On May 31, 2000, CBS unveiled Survivor, a reality competition series produced by Mark Burnett that would become a juggernaut, inspiring spinoffs and imitators over the ensuing decades. The Hollywood Reporter’s original review of its season 1 premiere is below:
The concept is insulting, the presentation is deceptive and the narration is laughingly overdramatic, and yet somehow, Survivor turns all of this into intriguing television that practically dares you to click the remote, knowing that you won’t.
In the U.S. version of this British reality show, 16 people are divided into two teams and dropped off a couple hours’ swim from a remote island in the South China Sea. They are given a baffling array of supplies, including knives, fishing traps, cans of food, a map to potable water and even a team flag, but no matches or port-a-potties. Clearly, this is no three-hour tour.
At various points, island host Jeff Probst,...
The concept is insulting, the presentation is deceptive and the narration is laughingly overdramatic, and yet somehow, Survivor turns all of this into intriguing television that practically dares you to click the remote, knowing that you won’t.
In the U.S. version of this British reality show, 16 people are divided into two teams and dropped off a couple hours’ swim from a remote island in the South China Sea. They are given a baffling array of supplies, including knives, fishing traps, cans of food, a map to potable water and even a team flag, but no matches or port-a-potties. Clearly, this is no three-hour tour.
At various points, island host Jeff Probst,...
- 5/31/2024
- by Barry Garron
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
On March 21, 2004, HBO introduced audiences to the frontier outpost of Deadwood, where the Timothy Olyphant and Ian McShane series ran for three seasons. Fifteen years after its premiere it was revived as a standalone movie on the premium cabler. The Hollywood Reporter’s original review of season one is below:
David Milch, executive producer of NYPD Blue and, before that, Hill Street Blues, has spent years looking at society from the perspective of those who enforce its laws and impose order. His new series, Deadwood, imagines a world without law, a world ruled only by the conscience of individuals, many of whom have none. The result is a Western unlike most others. It is brutal, passionate, heroic, tragic, blanketed by coarseness and always fascinating, though some times morbidly so.
Although it would be just as solid a drama if it were cut from whole cloth, Deadwood is deeply rooted in historical reality.
David Milch, executive producer of NYPD Blue and, before that, Hill Street Blues, has spent years looking at society from the perspective of those who enforce its laws and impose order. His new series, Deadwood, imagines a world without law, a world ruled only by the conscience of individuals, many of whom have none. The result is a Western unlike most others. It is brutal, passionate, heroic, tragic, blanketed by coarseness and always fascinating, though some times morbidly so.
Although it would be just as solid a drama if it were cut from whole cloth, Deadwood is deeply rooted in historical reality.
- 3/21/2024
- by Barry Garron
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
On Jan. 31, 1999, Fox introduced Peter Griffin and Co. to America as Seth MacFarlane’s animated Family Guy series premiered. The show, canceled after its third season, was then revived and is now a broadcast staple in its 22nd season. The Hollywood Reporter’s original review is below:
If one is good and two are better, then surely three, four and five can’t miss. Or so the thinking goes at Fox, home of The Simpsons, King of the Hill and three midseason primetime animated comedies. Indeed, the third show, The PJs, is off to a good start, and the fourth, Family Guy, shows similar promise. (The fifth, Futurama, is not due for a couple of months.)
Family Guy is bright, entertaining and often witty and warm. In its post-Super Bowl slot Sunday, the show will receive high exposure. Viewers who develop an appetite for it, though, have to wait until March for the next episode.
If one is good and two are better, then surely three, four and five can’t miss. Or so the thinking goes at Fox, home of The Simpsons, King of the Hill and three midseason primetime animated comedies. Indeed, the third show, The PJs, is off to a good start, and the fourth, Family Guy, shows similar promise. (The fifth, Futurama, is not due for a couple of months.)
Family Guy is bright, entertaining and often witty and warm. In its post-Super Bowl slot Sunday, the show will receive high exposure. Viewers who develop an appetite for it, though, have to wait until March for the next episode.
- 1/31/2024
- by Barry Garron
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
On Nov. 6, 2001, the Kiefer Sutherland-starrer from Imagine Television bowed on Fox in the 9 p.m. hour, kickstarting a franchise that aired for more than a decade. The Hollywood Reporter’s original review is below:
No question, there are some eerie similarities between the premiere episode of 24 and the terrible events of Sept 11. The tightly woven drama includes vague warnings of terrorist activity, an assassination plot and an imperiled airliner. But instead of causing discomfort, 24 grabs you by the collar and simply won’t let go. Few shows are ever this riveting.
A creation of exec producers Joel Surnow and Robert Cochran, 24 employs a couple of novel but extremely effective story telling techniques. First, it unravels its story in real time, with each hour on the screen representing an hour in the life of its characters. Second, it makes frequent use of split-screen shots, showing different angles of the same...
No question, there are some eerie similarities between the premiere episode of 24 and the terrible events of Sept 11. The tightly woven drama includes vague warnings of terrorist activity, an assassination plot and an imperiled airliner. But instead of causing discomfort, 24 grabs you by the collar and simply won’t let go. Few shows are ever this riveting.
A creation of exec producers Joel Surnow and Robert Cochran, 24 employs a couple of novel but extremely effective story telling techniques. First, it unravels its story in real time, with each hour on the screen representing an hour in the life of its characters. Second, it makes frequent use of split-screen shots, showing different angles of the same...
- 11/5/2023
- by Barry Garron
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Click here to read the full article.
On Sept. 29, 1998, The WB premiered Felicity during the 9 p.m. hour, kicking off a four-season run. The Hollywood Reporter’s original review is below:
If the buzz surrounding Felicity and its star, Keri Russell, gets any louder, you’d have to wear ear plugs within a 10-mile radius of the set.
It’s not just the WB publicity machine working overtime. In a recent survey of network entertainment presidents, four out of five said they recommend Felicity for their viewers who watch dramas, or something like that.
Much of the praise is deserved. Russell may well possess the angelic face that could launch 1,000 commercials. This show could so thoroughly eclipse everything else on the WB schedule that, by comparison, Buffy looks like a mosquito slayer. But not so fast.
Russell plays Felicity Elizabeth Porter, who is graduating from high school in Palo Alto,...
On Sept. 29, 1998, The WB premiered Felicity during the 9 p.m. hour, kicking off a four-season run. The Hollywood Reporter’s original review is below:
If the buzz surrounding Felicity and its star, Keri Russell, gets any louder, you’d have to wear ear plugs within a 10-mile radius of the set.
It’s not just the WB publicity machine working overtime. In a recent survey of network entertainment presidents, four out of five said they recommend Felicity for their viewers who watch dramas, or something like that.
Much of the praise is deserved. Russell may well possess the angelic face that could launch 1,000 commercials. This show could so thoroughly eclipse everything else on the WB schedule that, by comparison, Buffy looks like a mosquito slayer. But not so fast.
Russell plays Felicity Elizabeth Porter, who is graduating from high school in Palo Alto,...
- 9/29/2022
- by Barry Garron
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Barry Garron, former Chief TV Critic for The Hollywood Reporter, died June 23 at a medical facility in Gilbert, Ariz. He was 72.
Garron, who was well-liked in the industry as a “genial Midwesterner,” spent a little more than a decade as a prominent critic for The Hollywood Reporter. He was there for the dawn of the premium TV era, writing the first review of “The Sopranos” for the publication, among other formative shows from “Will & Grace” to “The West Wing” to Jimmy Kimmel’s 2003 debut on ABC.
Born in Chicago, Garron attended the University of Missouri — Columbia, earning a pair of degrees in journalism and political science in 1971, according to THR. He worked for the Kansas City Star newspaper for nearly 25 years, starting in 1973, first as an education writer. When the opening occurred, Garron jumped at the chance to become a TV/radio critic for the paper, he told THR last year.
Garron, who was well-liked in the industry as a “genial Midwesterner,” spent a little more than a decade as a prominent critic for The Hollywood Reporter. He was there for the dawn of the premium TV era, writing the first review of “The Sopranos” for the publication, among other formative shows from “Will & Grace” to “The West Wing” to Jimmy Kimmel’s 2003 debut on ABC.
Born in Chicago, Garron attended the University of Missouri — Columbia, earning a pair of degrees in journalism and political science in 1971, according to THR. He worked for the Kansas City Star newspaper for nearly 25 years, starting in 1973, first as an education writer. When the opening occurred, Garron jumped at the chance to become a TV/radio critic for the paper, he told THR last year.
- 6/24/2022
- by William Earl
- Variety Film + TV
Barry Garron, the former chief television critic for The Hollywood Reporter, has died. He was 72 and died Thursday at a rehabilitation facility in Arizona.
His death was confirmed by his former publication and by daughter, Rachel Dain. No specific cause of death was given, but Garron was hospitalized during Memorial Day weekend and had past episodes of Crohn’s disease and cancer.
Garron worked at newspapers in Columbia and upstate New York before starting as a critic for The Kansas City Star in 1973, exiting in 1997 to move to Los Angeles and join the THR staff. He worked as chief television critic until 2009, then became a freelancer for numerous publications. He was active until his death.
He was a former president of the TV Critics Association and covered the group’s winter and summer press tours for four decades.
Born in Chicago on Sept. 2, 1949, he studied journalism and political science at...
His death was confirmed by his former publication and by daughter, Rachel Dain. No specific cause of death was given, but Garron was hospitalized during Memorial Day weekend and had past episodes of Crohn’s disease and cancer.
Garron worked at newspapers in Columbia and upstate New York before starting as a critic for The Kansas City Star in 1973, exiting in 1997 to move to Los Angeles and join the THR staff. He worked as chief television critic until 2009, then became a freelancer for numerous publications. He was active until his death.
He was a former president of the TV Critics Association and covered the group’s winter and summer press tours for four decades.
Born in Chicago on Sept. 2, 1949, he studied journalism and political science at...
- 6/24/2022
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
Barry Garron, the genial Midwesterner who spent more than a decade as the chief television critic for The Hollywood Reporter, has died. He was 72.
Garron died Thursday morning at a rehabilitation facility in Gilbert, Arizona, after being hospitalized during the Memorial Day weekend, according to his daughter, Rachel Dain. He had battled Crohn’s disease since his 20s and also had bouts with cancer.
Garron was known to his colleagues and friends for his easygoing demeanor and encyclopedic knowledge and passion for television that he parlayed into jobs as a critic for The Kansas City Star and then THR.
After working at the Star from 1973 through 1997, Garron moved to Los Angeles and joined the THR staff in 1998. He served as chief TV critic before leaving the publication as a full-time employee in 2009, then freelanced for many outlets. He was writing up until his death.
Barry Garron, the genial Midwesterner who spent more than a decade as the chief television critic for The Hollywood Reporter, has died. He was 72.
Garron died Thursday morning at a rehabilitation facility in Gilbert, Arizona, after being hospitalized during the Memorial Day weekend, according to his daughter, Rachel Dain. He had battled Crohn’s disease since his 20s and also had bouts with cancer.
Garron was known to his colleagues and friends for his easygoing demeanor and encyclopedic knowledge and passion for television that he parlayed into jobs as a critic for The Kansas City Star and then THR.
After working at the Star from 1973 through 1997, Garron moved to Los Angeles and joined the THR staff in 1998. He served as chief TV critic before leaving the publication as a full-time employee in 2009, then freelanced for many outlets. He was writing up until his death.
- 6/23/2022
- by Kimberly Nordyke and Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Review: FX's "Justified," starring Timothy Olyphant, is an entertaining tale of a virtuous lawman's return to Kentucky, writes Barry Garron. Full review...
- 3/15/2010
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Repeat nominees are the rule of thumb at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, where the eligibility period is the calendar year—rather than the TV season, as is the case with the Emmys. So, new shows are traditionally given short shrift, as they've had only a few months of airtime, compared with the whole 12 of the returning series. But this year may be different, considering breakout shows such as "Modern Family," "The Good Wife," and "Nurse Jackie" have emerged as contenders."This has been an awfully good fall," says USA Today's TV critic Robert Bianco. "And I hope the trend would be that some of the new work from the summer and fall will be recognized this year." In addition to Bianco, Back Stage spoke with TV scribes Michael Ausiello of Entertainment Weekly; Chris Beachum, contributor to TheEnvelope.com; and Barry Garron of The Hollywood Reporter to get their picks.
- 11/18/2009
- backstage.com
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