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 33
CW, Wednesday

Game Show in My Head 34
CBS, Saturday

Oprah's Big Give
SERIES: ABC, Sunday 9:00p (60 minutes)


2.8

based on 19 reviews
read critic reviews
how did we calculate this?

based on 23 votes
read user comments
rate this tv show

Starring Nate Berkus, Jamie Oliver, Tony Gonzalez, and Malaak Compton-Rock

Contestants are given 1 million dollars and are challenged to use it to help as many people as they can.

GENRE(S):	Reality (Competitive)
CREATED BY:	Oprah Winfrey
FIRST AIR DATE:	March 2, 2008

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...

Baltimore Sun David Zurawik

Winfrey and ABC have taken the much-maligned reality TV format and used it to create a show that both entertains and encourages viewers to think about such matters as how best to help others.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Rob Owen

It may do some good, but it's still a piece of TV entertainment that, first and foremost, must succeed as a revenue generator for ABC. That realistic, not cynical, caveat aside, Big Give is certainly more positive than "Big Brother" or numerous other reality shows.

Salon Heather Havrilesky

A heartfelt, inspiring, uplifting TV show that brings out the best in people? Who could possibly resist that?

Slate Troy Patterson

In all, Oprah's Big Give is a triumph of virtue, which leaves only the question of who would want to watch it.

Orlando Sentinel Hal Boedeker

Oprah's Big Give overflows with emotion, tears and hugs.

New York Post Linda Stasi

Think "The Apprentice" meets "Extreme Home Makeover" and you've got the heartwarming Oprah's Big Give. All shows together equal more Sunday-night tears than a feelgood Lifetime movie marathon.

Boston Globe Matthew Gilbert

Is it strange to make good will and charity into a win-lose proposition? Is it peculiar to judge the givers on their manner of giving, to quantify their largesse? To me, yes, it is, and the show makes for awkward viewing as a result.

Chicago Sun-Times Misha Davenport

There also is something disturbing about making a game out of charitable acts.

Chicago Tribune Maureen Ryan

Though Oprah’s Big Give is supposed to be celebrating the power of giving, it’s more likely to prove that not everything can or should be turned into a contest.

Newsday Diane Werts

Pathos may make for a more positive reality TV experience than a parade of lying, backstabbing and physical torture. But the basic appeal remains pathetic. Perhaps in more ways than one.

Philadelphia Daily News Ellen Gray

I'm ashamed that a wounded Marine, about to be discharged after 15 years in the service, needs help from an entertainment show to find and afford civilian housing for himself and his family.

New York Daily News David Hinckley

People victimized by terrible events and circumstances often feel pride and dignity are two of the few things they have left. There are times in Oprah's Big Give when it feels like those things may be slipping away, in the service of creating a splashier television show.

Variety Brian Lowry

The result is a series that wants to do good and still have enough "edge" to do well in the rough-and-tumble, less-nurturing environment of reality TV, which feels out of step with all the good vibrations.

The New Yorker Nancy Franklin

Oprah’s Big Give stands out as a weird, misbegotten creature that perhaps shouldn’t have been taken out in public.

Washington Post Tom Shales

Although Winfrey might imagine she's doing something fresh and innovative, the trite staples of competitive reality pop up predictably.

USA Today Robert Bianco

Seldom has the drive to do good works been as alarmingly, offensively presumptuous.

Hollywood Reporter Ray Richmond

Shallow as a birdbath, the program would appear to exist less as a true philanthropic exercise than yet another self-aggrandizing vehicle in Oprah's divine quest to become synonymous with all that is virtuous and good on Earth.

Philadelphia Inquirer Jonathan Storm

It's doubtful that Oprah's Big Give would have ever made it to the air without Oprah, but (Wrong No. 1) don't go expecting the diva of the heartstrings to be hosting this exploitative (Wrong No. 2) jumble (Wrong No. 3). She turns up now and then, to cheerlead and oversell (Wrong No. 4), but the real host (Wrong No. 5) is one of her minions, Nate Berkus. More wrongs to come, but you'll have to keep track for yourself.

Miami Herald Glenn Garvin

Oprah's Big Give is no mere appallingly bad television show but a refutation of human decency itself.

The average user rating for this tv show is 2.8 (out of 10) based on 23 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Ga. gave it a10:
Absolutely love the concept. It made me indulge into charity work as well. And I feel Blessed.

Cind W. gave it a1:
I am so sick of reality shows that are rigged! Did only the winner's family just happen to be there to congratulate him? Supposedly they didn't know who was going to win...did they fly them in during the last hour when they knew who the winner was. Pllllease!

Paul D. gave it a0:
Anne T - you are an absolute retard. "the lord used Oprah" what a load of tripe. People like you are the reason I grow towards hating American's and there crap TV shows and movies. It's a fat rich bitch giving away money so she can make more. Can't you see that!!!!!!! You must be thick. Just don't comment again....and don't go into TV production.

Rick P. gave it a1:
A hew high in crass; maybe Oprah can start a church where the faithful compete for salvation...while the rich get richer.

Anne T. gave it a10:
My husband and I were so impressed and inspired by The Big Give. It was so awesome to see how the Lord used Oprah to bless people who were really struggling and needed a financial miracle. We pray this show will open peoples hearts to give more. There are alot of hurting people out there who really need encouragement and prayer.

Sherry F. gave it a1:
This show gives giving a bad name.

Gene H. gave it a1:
Another example of someone with success simply not knowing when to pull back, brutal in awkward boring moments cap this why bother show. Perhaps she needs better advisors, those able to say when a show is half-baked. Swing and a miss for the divine Ms. O.

Oprah's Big Give SERIES: ABC, Sunday 9:00p (60 minutes)

Oprah's Big Give
SERIES: ABC, Sunday 9:00p (60 minutes)