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Movies / On DVD / The TV Set
The TV Set

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The TV Set (2007)

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Reviews Counted:73

Fresh:47

Rotten:26

Average Rating:6.3/10

Consensus: Offering both broad and insider jokes, The TV Set is a sharp satire that will please both the average moviegoers and pop culture aficionados.

Runtime: 87 mins

Genre: Television

Synopsis: Go to any bar in Hollywood and you're sure to find a hard-done-by writer who is drowning his or her sorrows after being chewed up and spat out by the network television system. In THE TV SET, Mike... Go to any bar in Hollywood and you're sure to find a hard-done-by writer who is drowning his or her sorrows after being chewed up and spat out by the network television system. In THE TV SET, Mike Klein (David Duchovny) seems set to join them. Klein's script for a TV show called THE WEXLER CHRONICLES was inspired by his brother's suicide, and is very close to his heart. After selling the script to PDN, who are headed by a fearsome executive simply known as Lenny (Sigourney Weaver), Klein watches as everything from the casting to the production goes horribly wrong. Klein has one buddy at the network, a Brit named Richard McCallister. McCallister's former position at the BBC leads Klein to believe that some quality control will be exerted over his project, and hopes McCallister will pull it out of the mire of mundanity that PDN thrives on. But he's very, very wrong, and as Klein's dream turns into dust--the show barely resembles anything he wrote--his health takes a turn for the worse and he enters mid-life-crisis mode. Duchovny and Weaver are outstanding in their roles, adding just the right balance of humor and anger to their characters. THE TV SET is ostensibly a comedy, but may make for painful viewing for anyone involved in the industry, or anyone who hates seeing dreams shattered. But director Jake Kasdan (ZERO EFFECT) manages to add a large dose of absurdity to the proceedings, saving it from being too depressing, and making many of the scenes a genuine hoot. [More]

Starring: David Duchovny, Sigourney Weaver, Ioan Gruffudd, Judy Greer

Starring: David Duchovny, Sigourney Weaver, Ioan Gruffudd, Judy Greer, Fran Kranz, Lindsay Sloane, Lucy Davis, Willie Garson, Justine Bateman

Director: Jake Kasdan

Director: Jake Kasdan
Screenwriter: Jake Kasdan
Producer: Aaron Ryder
Composer: Michael Andrews
Studio: ThinkFilm

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Reviews for The TV Set

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 >> >|
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Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
04/23/09
Peter Keough
Peter Keough
Boston Phoenix

...an intriguing, occasionally horrifying look at the behind-the-scenes shenanigans within the network-television world.

Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | comment Comment
04/10/08
David Nusair
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews

Sad, slow and rather boring story about how writers get dumped on and smart television shows get dumbed down.

Full Review Source: Laramie Movie Scope | comment Comment
01/23/08
Robert Roten
Robert Roten
Laramie Movie Scope

David Duchovny owns this movie

Full Review Source: sbs.is | comment Comment
01/06/08
Stefan Birgir Stefansson
Stefan Birgir Stefansson
sbs.is

The best thing that one can say about this film, is that it's probably too good for TV.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
12/06/07
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

It's interesting and funny and agonizing and illuminating to know what happens before you get that first annoying animated promo for a new show. For fans of: Undeclared, Studio 60.

Full Review Source: Cinerina | comment Comment
11/22/07
Karina Montgomery
Karina Montgomery
Cinerina

Sharky, cynical look at TV world needs more bite.

Full Review Source: Common Sense Media | comment Comment
10/22/07
S. Jhoanna Robledo
S. Jhoanna Robledo
Common Sense Media

What rescues The TV Set is the character work.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
10/03/07
David Cornelius
David Cornelius
eFilmCritic.com

Not a backstage film for the ages, but it manages to be a bit more useful than the vast bulk of its stablemates.

Full Review Source: Antagony & Ecstasy | comment Comment
09/20/07
Tim Brayton
Tim Brayton
Antagony & Ecstasy

The TV Set is a little wonder of a movie, as smart and sad and true as any comedy I've seen this year.

Full Review Source: Slate | comment Comment
08/18/07
Dana Stevens
Dana Stevens
Slate

Honestly, isn't it a little late to be bemoaning sleazy reality TV?

Full Review Source: Miami Herald | comment Comment
07/13/07
Connie Ogle
Connie Ogle
Miami Herald

Is it a travesty? A farce? Utterly preposterous? Exactly.

Full Review Source: Zertinet Movies | comment Comment
06/13/07
Steven Snyder
Steven Snyder
Zertinet Movies

This very inside but modestly amusing show-business satire doesn't seem too far-fetched or exaggerated.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
05/31/07
Jeff Vice
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

"The TV Set" feels a little underdone and half-realized, as if it were the pilot episode for a show that never got picked up for the fall season.

Full Review Source: Capital Times (Madison, WI) | comment 1 Comment
05/25/07
Rob Thomas
Rob Thomas
Capital Times (Madison, WI)

A weak satire of network television programming, telling you nothing you don't already know and doing so without providing much more than the occsasional mild chuckle.

Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion | comment Comment
05/17/07
Frank Swietek
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion

The appalling sausage factory that produces what we see on network TV is nicely skewered in The TV Set, an engaging if not exactly edgy comedy that exists to restate the obvious.

Full Review Source: Orlando Sentinel | comment Comment
05/10/07
Roger Moore
Roger Moore
Orlando Sentinel

A facile but likable send-up of how things (don't) work in Hollywood.

Full Review Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution | comment Comment
05/10/07
Eleanor Ringel Gillespie
Eleanor Ringel Gillespie
Atlanta Journal-Constitution

David Duchovny, Justine Bateman, Ioan Gruffudd and Sigourney Weaver star in this biting look at the creatively draining world of TV sitcom production.

Full Review Source: Orlando Weekly | comment Comment
05/10/07
Jason Ferguson
Jason Ferguson
Orlando Weekly

This satire settles for simply restating the obvious.

Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | comment Comment
05/05/07
Jeff Strickler
Jeff Strickler
Minneapolis Star Tribune

Kasdan goes too far over the top on occasion. But he mostly straddles the line between reality and absurdity. But in network TV, reality is absurdity.

Full Review Source: Sacramento Bee | comment Comment
05/04/07
Carla Meyer
Carla Meyer
Sacramento Bee
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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Latest News for The TV Set

September 26, 2007: David Duchovny Talks X-Files 2
The truth is out there. And so is the sequel. More...

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More...

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