The Spoils of Babylon

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Season 1
  • Network: IFC
  • Series Premiere Date: Jan 9, 2014
Season #: 2, 1
Metascore
69

Generally favorable reviews - based on 26 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 19 out of 26
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 26
  3. Negative: 1 out of 26
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Critic Reviews

  1. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: David Hinckley
    Jan 9, 2014
    60
    Over six episodes, almost no cliche of TV epics is left unlampooned. In the end, ironically, Spoils of Babylon creates some excess of its own.
  2. Philadelphia Inquirer
    Reviewed by: David Hiltbrand
    Jan 9, 2014
    60
    As enjoyable as it is to watch, it seems at the same time ridiculously far to go for a joke. You can't escape the feeling that an extraordinary amount of time, money, and talent have been spent on a thin premise.
  3. Newsday
    Reviewed by: Diane Werts
    Jan 8, 2014
    58
    The first two episodes prove as tiresomely pleased-with-themselves as my run-on sentences. A half-hour is too much of not enough.
  5. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Mary McNamara
    Jan 9, 2014
    50
    Some of these bits work very well, albeit as free-floating shards of comedy.... But parody works best when its subject is either truly iconic or still relatively fresh in the minds of the audience and, mercifully, the B-list miniseries of yesteryear are neither.
  6. TV Guide Magazine
    Reviewed by: Matt Roush
    Jan 9, 2014
    50
    Some of the stylistic touches are amusing, including a bombastic theme song belted by Steve Lawrence, but the strain shows as Babylon's sketchy premise is elongated to miniseries length.
  7. New York Magazine (Vulture)
    Reviewed by: Matt Zoller Seitz
    Jan 9, 2014
    40
    The behind-the-scenes story that Jonrosh lays out for us is, alas, more amusing, even sight-unseen, than anything in the story proper.... What we do see is curiously tone-deaf and rarely pays off as you hope it will.

Awards & Rankings

75
#75 Best TV Season of 2014

User Reviews

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User Score
6.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 24 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 24
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 24
  3. Negative: 6 out of 24
  1. RedOwlReviews
    Jan 9, 2014
    9
    Leave it to IFC to air such a ridiculous, parodical, star-studded miniseries that works so surprisingly well. The Spoils of Babylon throwsLeave it to IFC to air such a ridiculous, parodical, star-studded miniseries that works so surprisingly well. The Spoils of Babylon throws together farcical sets and costumes, bombastic and shallow dialogue, hilariously awkward acting, and tons of continuity errors to create what may most likely remain the parody series of the year. There are times where you will feel like you're watching a 12:45 SNL sketch. And there are other times where you will be rolling on your couch, gripping your gut and choking out what doesn't even sound like laughter anymore. But most of the time, the show will feel like both.
    What makes the show work the most are the minute details in production and writing. Green screens will malfunction for a millisecond, but that's just enough. The continuity errors are often small and range from geographical to chronological, but someone on the couch will be bound to notice it and share with enthusiasm. If for no other reason, watch for a gut-busting brunch conflict between Kristen Wiig and a gaudily dressed mannequin voiced by Carey Mulligan over the heart of Wiig's adopted brother, Tobey Maguire (and yes, by heart, I mean marriage and everything that comes with it).

    FINAL SCORE: 85 (excitingly great ----------o---------- almost perfect)    … Full Review »
  2. MiMi_Huntington
    Jan 24, 2014
    7
    In the sea of many comedy shows that are not funny at all, I find Spoils of Babylon very entertaining. The cast is good, and I think that theIn the sea of many comedy shows that are not funny at all, I find Spoils of Babylon very entertaining. The cast is good, and I think that the whole point of this show is parody. So, why the bad comments??… Full Review »
  3. TNF1343
    Feb 16, 2014
    7
    For a show that prides itself in being awful, The Spoils of Babylon sure as hell is good. This six part IFC mini-series delivers a nicheFor a show that prides itself in being awful, The Spoils of Babylon sure as hell is good. This six part IFC mini-series delivers a niche humour that's unlike a lot of comedies on air. Like Will Ferrell's Eric Jonrosh, I would never say 'masterpiece', however.

    The drunken, egotistical, misogamist hilariously introduces us to each episode, lauding it for how good a job he did. Sometimes it's worth re-watching these introduction segments too. Jonrosh often specifically points out the best parts of the show that are actually the worst.

    Spoils' humour is delightfully subtle in other ways too. Continuity errors are prevalent but some are sneakily placed for those eagle-eyed viewers out there.

    Of course, the real magic in in the more obvious pieces. I can't get enough of seeing that toy car being dragged along a plastic road. Or Devon Morehouse's (Tobey Maguire) underwater lab where fish from some sort of nature film are swimming around in the background. And how about his lab partner played by Jessica Alba? I could go on but I'd like to keep this relatively spoiler free, since I don't believe enough people watched this show. I want to try to get as many people as possible to give it at least a shot.

    The show's plot mostly deals with Devon and Cynthia (Kristen Wiig) Morehouse's uncontrollable love for each other. They try to do a Romeo and Juliet-esque take and fail spectacularly (which is a good thing in this specific case). Their love is forbidden because they're step siblings, which is kind of weird but not a huge deal for the audience. The over-dramatization of this love affair is the key to this series.

    The show does stumble occasionally though. Sometimes things are taken a bit too far. One poorly edited scene in the second to last episode was funny at first but ended up dragging on and on, for example. Also, this show won't be everyone's cup of tea. As I said above, this targets a specific audience. You may just simply find the show boring since it's so poorly put together.

    I personally quite like it, but you'd think a show like this would be more common. I mean really, all you have to do is get people to act poorly, use laughably bad set-pieces, and just mish-mash everything incoherently while editing. Nevertheless, The Spoils of Babylon amazingly parodies low-budget movies/mini-series in an awesome, over the top way.    … Full Review »
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