Peter Pan Live!
  • Network: NBC
  • Series Premiere Date: Dec 4, 2014
Metascore
55

Mixed or average reviews - based on 21 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 15 out of 21
  3. Negative: 1 out of 21

Critic Reviews

  1. People Weekly
    Reviewed by: Tom Gliatto
    Dec 5, 2014
    70
    It wasn't perfect by any means--switching between live singing and all those filmed ads killed just about any theatrical energy and flow well before the three hours were up--but the production was colorful and glitch-free. Allison Williams of Girls made a much more committed Peter than Carrie Underwood did a Maria von Trapp in last year's endless Sound of Music Live!, and Christopher Walken's extremely peculiar Captain Hook was a triumph.
  2. Time
    Reviewed by: James Poniewozik
    Dec 5, 2014
    70
    Technically and visually, Peter Pan Live! delivered. The smartest thing the production did was to be unashamedly stagey.
  3. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Tim Goodman
    Dec 5, 2014
    70
    So it was a night where Williams and Walken, at disparate ends of the live performance, gave a lot to their roles and to the success of the night. It wasn't flawless (and if you factor in the moments when Walken seemed to be particularly awash in the lights, maybe you'll be crueler about the overall quality), but it was entertaining enough for three hours of live song and dance.
  5. Newsday
    Reviewed by: Verne Gay
    Dec 5, 2014
    70
    The overall production--good, mostly efficient, and certainly not perfect.
  6. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Melissa Maerz
    Dec 5, 2014
    67
    It was... fine. Totally fine. Just as I'd suspected. Nothing spectacular. But nothing so embarrassing as NBC’s live production of The Sound of Music.
  7. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Joel Brown
    Dec 5, 2014
    60
    NBC’s Peter Pan Live! on Thursday night was endlessly, weirdly watchable, which is not the same thing as a coherent artistic triumph. But on balance television needs more of this kind of daring.
  8. TV Guide Magazine
    Reviewed by: Matt Roush
    Dec 5, 2014
    60
    Though punishingly overlong and occasionally flat-footed, NBC's Thursday broadcast of Peter Pan Live! was another honorably ambitious and sporadically enjoyable attempt to bring the thrill of musical theater into America's living rooms.
  9. St. Louis Post-Dispatch
    Reviewed by: Gail Pennington
    Dec 5, 2014
    60
    Peter Pan Live!, while better in many ways than last year's "Sound of Music Live!," was still uneven, partly because of casting and partly because of the dated source material.
  10. USA Today
    Reviewed by: Robert Bianco
    Dec 5, 2014
    60
    Thursday's live musical on NBC didn't always soar, but it did generally manage to stay off the ground--or at least it did when it stuck closely to the original musical. But when it wandered into new, less-enchanted territory,the production threatened to become, well, earthbound. For those moments when Peter took flight, much of the credit goes to a game performance by Allison Williams as Peter
  11. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Alessandra Stanley
    Dec 5, 2014
    60
    It was a cautious, please-all production, but it took guts to do it.
  12. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Hank Stuever
    Dec 5, 2014
    60
    Viewers who stuck with Peter Pan Live! for three hours were treated to a technically adequate, charmingly performed night of retro theater-on-television.
  13. The Oregonian
    Reviewed by: Kristi Turnquist
    Dec 5, 2014
    50
    A dutiful, perfectly fine, surprisingly dull evening of television.
  14. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Elisabeth Vincentelli
    Dec 5, 2014
    50
    Nothing went horribly wrong during NBC’s live telecast of the musical Peter Pan. Allison Williams didn’t embarrass herself in the cross-dressing title role.... At the same time, very few things went memorably right, and the sluggish pace dampened the thrills.
  15. Boston Herald
    Reviewed by: Nikki Chase
    Dec 5, 2014
    50
    Peter Pan Live! wasn’t interesting enough to hate watch.
  16. Denver Post
    Reviewed by: Joanne Ostrow
    Dec 5, 2014
    50
    She [Allison Williams as Peter Pan] pulled it off, but the whole was slick rather than enchanting, well rehearsed rather than goosebump-y.
  17. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Mary McNamara
    Dec 5, 2014
    50
    So neither mess nor magic, which may be the biggest disappointment of them all. If it hadn’t been for Walken, that is, wandering around in that red bandanna and manic daze, banging his tambourine.
  18. Sioux City Journal
    Reviewed by: Bruce Miller
    Dec 8, 2014
    40
    Dull, sluggish and frequently lost, Walken had none of the spark you’d expect from the “swiniest swine in the world.”... Allison William’s Peter Pan was more successful but only because she took a very straightforward approach to a role that should have been bubbling with life.
  19. Kansas City Star
    Reviewed by: Robert Trussell
    Dec 5, 2014
    40
    With a Capt. Hook who spent most of his time seated and an opaque Peter, my expectations gradually evaporated. The show seemed like a slowly deflating balloon.
  20. Variety
    Reviewed by: Brian Lowry
    Dec 5, 2014
    40
    The expansive, kaleidoscopic sets and swiveling camerawork--including an aerial view--didn’t really serve to enhance any of that. At times, Neverland appeared less a magical place than a cut-rate throwback to the days of Sid and Marty Krofft. Stretched to three hours to “eventize” and amortize the proceedings, Peter Pan also had the misfortune to peak early--about 30 minutes in.
  21. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: David Hinckley
    Dec 5, 2014
    40
    NBC’s annual live musical event had spirit and lively dancing Thursday night. It also felt long and flat, even when it briefly morphed into a superhero showdown.
  22. The Daily Beast
    Reviewed by: Kevin Fallon
    Dec 5, 2014
    30
    For all of its large-scale production numbers danced expertly by an army of Lost Boy twinks and psychedelic sets designed by someone clearly flying high on some strong fairy dust, the most egregious thing about Peter Pan Live! was that it was an inexcusable bore. For three hours.

User Reviews

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User Score
3.8

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 26 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 26
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 26
  3. Negative: 14 out of 26
  1. DaveDaRave
    Dec 4, 2014
    0
    Godawful, doomed effort to recapture the live TV magic of the 1950s Mary Martin original. Flat as can be, and dead on arrival. Not a singleGodawful, doomed effort to recapture the live TV magic of the 1950s Mary Martin original. Flat as can be, and dead on arrival. Not a single one of the actors shines. Too bad, was hoping for a winner.… Full Review »
  2. hotfromcauldron
    Dec 4, 2014
    2
    Of course Peter Pan won't grow up - he's been castrated! In a role made for Justin Bieber- Williams butches up with a sweet voice, whileOf course Peter Pan won't grow up - he's been castrated! In a role made for Justin Bieber- Williams butches up with a sweet voice, while Walken's Hook gets in touch with his feminine side doing Rex Harrison. The Darling's drop into an island raining lost boys men , dancing pirates and prancing Indians --where Wendy wears her heart on her sleeve and a kiss is a thimble. Is it any wonder during a Walmart commercial Sabrina asked her husband why he's playing with a fairy. I believe in musical theatre so I hope it lives on. But this killed three hours of my time.… Full Review »
  3. Lasto
    Dec 5, 2014
    0
    It was amazing at just how awful this show was. From that cringe worthy "crow" to the Lost Grown Men. The only natural actor that came fromIt was amazing at just how awful this show was. From that cringe worthy "crow" to the Lost Grown Men. The only natural actor that came from this disaster was Nana.… Full Review »
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