Critical Reception and Retrospect
Upon its debut, Joyce Millman of Salon called the series a "rousing blast of kamikaze satire" and summed up by declaring, "In his relentless flogging of the advertiser-driven TV biz, Carvey delivered prime time's funniest biting the-feeding-hand stuff since Michael Moore's short-lived NBC (and briefly, Fox) series TV Nation." Caryn James of the New York Times, however, gave a negative review, claiming, "the debut already looked tired and old" adding, "Right now, the Carvey writers had better be thinking up something edgier than a dancing mug of root beer."
In 2009, New York Times writer Dave Itzkoff lamented, "Comedy fans may remember it as a crucible in which many future stars were forged. But for the people who created the show, it was a stark lesson that when idiosyncratic talents are given the freedom to follow their personal muses, a mass audience does not always follow."
Entertainment Weekly's Alynda Wheat gave the DVD a B- and proclaimed "You can see why Carell and Colbert became famous But just as clear is that Carvey was too wildly hit-or-miss to work." Paste Magazine gave a "respectable" 73 rating and noted that while the show's topicality hasn't dated well, "when the Dana Carvey Show is on its game it’s outstanding, especially towards the end of its short run when it really found its voice." CHUD.com also commended the show's writing and gave an 8/10 rating.
Read more about this topic: The Dana Carvey Show
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