Peter Pan Live!, NBC’s latest attempt to cash in on the holiday spirit with a live televised musical, did not crash and burn as many had anticipated.

Girls actress and Brian Williams‘ daughter Allison Williams played Peter Pan opposite Christopher Walken‘s Hook and Taylor Louderman‘s Wendy in the TV adaptation of the Broadway musical based off of J.M. Barrie’s children’s book. For live TV audiences, the actors told the story of the boy who never wanted to grow up whisking Wendy and her brothers away to Neverland, where they meet the comically villanous Hook and ally Tiger Lily.

‘Peter Pan Live!’ Reviews

Unlike The Sound of Music Live!, which starred country music super star Carrie Underwood, Peter Pan Live! was not prime hate-watching TV. As many critics pointed out, NBC’s Peter Pan wasn’t a comedy of errors and, at times, was actually pretty good – perhaps promising even better live TV musical adaptations in NBC’s future. Both Williams’ voice and overall gameness were praised, as were Walken’s dancing and bellowing. As for the visible wires, most critics felt it was a minor unavoidable flaw that should be ignored in the spirit of the musical.

“The Girls co-star was graceful, game, limber and in lovely voice through all three hours of the show, even if it wasn’t until nearly the end, when Peter sang to Wendy the haunting “When I Went Home,”  that her ungrownup boy welled with human feeling and truly tugged at the heartstrings. The three hours sagged at points, especially given the extremely icky Walmart ads that made it hard to maintain suspension of disbelief. Otherwise, I have no complaints. Sorry snarkers. I believe.” – Jeremy Gerard, Deadline

“There were minor complaints with Williams’ weird fishnet sleeves, her crowing, and the visible wires, as if viewers might actually believe that Williams could fly if they couldn’t see her harness. Never grow up is right: Many adult viewers were watching like children, in a wide-eyed way, complaining only when the “magic” of flying was spoiled, or the Lost Boys were too clean, or the three-hour production lasted way past their bedtime. (“Tick-tock!”) Maybe there was a message in there somewhere about how to avoid hate-watching. As Peter would say, it’s easy. You just think lovely, wonderful thoughts, and up you go.” – Melissa Maerz, Entertainment Weekly

Despite the many lukewarm to reservedly positive reviews, there were some complaints:

“Why were all the Lost Boys in Neverland dressed like German schoolchildren, but Peter was dressed like the fairy hobo birthed from the bushes that we all know and love? Did the producers just reuse the Von Trapp children from last year and hope that no one would notice?” – Kevin Fallon, Daily Beast

“The Lost Boys were too old. The Pirates were also too old, and too thuggish. The Crocodile, however, was magnificent and should get his own show. (Nana the dog was a scene-stealer, too.) The sets were bizarre and beautiful, and did I say bizarre?” – Gail Pennington, St. Louis Post Dispatch

A Peter Pan Live! will air again Saturday, Dec. 6 on NBC at 7/6c. A DVD version will be available Dec. 16.