I am – Hercules!!
Clichés! Caricatures! Condescension!
“My Generation” is an appalling new ABC dramedy created by writer-producer Noah Hawley, creator of the completely horrible ABC dramedy “The Unusuals.”
It’s also a relentlessly unfunny wannabe-mockumentary that follows a handful of Austin high school classmates a decade after they all attended high school together.
I hate that Hawley lured the wonderful Kelli Garner and Jaime King into this swill, and I hate that he sullies the great city of Austin with it.
Now that ABC entertainment chief Stephen McPherson has left the network, I’m hopeful nothing Hawley creates ever gets a series order again. His work is not art; it is punishment.
And to call it the worst show of the season on a night that includes both “Outsourced” and “Shit My Dad Says” is saying something. And yet I do say this.
In any case, thanks to “Big Bang,” “Bones” and “Community,” its demise will be swift and merciful.
I said GOOD DAY!!
USA Today says:
… At least no one can say this abysmal ABC misfire doesn't come by its status as the season's worst new show honestly. Seldom has a show crammed so many terrible ideas into a single aggravating hour. …
The Washington Post says:
… even the most self-infatuated 20-somethings do not deserve the punishment of wallowing in ABC's new faux-documentary, "My Generation" … It should not be confused with a mockumentary, which would imply that it's funny. …
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says:
… a dreadful series … the less said about it, the better. It's an insufferable show that could well be the season's first cancellation (if "Lone Star" doesn't beat it after Monday's ratings-losing debut). And it can't come a moment too soon. …
The San Francisco Chronicle says:
… Who wants another faux documentary? Didn't think so. But how about this time if it was a drama, not a comedy? Didn't think so. And yet, if you're really young and you haven't seen a lot of television remade endlessly like some mashed-up Play-Doh bits, "My Generation's" idea, of a documentary film crew that follows a high school graduating class in 2000 and revisits the cliche-heavy, stereotypical bunch in 2010 won't make you roll your eyes and get sick on your shirt. Everyone else - bibs on! …
HitFix says:
Of the three terrible new shows debuting Thursday night, the ABC drama "My Generation" is the most disappointing. … the execution is just awful - leaden and predictable and eyeroll-inducing at nearly every turn. …
The New York Times says:
… The mockumentary conceit has been done to death, especially in sitcoms inspired by “Arrested Development” and “The Office.” But it’s effective in this drama, lending the characters’ monologues both poignancy and also a light layer of satire. …
The Los Angeles Times says:
… despite such heavy-handed manipulation, the characters and camera-aware performances of "My Generation" are precisely what make the show surprisingly fresh, vivid and touching. …
The Boston Herald says:
One of the oddest and least engaging dramas of the fall … Dramatic storytelling seems to have veered off the road and crashed into a tree. Expect “My Generation” to be orphaned from the ABC schedule by the end of fall. …
The Boston Globe says:
… a mediocre drama that probably won’t last very long, despite airing in the same ABC programming block as “Grey’s Anatomy.’’ It’s trite and forced, a collection of cardboard types rather than characters. …
The Hollywood Reporter says:
… about as insufferable as wine-sniffing yuppies and carries an odor like day-old deli meat. …
Variety says:
… Not surprisingly, life has unfolded in unpredictable ways. But most of those forks in the road lead in painfully obvious directions, and the milestones that altered their lives -- the Bush-Gore election, Sept. 11, the Enron scandal -- feel like a trivialization of history for the purpose of mushy-headed drama.
…
8 p.m. Thursday. ABC.
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