And Our Friends Are All Aboard– On the week and month that Abbey Roadis re-released on its golden anniversary, it doesn't seem that improper to go from golden to yellow...

2019

Aug

AMERICAN EXPERIENCE: “WOODSTOCK: THREE DAYS THAT DEFINED A GENERATION” By David Bianculli

DOCUMENTARY PREMIERE: You’ve seen the movie. You’ve heard the soundtrack. You’ve even heard Joni Mitchell’s anthemic account of the seminal music and arts fair held in August 1969 in Bethel, NY. So why watch a new account, one that’s less about performance footage and more about the recorded music and national mood of the period? Because the perspective here is informative, and relatively clear-eyed. It also adds new elements to the story, such as the surprising fac

2019

Jul

CAN YOU SAY “PERFECT CASTING,” BOYS AND GIRLS? By David Bianculli

The first promo clip from the upcoming movie A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood has just been released, and it proves indisputably that this biopic of children’s TV host Fred Rogers has indeed found its ideal leading man...

2019

Jul

GROUND CONTROL TO MAJOR CHRIS By David Bianculli

For the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing tomorrow, one of the cuts we played on Fresh Air today (Friday, July 19), was audio of Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield, singing his version of David Bowie’s “Space Oddity". The sound is great, but to get to the full impact — as more than 43 million people have done on YouTube — you have to see the 2013 video...

2019

Jul

LEGION By David Bianculli

A future version of Syd (Rachel Keller) fears that the powerful mutant psychic David (Dan Stevens) is the reason the world ends, and travels back in time to kill him before that happens. David, meanwhile, hopes that if he travels back in time himself, he can put things right, and establish a new time line that doesn’t involve destroying the planet. And in the weird world of Legion, it’s quite possible they’re both right…

2019

Jun

MY COUSIN VINNY By David Bianculli

This 1992 comedy is such a funny, enjoyable legal comedy, it’s easy to overlook how dependent it is on the broad comic talents of its two stars, Marisa Tomei (who won an Oscar for her portrayal) and Joe Pesci (who perhaps should have). He plays the title character, a newly minted New York lawyer defending his cousin, who is accused of murder in rural Alabama. Oh, and give credit, too, to Fred Gwynne, who plays the judge who has a problem with Vinny’s wardrobe, attitude, and accent. &

2019

May

THE NAME OF THE ROSE By David Bianculli

John Turturro stars in this new Sundance miniseries version of bestselling Umberto Eco novel – and is one of its teleplay adapters as well. So if you’re not caught up in this fresh adaptation (which premiered last Thursday), you have him to blame. Twice.

2019

Apr

TALES OF THE EXPECTED By David Bianculli

SERIES PREMIERE: Today on CBS All Access, that streaming subscription service presents the first episodes of The Twilight Zone, the new version of the classic Rod Serling anthology series from 60 years ago. The new Zone is hosted by Jordan Peele, who is one of its executive producers – and for my review of the new Twilight Zone on NPR’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross, visit the Fresh Air website and for the review on TVWW, see David Hinckley's All Along the Watchtower. Meanwhile, it&rsqu

2018

Dec

NEW 'BLACK MIRROR' STORY IS AN INTERACTIVE TRIUMPH - THANKS PARTLY TO YOU By David Bianculli

Friday, Dec. 28, 2018 – I’ve just experienced one of the more original and unpredictable dramas I’ve ever seen as a TV critic. It’s the brand new, one-off installment of Black Mirror on Netflix. And I didn’t – and couldn’t – watch it on my TV set…

2018

Dec

MURPHY BROWN By David Bianculli

We’re getting to the end of the season for this modern reboot of Murphy Brown, which always was intended, according to series creator Diane English, to consist of 13 episodes (tonight’s new episode is number 12 in that run). There have been reports that, because of not continuing with a midseason additional order, Murphy Brown has been cancelled, but English says that’s not the case, and she expects she will, along with Murphy, return next fall. Meanwhile, tonight, Murphy (Cand

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David Bianculli

Founder / Editor

David Bianculli has been a TV critic since 1975, including a 14-year stint at the New York Daily News, and sees no reason to stop now. Currently, he's TV critic for NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross, and is an occasional substitute host for that show. He's also an author and teaches TV and film history at New Jersey's Rowan University. His 2009 Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of 'The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour', has been purchased for film rights. His latest, The Platinum Age of Television: From I Love Lucy to the Walking Dead, How TV Became Terrific, is an effusive guidebook that plots the path from the 1950s’ Golden Age to today’s era of quality TV.

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