Rachel Stein

Tomatometer-approved critic

Publications: Television Without Pity

TV Reviews Only

	T-Meter	Title \| Year	Review
C	10%	Jersey Shore: Season 4 (TV, 2010-2012)	Conversation isn't as offensively homophobic as I would have feared, because everyone really seems to care less about Deena hooking up with another woman and way more about committing robbery. - Television Without Pity EDIT Read More \| Posted Sep 24, 2018
	100%	Switched at Birth: Season 1 (TV, 2011-2017)	Switched at Birth is actually just a good teen drama. - Television Without Pity EDIT Read More \| Posted Sep 11, 2013
	86%	Awkward: Season 3 (TV, 2011-2016)	Though the Season 3 premiere wasn't great, we assumed that Jenna and the gang would bounce back quickly...and it turns out, we were wrong. - Television Without Pity EDIT Read More \| Posted Jan 3, 2014
	41%	Two and a Half Men: Season 9 (TV, 2003-2015)	This show is no more watchable on any kind of regular basis than it has been for the past eight seasons. - Television Without Pity EDIT Read More \| Posted Sep 18, 2013
	96%	Justified: Season 3 (TV, 2010-2015)	There's little that they could do to make me stop watching. - Television Without Pity EDIT Read More \| Posted Jan 17, 2012
	80%	I Just Want My Pants Back: Season 1 (TV, 2011-2012)	There's a real story happening in the show, as well as a mostly likable cast. - Television Without Pity EDIT Read More \| Posted Feb 2, 2012
	53%	Life's Too Short: Season 1 (TV, 2011)	Political correctness in general is completely removed from Too Short, for the better. - Television Without Pity EDIT Read More \| Posted Feb 19, 2012
	94%	Girls: Season 2 (TV, 2012-2017)	We're kind of split in the TWoP offices, but I really liked this episode (and the following three that HBO sent us). - Television Without Pity EDIT Read More \| Posted Jan 13, 2013
	8%	Allen Gregory: Season 1 (TV, 2011)	Mildly funny concepts that are sloppily thrust onto characters, with a somewhat interesting premise that's weighed down by a complete lack of logic. - Television Without Pity EDIT Read More \| Posted Oct 30, 2011
	48%	Best Friends Forever: Season 1 (TV, 2012)	This plot could easily be disastrous or lame and fall prey to the standard sexist tropes we see in similar comedies, but BFF actually has pretty great writing and no vendetta against women. - Television Without Pity EDIT Read More \| Posted Apr 4, 2012
	40%	2 Broke Girls: Season 2 (TV, 2011-2017)	It actually makes me wonder if 2 Broke Girls would thrive if the girls packed up and moved to Los Angeles, a place where the writers actually know about. - Television Without Pity EDIT Read More \| Posted Sep 24, 2012
	65%	2 Broke Girls: Season 1 (TV, 2011-2017)	The writers have proven they can deliver significant laughs while making fun of pop culture, as seen by 2 Broke Girls being one of the first network shows to openly mock flash mobs and by the program giving ironic credit to Small Wonder. - Television Without Pity EDIT Read More \| Posted Sep 19, 2011
	42%	1600 Penn: Season 1 (TV, 2012-2013)	Considering the strength of its cast, there's no excuse for how terrible NBC's 1600 Penn pilot is. - Television Without Pity EDIT Read More \| Posted Dec 17, 2013
	10%	I Hate My Teenage Daughter: Season 1 (TV, 2011-2012)	This series is going to be cancelled in a heartbeat, considering how horribly unfunny it is. - Television Without Pity EDIT Read More \| Posted Nov 30, 2011
	18%	How to Live with Your Parents (for the Rest of Your Life): Season 1 (TV, 2013)	How to Live is chock full of over-the-top in archetypes and terrible writing, which I would even say if the writers didn't shoehorn in the world "slut" every other scene. - Television Without Pity EDIT Read More \| Posted Apr 4, 2013
	74%	Ben and Kate: Season 1 (TV, 2012-2013)	From the basic plot to the acting to the editing, this whole series is a mess. - Television Without Pity EDIT Read More \| Posted Sep 25, 2012
	73%	Modern Family: Season 4 (TV, 2009)	Much as I liked the pairings and some of the dialogue, this is just another contrived episode of Modern Family we can cite when we talk later about how a different show should have won the 2013 Emmy for Best Comedy. - Television Without Pity EDIT Read More \| Posted Sep 26, 2012
	11%	Rob: Season 1 (TV, 2012)	This pilot is racist. - Television Without Pity EDIT Read More \| Posted Jan 12, 2012
	90%	Parenthood: Season 4 (TV, 2010-2015)	Okay, obviously I cried at the Kristina stuff, but it actually took me a while to get there. - Television Without Pity EDIT Read More \| Posted Sep 11, 2012
	27%	How to Be a Gentleman: Season 1 (TV, 2011-2012)	It's extremely dated that this show needs to define masculinity in the context of how, ahem, dumb and controlling women are. - Television Without Pity EDIT Read More \| Posted Sep 29, 2011
	100%	Switched at Birth: Season 2 (TV, 2011-2017)	If the situation of Switched at Birth often seems surreal and at times contrived the performances keep the story grounded as yet another alternative American family blooms under the California sun. - Television Without Pity EDIT Read More \| Posted Mar 4, 2013
	95%	Parks and Recreation: Season 5 (TV, 2009-2015)	I legitimately clapped at the end of the episode. - Television Without Pity EDIT Read More \| Posted May 3, 2013
	79%	Enlightened: Season 1 (TV, 2011-2013)	Look, I'm all for darkness and imperfection in characters, but after an hour and a half with this woman, I don't feel the slightest bit invested in her. - Television Without Pity EDIT Read More \| Posted Oct 10, 2011
	13%	Family Tools: Season 1 (TV, 2013)	This show is so terribly written and not funny that it doesn't warrant a real review. - Television Without Pity EDIT Read More \| Posted May 2, 2013
	47%	Missing: Season 1 (TV, 2012)	Lifetime wants their show back. - Television Without Pity EDIT Read More \| Posted Mar 15, 2012
	43%	Jane By Design: Season 1 (TV, 2012)	Nothing makes the vaguest amount of sense in Jane By Design, which is so painfully a rip-off of The Devil Wears Prada that I really want to call it The Devil Wears a Prada Backpack. - Television Without Pity EDIT Read More \| Posted Jan 3, 2012
	31%	The Neighbors: Season 1 (TV, 2012-2014)	Honestly, this show could be a lot worse. - Television Without Pity EDIT Read More \| Posted Sep 26, 2012
	21%	Man Up!: Season 1 (TV, 2011)	I feel slightly disarmed by my enjoyment of Man Up!, because at its core, I really dislike the show. - Television Without Pity EDIT Read More \| Posted Oct 18, 2011
	18%	Are You There, Chelsea?: Season 1 (TV, 2012)	Once the initial awkwardness of the first few minutes of the pilot subsided, I actually really enjoyed Chelsea. - Television Without Pity EDIT Read More \| Posted Jan 11, 2012
	36%	Save Me: Season 1 (TV, 2013)	No longer are we stuck watching a pathetic woman drive everyone crazy in her life with her nutball conspiracies -- instead, we have an almost-sci-fi series that's maybe just cartoonish enough to work. - Television Without Pity EDIT Read More \| Posted May 23, 2013