In Florida, Tom Jicha, television/radio reporter for the "Sun-Sentinel", suggestws in his review that the comedy should be renamed 'Payne-ful', adding: 'Let's be clear about this; "Payne" is not a bad show because it doesn't stand up to "Fawlty Towers". It is a bad show, period.' On the other side of the country, in California, the entertainment critic Kinney Littlefield provided an equally blunt appraisal on behalf of the "Orange County Register": 'The original "Fawlty Towers" (1975/79) was wicked fun. "Payne" is just plain dumb. It is written for morons.' Other national and regional newspapers also issued disparaging reviews, a few being in "USA Today", "The Atlanta Constitution", "The Sun", "The Boston Globe," "Cincinnati Enquirer", the "Chicago Tribune", and the "New York Post", which featured a bold heading for a review by Michele Greppi, proclaiming 'Original "Fawlty" Still Towers Over This Clumsy Knock-Off'.