The Book of Daniel
NBC | Release Date: January 6, 2006
CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
61
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 23 Critic Reviews
Positive:
11
Mixed:
9
Negative:
3

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
New York PostLinda Stasi
Season 1 Review: "Daniel" is not that controversial, but is really pretty damned, oops, darned good. Read full review
88
USA TodayRobert Bianco
Season 1 Review: Witty, earnest, intelligent, overdone, overly ambitious, wildly entertaining and superbly cast. Read full review
80
TV Guide MagazineMatt Roush
Season 1 Review: Darkly comedic and richly entertaining.
75
Chicago Sun-TimesDoug Elfman
Season 1 Review: A well-written and well-cast, if broadly drawn, show. Read full review
75
Detroit Free PressMike Duffy
Season 1 Review: An offbeat treat worth rooting for. Read full review
75
New York Daily NewsDavid Hinckley
Season 1 Review: A program that gets stronger as we get to know its characters better, and the quality of the cast helps tremendously. Read full review
70
VarietyBrian Lowry
Season 1 Review: Whimsical and busy, "Daniel" is overly ambitious but highly watchable, with an interlocking web of smart-ass, squabbling but ultimately loving characters. Read full review
70
San Jose Mercury News/Contra Costa TimesCharlie McCollum
Season 1 Review: "The Book of Daniel" turns out to be something rare to network television these days. It is a rich family drama that isn't afraid of dealing with real issues in a real way and with humor, falling somewhere between "Six Feet Under" and the late, lamented "Once and Again." Read full review
70
Seattle Post-IntelligencerMelanie McFarland
Season 1 Review: Borders on terrific at times and falters in others. Read full review
70
Chicago TribuneSid Smith
Season 1 Review: While the story and drama aren't always successful, and occasionally border on the cloying or trite, "Daniel" is something fresh, mildly provocative and amusingly performed. Read full review
70
Wall Street JournalAmy Finnerty
Season 1 Review: Thankfully, we are spared the misty earnestness of "Seventh Heaven." Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterBarry Garron
Season 1 Review: A well-intentioned drama with a few comedic quirks but without depth or greater purpose. Read full review
60
Orlando SentinelHal Boedeker
Season 1 Review: The cast is heavenly in The Book of Daniel; the writing isn't. Read full review
60
TimeJames Poniewozik
Season 1 Review: You may feel the faith-and-family themes could be handled better on cable--mainly because they have been. Read full review
60
Pittsburgh Post-GazetteRob Owen
Season 1 Review: It's disappointing that Kenny felt the need to make this series so far over the top, because at its core, there's a great family show worth watching. Read full review
60
Village VoiceJoy Press
Season 1 Review: It yearns to be an HBO-worthy drama that reckons with heady moral issues, but it can't resist the temptation of prime-time gloss and melodrama. Read full review
60
NewsdayDiane Werts
Season 1 Review: Quinn radiates enough sincerity to make us keep reading this uneven book, just to see how it shapes up. Read full review
60
Boston GlobeMatthew Gilbert
Season 1 Review: These actors help save the show from pure whimsy and excess. Read full review
50
Philadelphia InquirerJonathan Storm
Season 1 Review: The Book of Daniel is different and ambitious enough to bear watching at least for a little while. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleTim Goodman
Season 1 Review: This is a series that throws so much lunacy into the plotlines that even the writers on "Dynasty" must be hissing. Read full review
30
Los Angeles TimesRobert Lloyd
Season 1 Review: Despite a fine cast... in the end it works neither as comedy, satire, drama nor soap opera. Read full review
30
The New York TimesNed Martel
Season 1 Review: The real mark against "The Book of Daniel" is not any antipathy it might show toward the family or sympathy for the devil. The real objection is that it's just not very good. Read full review
0
Washington PostTom Shales
Season 1 Review: I cannot recall a series in which a greater number of characters seemed so desperately detestable -- a series with a larger population of loathsome dolts. There ought to be a worse punishment than cancellation for a show that tries this hard to be offensive and, even at that crass task, manages to fail. Read full review
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