DAVID BIANCULLI

Founder / Editor

ERIC GOULD

Associate Editor

LINDA DONOVAN

Assistant Editor

Contributors

ALEX STRACHAN

MIKE HUGHES

KIM AKASS

MONIQUE NAZARETH

ROGER CATLIN

GARY EDGERTON

TOM BRINKMOELLER

GERALD JORDAN

NOEL HOLSTON

 
 
 
 
 
2011
Sep
7
 
 
"Rescue Me" started on FX in 2004, and ends seven years later, four days before the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy. The expanded finale, shown at 10 p.m. ET Wednesday, provides an ending that will not be revealed here -- but which, like the series itself, is remarkably entertaining, satisfying and impressive, and emotionally all over the place...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2011
Sep
5
 
 
[The Rowan University student who has written more guest blogs for TVWW than any other is Rich Greenhalgh, who is, among other things, a walking encyclopedia of Anime programs and sub-genres. Last time I asked him to explain the appeal, and various archetypes, of the animated Asian imports. This time, I challenged him to list some of the programs he thought readers of this website might like best -- and places where to sample them. Fasten your seat belts... he compares some to Rubicon, House, even Lost... -- DB]
 
 
 
  
 
 
2011
Sep
3
 
 
[Just before school starts for a new term, here's a welcome entry by one of my former film and TV students -- who sympathizes with fans of HBO's Boardwalk Empire who may not remember exactly where they've seen the actor before. This student gives the condition a medical term -- Steve Buscemi Amnesia -- and also provides a cure, with a 1994 movie televised this weekend... -- DB]
 
 
 
  
 
 
2011
Sep
2
 
 
I'll be posting two interesting student blogs this weekend, but right now, on Friday morning, I'm diving into hosting NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross. So for the moment, I'll leave you with a link to a story the show ran yesterday... a rerun of my conversation with cookbook author Mark Bittman, in which I had a very animated discussion about grilling steaks...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2011
Sep
1
 
 
Linda Ellerbee, by now, really, really knows what she's doing. After carving out one distinguished career in TV news as an anchor and commentator, she's spent decades establishing another, as the anchor, and heart and soul, of Nickelodeon's Nick News, which explains complex issues and news events without resorting to insider doublespeak, verbal duels or flashy visuals...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2011
Aug
30
 
 
Along with the final versions of the new fall TV series, my current stack of preview DVDs also includes several 9/11 10th anniversary specials, with more arriving every day. Once again, as in a decade ago, I'm being bombarded with more horrific images and emotional video than any one person should have to absorb...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2011
Aug
28
 
 
Even after Hurricane Irene had passed to the north Sunday and was about to be demoted to tropical storm, I remained without electricity in southern New Jersey. But after more than 12 literally powerless hours (take away electricity, and a TV critic hasn't got much of a day job), the power came back on... just in time for the MTV Video Music Awards. Ten minutes later, I turned off the TV and went upstairs to bed...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2011
Aug
26
 
 
[SUNDAY UPDATE: Lost power, but not resolve. And while the non-powered sump pump had me up before daybreak, toting buckets of water from the basement like those brooms in Fantasia, I have no complaints. Yet... And thanks to Dunkin' Donuts, for being the only place open just after the hurricane hit. Thanks for the coffee, AND the free WiFi... - DB]
 
 
 
  
 
 
2011
Aug
24
 
 
Bill Moyers will be coming back to TV in January, it was announced yesterday, with a weekly interview series called Moyers & Company, featuring one-on-one conversations with people other than the usual TV talking heads. I'm thrilled by that news, but PBS obviously isn't. The new Moyers show is offered not by the network, but offered instead to local member stations via the American Public Television distribution system...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2011
Aug
23
 
 
The latest edition of the PBS series P.O.V., premiering Tuesday night at 10 ET (check local listings), is a potpourri program called Short Cuts, an hour of six entertaining short films. They're all good -- but two of them, animated versions of conversations recorded for the oral history project StoryCorps, are gold. And it's gold that, like the Simpsons shorts originally featured on The Tracey Ullman Show, should be spun off into their own regular series. It could be the most popular, and profitable, and even important, new PBS series in years...
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 

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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