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DAVID BIANCULLI

Founder / Editor

Bianculli's Blog

ERIC GOULD

Associate Editor

The Cold Light Reader

LINDA DONOVAN

Assistant Editor

Dateline Donovan
Contributors

DAVID HINCKLEY

All Along the Watchtower

ED BARK

Uncle Barky's Bytes

ALEX STRACHAN

TV That Matters

MIKE HUGHES

Open Mike

ED MARTIN

Ed Martin's TV Mix

KIM AKASS

Aerial View

MONIQUE NAZARETH

MNtv

BILL BRIOUX

TV Feeds My Family

ROGER CATLIN

TV Eye

GARY EDGERTON

Must-Click TV

TOM BRINKMOELLER

Raised On MTM

GERALD JORDAN

Crossing Jordan

NOEL HOLSTON

The Grassy Noel

TVWW ARCHIVE

Contributors Archive
 
 
 
 
 
2011
Dec
16
GOOD GRIEF! 'CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS' ALMOST MISSED ITS CHANCE TO BECOME A TV TRADITION By David Bianculli
 
 
We've gotten a lot of response to our coverage this month of ABC's treatment, and occasional mistreatment, of A Charlie Brown Christmas -- and we're not through yet. Want to hear how the special almost was killed by CBS the very year it premiered, way back in 1965? Of course you do... This story comes courtesy of the Cincinnati Enquirer and its TV critic, John Kiesewetter, a good journalist, and good guy, who just repeated his own vintage Peanuts story, the same trick I pulled just the oth
 
 
 
  
 
 
2011
Dec
14
'FEAR FACTOR': CALL OUT THE INSTIGATORS, BECAUSE THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE AIR By David Bianculli
 
 
NBC's Fear Factor is back on the air -- and, at the same time, polluting it. During Monday's two-hour comeback premiere, Fear Factor presented an outrageously gross stunt that showed everyday people, eager to do just about anything for money, wallowing in a giant vat of animal waste. And then I thought -- wait a minute. I've seen that before...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2011
Dec
13
ONE CHRISTMAS RERUN WORTH REPEATING: GET 'THE POINT'? By David Bianculli
 
 
Back in February, I wrote and posted a column noting the 40th anniversary of one of the greatest family TV specials ever made. I'm repeating that column today because, when it comes to recommending unusual and inexpensive gifts for children, I can't think of many better choices than to get right to The Point...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2011
Dec
12
TODAY ON NPR'S 'FRESH AIR': MY KILLER INTERVIEW WITH 'DEXTER' STAR MICHAEL C. HALL By David Bianculli
 
 
On today's (Monday's) Fresh Air with Terry Gross on NPR, I interview Michael C. Hall, the talented star of Showtime's Dexter (and, before that, HBO's Six Feet Under). One thing you won't hear in the interview, though, is something we were talking about briefly when we weren't recording: his plans for the holidays, while visiting New York. It turns out he plans to take his mother to a Broadway show, but can't get seats for the one he wants. To put it another way: Dexter would kill for a pair of tickets to The Book of Mormon...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2011
Dec
10
THE WORD IS OUT: GEORGE CLOONEY HAS OPTIONED MY SMOTHERS BROTHERS BOOK By David Bianculli
 
 
When I wrote "Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of 'The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour,'" I thought the story of Tom and Dick Smothers, and their clashes with CBS over the content of their groundbreaking TV variety series, had a lot to say that was pertinent to these times, as well as illuminating about the Sixties. I'm very, very proud to say that George Clooney thinks so, too...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2011
Dec
8
A 'M*A*S*H' NOTE TO HARRY MORGAN: 'GOODBYE, FAREWELL, AND AMEN' By David Bianculli
 
 
Harry Morgan, whose crusty yet friendly Colonel Potter on M*A*S*H was the pinnacle of a show-biz career that stretched to the early days of television and encompassed film and theater as well, died yesterday at age 96. What a character. What an actor. What a character actor...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2011
Dec
7
TVWW RECOMMENDS: MORE HOLIDAY GIFT SUGGESTIONS, JUST IN TIME By David Bianculli
 
 
Here at TV WORTH WATCHING, we already have Diane Werts' compilation of recommended DVD gift sets and holiday-themed releases, which you can peruse (and purchase) by clicking HERE and HERE, respectively. But for the next stretch of pre-holiday days, I'll be adding to that by suggesting a few other...And I'm starting with the following, a boxed set that features what I consider the best-written drama for television ever made...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2011
Dec
5
'CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS': TV'S BEST HOLIDAY SPECIAL MISTREATED AGAIN By David Bianculli
 
 
A Charlie Brown Christmas, broadcast by CBS in 1965, was and remains the best holiday TV special ever made. Even in an age of DVRs and Blu-Ray, gathering the family to watch Linus, Snoopy and the gang, even with commercial intrusions, is one of the few annual television traditions we have left. But now, as ABC televises it Monday night at 8 ET, that network, too, is disrespecting a classic...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2011
Dec
3
TAKING TV'S MIDSEASON TEMPERATURE: SOME SHOWS ARE SERVING UP STUNNERS By David Bianculli
 
 
This column will provide a link to, and add illustrated commentary for, my current TV review on NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross, in which I talk -- very specifically -- about the pivotal, exciting things that have just happened on such quality shows as Dexter, The Walking Dead, Homeland and American Horror Story. If you're behind, or don't want to read details, then stop here. But if you're up to date on those shows, and are as excited by recent events as I am, keep reading (and start listening) for some illuminating images and additional raves...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2011
Nov
30
STEPHEN SONDHEIM'S BRILLIANT, UNREALIZED IDEA FOR A TV SPECIAL By David Bianculli
 
 
In composer Stephen Sondheim's new book, Look, I Made a Hat, he reveals lots of things that should surprise even the most diehard Sondheim enthusiast -- not personal admissions, but details of works both produced and unproduced. One, in particular, stunned me...
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 

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.
 
 
New From TVWW

PBS' 'Frontline’ Examines Pension Promises and — Spoiler Alert — Finds the Math Doesn’t Add Up
By Alex Strachan
 
 
 
 
The Decadence of ‘Versailles’ Comes to Ovation
By David Hinckley
 
 
 
 
Prescribing Mamie Gummer in 'Emily Owens, M.D.'
By Ed Bark
 
 
 
 
Looking for a Free Ride? HBO Can Deliver
By Christy Slewinski
 
 
 
 
'Pass the Biscuits' Part of the Hatfield-McCoy Pop-Culture Legacy
By Noel Holston
 
 
 
 

Dispatches From TVWW

'Extinction: The Facts' is a Sobering Call to Action
By David Hinckley
 
 
 
 
How 'Mayans' Has Been Influenced by the Show's Creator Elgin James
By Mike Hughes
 
 
 
 
For Whom the Bell Tolls: Ken Burns and Lynn Novick Take on Ernest Hemingway, the Man and the Myth
By Alex Strachan
 
 
 
 
In the Final Season, Sutton Foster's Liza is Now the Genuine Version of Her 'Younger' Self
By Monique Nazareth
 
 
 
 
Season 2 of 'City on a Hill' Returns with Kevin Bacon, Aldis Hodge, and Boston Corruption
By David Hinckley
 
 
 
 

This Day in TV History

1957: Julie Andrews Stars in 'Cinderella'
By TV WW