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
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
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