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
Aug
22
 
 
A front-page story in The New York Times Saturday warned against the newest unexpected wrinkle in the Internet: opportunistic entrepreneurs are offering to online retailers, as either writers or suppliers, cheaply priced positive reviews of their respective wares. Or, as the paper put it, "an industry of fibbers and promoters has sprung up to buy and sell raves for a pittance...Needless to say, I rate this cynical practice two thumbs down...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2011
Aug
18
 
 
[SUNDAY 8/21 UPDATE: As of Sunday morning, bids for some of the items written about here have increased substantially, with a week left to go in the auction. Samples: The Matt Bomer fedora currently stands at $710, the same price as the Piper Perabo shoes -- and that "cheep" Family Guy toy? It's now north of $150...]
 
 
 
  
 
 
2011
Aug
16
 
 
TVWW contributor Ed Bark, in his latest Uncle Barky's Bytes column, has beaten me to the punch by raving already about BBC America's new The Hour series...But I'm adding my own praises anyway...this period drama about the birth of a meaningful British TV newsmagazine in the 1950s clearly speaks to us both. The costumes may hint of AMC's Mad Men -- but to me, the closer comparison is to the brilliant 2005 movie Good Night and Good Luck...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2011
Aug
15
 
 
Lots to cover today: an excellent new HBO biographical study of Gloria Steinem, a new Eric Gould essay analyzing and presenting some of his favorite TV opening title sequences, and a salute to some Breaking Bad cleverness that most AMC viewers don't even get to see...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2011
Aug
14
 
 
Cleveland Plain DealerTV critic Mark Dawidziak is a veteran writer I fully intend to add to this site the day his newspaper is stupid enough to let him go. I don't see that happening soon, unfortunately (for me, not him) -- so in the meantime, I'll settle for providing links to stories in which he quotes me, as a TV historian and Rowan University professor...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2011
Aug
11
 
 
Back from press tour, clearing out my notebooks as well as my suitcase -- and happy to share leftover quotes and anecdotes regarding some of the (few) bright spots in this year's fall TV season. Keep reading if you're intrigued by any of the above: TV history, funny comedy, scary horror, intense drama, and television's answer to Nostradamus...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2011
Aug
7
 
 
I was a no-show at Saturday night's Television Critics Association Awards in Los Angeles, but I have the best of all possible excuses: I was further down the California coast, hosting the rehearsal dinner for my son Mark's Sunday wedding to Jessica Kozzi. But the TCA sent out news of the winners, which I'm glad to relay. Especially because it gets me out to the wedding festivities more quickly...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2011
Aug
5
 
 
LOS ANGELES -- On Sept. 10, 2011 -- one day before the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks -- Showtime will premiere "The Love We Make", an Albert Maysles documentary about Paul McCartney's organization and presentation of a post-9/11 show-of-support-for-New-York concert 10 years ago...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2011
Aug
4
 
 
LOS ANGELES -- There's a burst of interesting news coming out of the Television Critics Press tour all of a sudden, along with some equally intriguing lighter moments. News today; features tomorrow. And the latest news includes several series renewals on Showtime, a Lady Gaga TV special imported by the CW, and an update about the still-in-the-works movie version of 24...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2011
Aug
3
 
 
LOS ANGELES -- Last year, an utterly underwhelming fall TV season from the broadcast networks was saved by a new cable-TV series, HBO's Boardwalk Empire, that blew the competition away. This year, another sub-par fall season again will be redeemed by an innovative, exciting cable newcomer...
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 

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.

 
 
 
 

This Day in TV History