Newly-Reviewed Programs
TV on DVD
All Shows: A-Z Index
Advanced Search

2008-09 Midseason
2008 Fall Season
2008 Summer Season
2007-08 Midseason
2007 Fall Season
2007 Summer Season
2006-07 Midseason
2006 Fall Season
2006 Summer Season
2005-06 Midseason
2005 Fall Season
Best Of 2008
Best Of 2007
Best Of 2006
Best Of 2005
How Metascores Are Calculated
Discuss TV In Our Forums

The Story of India 73
PBS, 1/5

Tess of the D'Urbervilles 66
PBS, 1/4

Damages Season Two 80
FX, Wednesday

13: Fear Is Real 31
CW, Wednesday

Game Show in My Head 34
CBS, Saturday

Evidence, The
SERIES: ABC, Wednesday 10:00p (60 minutes)


8.9

based on 24 reviews
read critic reviews
how did we calculate this?

based on 33 votes
read user comments
rate this tv show

Get more information on this show at TV.com.

Official Show Site

Starring Orlando Jones, Rob Estes, Martin Landau, and Anita Briem

This gimmicky, San Francisco-set police procedural presents key pieces of evidence to viewers before they are revealed to the on-screen cops investigating the weekly crime.

GENRE(S):	Crime, Drama
CREATED BY:	Sam Baum Dustin Thomason
FIRST AIR DATE:	March 22, 2006

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Wall Street Journal

It doesn't happen very often that halfway into the pilot for a new show, you're already looking forward to subsequent episodes just to find out more about the characters you've glimpsed in the first few minutes.

Christian Science Monitor Gloria Goodale

Good casting and well-paced writing give hope.

Washington Post Tom Shales

What lifts "Evidence" well above the clamor of standard cop shows is the charisma between its two male leads.

Orlando Sentinel Hal Boedeker

The Evidence needs more distinctive twists to stand out in the overpopulated crime lineup.

Chicago Tribune Sid Smith

Estes and Jones are appealing, slightly underplaying their buddy shtick. In a galaxy far, far away, their act might click. But in our universe of cop show overload, they're just another team grappling with grisly violence and unrepentant evil.

Entertainment Weekly Dalton Ross

It's funny, I was just saying how there aren't enough procedural forensic/police dramas on TV these days. [24 Mar 2006, p.64]

USA Today Robert Bianco

Even if The Evidence were the first show of its kind, it would still be mediocre.

Newsday Verne Gay

[A] shamelessly derivative cop show set in the shamelessly overexposed city by the bay, with high-school-play-level acting performances which help make the overall effect cornier than a cornfield in Kansas. And yet ... and yet, there's something appealing about ABC's new cop drama.

The New York Times Alessandra Stanley

The show's main characters are all too familiar.

TV Guide Matt Roush

The very definition of generic.

Philadelphia Inquirer Jonathan Storm

In the pilot tonight, one of the clues has nothing to do with the murder, and that hardly seems fair, though "fair" in another sense might be the best way to describe The Evidence. Unless you want to go for "poor."

Miami Herald Glenn Garvin

You can pretty much watch this show any night of the week under its other titles, CSI and Law & Order.

Chicago Sun-Times Doug Elfman

It demonstrates how a show can be a run-of-the-mill cop drama despite a talented cast and a few interesting twists.

Los Angeles Times Paul Brownfield

It isn't a bad gimmick, establishing a certain tension, but the premise is about the only thing that recommends "The Evidence," a show that otherwise seems to be moving you -- rather than moving -- through its procedural paces.

Cleveland Plain Dealer Mark Dawidziak

Has little to offer but formula storytelling and conventional crime-drama techniques.

Hollywood Reporter Barry Garron

In the end, it's just a case of pouring old crime into new bottles.

Boston Globe Matthew Gilbert

It all feels inessential.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Rob Owen

Showing the evidence really adds nothing as the story twists, turns and contorts itself in an attempt to keep viewers from tuning out before the hour is up.

San Francisco Chronicle Tim Goodman

Let's present some evidence for you to analyze: A tired premise. Overly familiar characters. Dull writing. An unclear tone. A series that pales in comparison to any of the "CSI" shows and pretty much every new crime and punishment procedural in the last five years.

Detroit Free Press Mike Duffy

Just another tediously cliched crime procedural. Whodunit? Who cares.

New York Daily News David Hinckley

The drama has more false frights than a student horror film, and such an uneven and incompatible tone that it's tough to tell which is funnier, the scenes of alleged humor or the scenes of alleged drama.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Melanie McFarland

I'm not sure which is worse, that tired back story or Martin Landau besmirching his career by appearing in this as a wizened forensics guy.

Variety Brian Lowry

This basically feels like the fifth best cop drama of the 1978 TV season.

Slate Troy Patterson

If there exists a device called a Procedural-O-Matic, then it created this show.

The average user rating for this tv show is 8.9 (out of 10) based on 33 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Nicole K gave it a10:
Would love to see "The Evidence" back on the airs. These critics need to let the viewers determine what we want like, and furthermore Rob Estes has a presence on screen and needs to have more of an opportunity to showcase his talents.

cheyenne w gave it a10:
I loved this show and i don't understand why it was cancelled so quickly. they didn't even give it a chance!

Jen G gave it a10:
I loved this show - glad to see Rob Estes back & like him partnered with Orlando Jones!!! Still hoping it will come back!!

L Hansen gave it a10:
I would watch Rob Estes on any show he was on, luckily this one was actually a great show!

Andrea S gave it a10:
I LOVED this show!! I see from the few of us who have voted, it was enjoyed by viewers despite what the critics have said about it. I don't understand why it was cancelled. I would love to see it reinstated. Anyone petitioning to bring it back??

Trevor M gave it a10:
Critics say, nothing they haven't seen before. First, just what do you expect? Aliens undercover? Second, this show has different characters (and excellent ones at that) with separate lives from the weekly stories. I like a show that has an ending each episode. Third, the characters are interesting and so are the stories.

Lisa H gave it a10:
"Evidence," given the chance, will only get better and better, like Law & Order did. This is not like CSI where the Medical Techs chase and arrest the criminals. This is sooo much better. Evidence has excellent lead characters with chemistry that works. I really enjoy this show. Unfortunately, People who like to whine and complain are the ones who normally go online to post.

Evidence, The SERIES: ABC, Wednesday 10:00p (60 minutes)

Evidence, The
SERIES: ABC, Wednesday 10:00p (60 minutes)