Big Give would have ever made it to the air without Oprah, but (Wrong No. 1) don't go expecting the diva of the heartstrings to be hosting this exploitative (Wrong No. 2) jumble (Wrong No. 3). She turns up now and then, to cheerlead and oversell (Wrong No. 4), but the real host (Wrong No. 5) is one of her minions, Nate Berkus. More wrongs to come, but you'll have to keep track for yourself. Read full review
10
The Hollywood ReporterRay Richmond
Season 1 Review: Shallow as a birdbath, the program would appear to exist less as a true philanthropic exercise than yet another self-aggrandizing vehicle in Oprah's divine quest to become synonymous with all that is virtuous and good on Earth. Read full review
0
Miami HeraldGlenn Garvin
Season 1 Review: Oprah's Big Give is no mere appallingly bad television show but a refutation of human decency itself. Read full review
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