The Bedford Diaries
WB | The WB | TWB | Release Date: March 29, 2006
CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
33
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 21 Critic Reviews
Positive:
4
Mixed:
3
Negative:
14

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
70
Los Angeles TimesPaul Brownfield
Season 1 Review: An ostensibly ridiculous but subtly intelligent soap. Read full review
70
The New York TimesAlessandra Stanley
Season 1 Review: It's... a lot of fun: "The O.C." for the Stanley H. Kaplan set. Read full review
63
Chicago Sun-TimesDoug Elfman
Season 1 Review: Dramatically speaking, what douses a bit of the fire of this ensemble show are a few non-compelling characters and/or bad actors. Read full review
63
New York Daily NewsDavid Hinckley
Season 1 Review: A lot less salacious, and a lot more cerebral, than it sounds. Read full review
50
Entertainment WeeklyAlynda Wheat
Season 1 Review: It's probably too much to ask costars Matthew Modine and Broadway royalty Audra McDonald to inject some depth, but we're pleading anyway. [31 Mar 2006, p.57]
40
NewsdayDiane Werts
Season 1 Review: So much of tonight's series pilot feels so glib and rings so false, it's hard to believe this soapy saga comes from the quality-not-quantity production team of Tom Fontana and Julie Martin. Read full review
40
The Hollywood ReporterBarry Garron
Season 1 Review: Although more like "Felicity" than "The Paper Chase" in attitude and subject matter, early indications are that the characters in this eight-episode series have neither the depth nor texture of either of those shows. Read full review
38
People WeeklyTom Gliatto
Season 1 Review: As an ensemble they are, like their teacher, attractive but not very exciting. [10 Apr 2006, p.35]
30
Orlando SentinelHal Boedeker
Season 1 Review: The setup produces neither juicy soap opera nor original, searing drama. The Bedford Diaries is a limp noodle. Read full review
30
Boston GlobeMatthew Gilbert
Season 1 Review: The show takes the characters' angst and obsessions much too seriously, elevating their histrionics to soap-operatic levels when it should be flirting with satire. Read full review
30
Chicago TribuneSid Smith
Season 1 Review: Youngsters in this age group might find the show intriguing. The rest of us, censorship or no, will likely be bored. Read full review
30
VarietyLaura Fries
Season 1 Review: About 10 years too late to qualify as provocative. Read full review
25
Detroit Free PressMike Duffy
Season 1 Review: Disheartening proof that even the most talented producers sometimes concoct a prime-time crock. Read full review
25
USA TodayRobert Bianco
Season 1 Review: The Bedford Diaries... is not merely the worst show of the vernal season but one of the worst ever concocted by the soon-to-vanish WB. Read full review
20
Pittsburgh Post-GazetteRob Owen
Season 1 Review: Problem is, the characters are neither likeable enough to cheer for nor despicable enough to loathe. They're just sort of unformed lumps of gray clay with a few stereotypical streaks of color. Read full review
20
Baltimore SunDavid Zurawik
Season 1 Review: The university setting is intended to lend some intellectual weight to all the sexual imagery and conversation, but the road to mediocre TV drama is paved with such disingenuous intentions. Read full review
20
Washington PostTom Shales
Season 1 Review: The student characters seem weak and inauthentic, and many of the actors look as though they're going through college for the third or fourth time. Read full review
20
TV Guide MagazineMatt Roush
Season 1 Review: It wants to be shockingly frank but is mostly dour and phony.
10
Arizona RepublicBill Goodykoontz
Season 1 Review: Oddly enough, the sex isn't what's offensive about the show. Everything else is. Read full review
0
New York PostLinda Stasi
Season 1 Review: This silly excuse for a show is made up of a great-looking ensemble in the most blatant teen-sexuality show in broadcast history. Read full review
0
San Francisco ChronicleTim Goodman
Season 1 Review: "The Bedford Diaries" is just woeful -- the most trite, forced and stage-managed piece of empty titillation you're likely to see. Read full review
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