Dim reviews for Palin's Fox show [update]

According to a CBS News round-up of recent reactions to ex-Gov. Palin's new Fox News Channel show, "Real American Stories," critics are underwhelmed. One critic was sure to say the show's premise is admirable before recording a lackluster assessment, but many call the production itself "relatively tame," "canned television formula," and "like infotainment." As for Palin's performance itself: "relaxed and natural," "competent but generic ... as cheery and bland as any news anchor's in the mainstream media she deplores." Read much more, here. And it's not included in the CBS round-up, but Salon.com's Alex Koppelman has an interesting perspective on the show's larger impact. He thinks it does no one any good:  "On Thursday night, when Sarah Palin made her debut as the host of Fox News' 'Real American Stories', one thing was clear: Fox really screwed the former governor of Alaska. Or maybe she did it to herself."

[Update, 4/02, 12:44 p.m. AKDT]: Time Magazine's TV critic's blog features a rather devastating critique of Palin's show (all the more devastating for its balance) from the perspective of someone who started watching with indifference and ended with frustration. After calling Palin's show "less irrelevant than it is insidious," the critic asks, "If this series doesn't have the time, or inclination, to address failing urban schools while praising the donor that saved a few of the hopeless, then what good is it?" Read much more, here.